PlayStation 3's RSX Chip less powerful than Xbox 360 GPU

[BlackKnight]

GTA IV, quite famously, was delayed from being a 2007 release to being a 2008 release because of problems Rockstar were having with the Playstation 3 version of the game. And now Codemasters admit that whilst the Microsoft Xbox 360 version of Grid runs at a solid 30 fps the Playstation 3 version doesn’t. These are just two of the latest of a long stream of disappointments with the comparative performance of the PS3. What is happening here?

 

The enormous power of a modern game console comes from two processors working together. The CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). Console manufacturers have traditionally bought in CPUs from manufacturers such as Intel and IBM whilst GPUs have come from the likes of nVidia and ATI.

 

For the PS3 Sony wanted to have a technology advantage so they developed, in conjunction with Toshiba and IBM, the Cell processor. A clean sheet design with many innovations this took $400 million and four years to develop. The intention was to use two of these in the PS3, one as CPU and one as GPU. However at the last minute Sony realised that the Cell GPU wasn’t up to the job so they went to nVidia and bought their 7800GTX GPU. This gave them a number of disadvantages:

 

* It wasn’t designed or optimised as a console GPU. It was designed and optimised as a PC GPU.

* The whole architecture of the console was compromised by the last minute change.

* The 7800GTX has less raw processing power than the Microsoft Xbox 360 GPU.

 

Microsoft had their fingers burnt by not owning the chips in the original Xbox, so for the 360 they decided that they wanted to own the rights to both processors. They sat down and co designed their GPU with ATI. By doing this they were able to optimise it’s capabilities for video game playing and also they were able to design it into the elegant system architecture of the Xbox 360. They also gave it a lot of raw power.

 

So although the Platstation 3 has a more powerful CPU than the Xbox 360 it seems to be less powerful as a gaming machine. And real world results with real games have so far proved this. As Richard Huddy of ATI said in an Edge magazine interview: “I think Xbox 360 technology is likely to outperform PlayStation 3 technology by a pretty healthy margin in the long run.” It looks like the GPU is holding the PS3 back.

Flame on. So the Cell isn't as powerful as people thought- certainly not powerful enough to offset a weak GPU. On the the other hand, who cares what Bruce Everiss thinks? He could just be talking out his ass...

 

 

Source: http://www.bruceongames.com/2008/06/10/is-...g-the-ps3-back/

[Chibi Kami]

To be honest, I'm kind of sick of hearing crap like this.

 

The PS3's GPU is only slightly less powerful than the one in the 360. It's supposed to be augmented by support from the cell helper cores. Designers can't figure this out so they blame the hardware.

 

As for the 360's design, it has a significant RAM bottleneck, and is more or less set up so it has to ask the GPU for permission to do anything. It's easier to develop for because it has a more streamlined CPU design (1 main processor and 2 subprocessors), but it will always have lower top-end specs compared to what the PS3 could do if the game were in the hands of someone who read the bloody manual instead of clicking "compile source."

[garyoak99]

It sounds like more ammunition for those PS3 critics. Those PS3 fanboys will probably point out that it takes more than hardware to make a successful console though.

[BlackKnight]

If by helper cores you mean the 7 available SPUs in the Cell almost no one outside of 1st party devs actually use any of them, let alone all of them. That's especially troubling considering the way the processing power inside the chip is distributed.

 

The point is if the GPU just had more horsepower the effect of devs not fully milking the Cell might not be as big a deal as it is now.

 

Those PS3 fanboys will probably point out that it takes more than hardware to make a successful console though.

Yeh, it would take things like games, online services... oh wait.

[Chibi Kami]

If by helper cores you mean the 7 available SPUs in the Cell almost no one outside of 1st party devs actually use any of them, let alone all of them. That's especially troubling considering the way the processing power inside the chip is distributed.

 

Those would be them, yes. As I said, the system's apparent inferiority stems almost entirely from developers who just don't get it.

[L.S.D]

Those PS3 fanboys will probably point out that it takes more than hardware to make a successful console though.

Yeh, it would take things like games, online services... oh wait.

No contest there. Other than Blu-ray, the rest of PS3 capabilities are not up to par compared with X360.

[Inky]

If by helper cores you mean the 7 available SPUs in the Cell almost no one outside of 1st party devs actually use any of them, let alone all of them. That's especially troubling considering the way the processing power inside the chip is distributed.

 

Those would be them, yes. As I said, the system's apparent inferiority stems almost entirely from developers who just don't get it.

you should use your wonder twin powers with Gouken to show the world what Konami, Capcom, Sega, Rockstar , ect, ect can not. use those cores for the real ultimate power.

[OverlordMondo]

If by helper cores you mean the 7 available SPUs in the Cell almost no one outside of 1st party devs actually use any of them, let alone all of them. That's especially troubling considering the way the processing power inside the chip is distributed.

 

Those would be them, yes. As I said, the system's apparent inferiority stems almost entirely from developers who just don't get it.

you should use your wonder twin powers with Gouken to show the world what Konami, Capcom, Sega, Rockstar , ect, ect can not. use those cores for the real ultimate power.

I hope the PS3 is actually a transformer.

[BlackKnight]

I hope the PS3 is actually a transformer.

It's certainly big enough to be hiding Megatron.

[Wizard]

And still be able to be used as a grill as well for juicy hambugers.

[Fatal Rose]

In the end it's all about the games.

As I have said a thousand times, only reason I picked a 360 over a PS3 is because of VF5 online.