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More On IBM's Next-Gen Xbox Chipset Win

Posted by simoniker on from the jump-up-showdown dept.

Pieroxy writes "EE Times reports further details on Microsoft's use of IBM chips in its next generation Xbox game and consumer electronics devices, dealing a blow to Intel and providing a much needed boost for IBM's lossmaking chip business." An analyst claims that "IBM is likely to modify its most advanced G5 PowerPC silicon, which is being used in Apple Computer's fastest Macintosh desktops, for the embedded market, reducing the cache and cutting power consumption", and further comments: "This is likely to heat things up at Intel, but it is competition that is healthy for the industry. It's ironic that IBM, with its roots in the computer industry, doesn't supply the processors for the main portion of the personal computer industry. Intel does." We covered IBM's initial announcement as a section-specific story earlier today.

10 of 570 comments (clear)

  1. Whose roots where? by csnydermvpsoft · · Score: 2, Insightful

    It's ironic that IBM, with its roots in the computer industry, doesn't supply the processors for the main portion of the personal computer industry. Intel does.

    Wouldn't it be more like the "computer industry, with its roots in IBM," not the other way around? Though that's not entirely accurate either - maybe if it was changed to be the personal computer industry.

  2. What about today's Xbox? by O · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Are they not going to have backward compatibility? That seems like a big mistake in the game console market to me.

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    1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21 -- Mathematics is the Language of Nature.
  3. Stupid for MS by afidel · · Score: 3, Insightful

    One of the few competitive advantages MS has with the XBox is that games created for it take little work to port over to the PC arena. By using a PPC chip much of that ease of porting is eliminated and along with it one of the few selling points for title owners.

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    1. Re:Stupid for MS by terminal.dk · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Are you a developer without a clue ? Or have you been smoking the funny stuff ?

      The CPU does mean shit when it comes to porting games. Games can only be written to the API since the hardware box is closed, and as long as the API is frozen, all it takes is a recompile. But there is a chance MS will use the longhorn API by then, and maybe even say C# - so they can be platform independent. Remember, C# is portable bytecode like Java.

      There was a time when all it took was a recompile, and your Windows app would run on PowerPC or MIPS, Alpha or even Intel :)

      A PowerPC in 2005 should also be able to do pretty well emulating the 733 MHz P3.

  4. there will be backwards compatibility by spir0 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    as mentioned in Financial Times, Microsoft will likely be using their recently acquired Virtual PC software. This software is the way mac users run windows software on PPC chips. VPC technology will allow MS to provide backwards compatibility under Intel emulation.

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    The reason girls and Windows users don't understand UNIX is because all the documentation is in Man files.
  5. I don't see anything about XBox2 using IBM chips.. by downix · · Score: 2, Insightful

    What I do see is Microsoft hedging its bets by licensing technology. Now, it can go to both Intel *and* AMD and go "if you two won't give us a better price, we'll cut you both off."

    When businesses compete, the consumer wins.

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    Karma Whoring for Fun and Profit.
  6. Re:A question by NanoGator · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "Does this mean that the modified Windows 2000 kernel used with the current XBox will be upgraded and ported to G5, or that we might see a completely different and new kernel? "

    Probably a little bit of both. First a recompile followed by some hand-tweaking in the slower areas of the code. Microsoft has operated with other processors before, so I doubt this'd catch their dev teams completely off-guard.

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    "Derp de derp."
  7. Re:A question by AKAImBatman · · Score: 2, Insightful

    > didn't some guy at microsoft get fired for posting a
    > picture of lots of G5's bought by microsoft?

    Yes. However, you realize that Microsoft needs those machines to test the Mac software they MAKE. Right? You know, like Microsoft Office X.

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    Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
  8. Re:Backwards Compatible? by Daniel_Staal · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Quick counterpoint:

    1: The PowerPC architecture has proven fairly good at emulating Intel architecture. It's definitely not megahertz for megahertz, but a G5 chip that emulates a 733Mhz x86 is not out of the question for a game console. If you don't mind a performance hit you don't even need to keep the same preformance nessisarially... Just tell people that while they can run their old XBox games they aren't 'optimized' for the XBox2 and therefore won't run as fast.

    2: Microsoft has emulation code for the PPC inhouse: they recently bought VirtualPC which did exactly that. Now, I'm sure it is not a direct port, but it would make a good starting code base.

    I'm not saying it will happen. Just that it is not out of the question.

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    'Sensible' is a curse word.
  9. Re:Hope it's... by Paladine97 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I wouldn't say there is a Gamecube "performance issue." It runs beautifully fast. 485 Mhz of PowerPPC goodness. It is right on par with the XBox CPU since the PowerPPC design is so much more efficient.