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Xbox 2 Architecture Documented, Almost 2004-Launched?
An anonymous reader writes "Over at Xbit Labs, they seem to have new information on the Xbox 2 hardware specs, evidently originating from China, although the date and veracity of the document can't be confirmed. Noteworthy is the inclusion of (3) 3.5GHz CPUs [some say a 3-core CPU?], only 10 MB of dedicated graphics memory, and the undecided comments on whether the hard drive is 'built in'. The high speed bus to the GPU and the small amount of video memory point directly at Microsoft's upcoming DirectX Next, which will supposedly feature virtual graphics memory." Elsewhere, Gamaroo writes "Gamesindustry.biz is reporting that Microsoft originally wanted to release Xbox 2 for Christmas 2004. However, the new system has since slipped from schedule, but the piece claims Microsoft hopes to release the new console in mid-2005, to get ' a full year's head-start on Sony's PS3, and possibly even more'."
65 nm promises to be a similar order of magnitude of problems. I'm not convinced, and I won't be until I see more details on what problems have been encountered in the rush to 65 nm, and how they were overcome.
No, in fact quite the opposite -- Xenon is the offical codename (keep in mind, *codename*, not the real name, just as xbox was codenamed "Project Midway" and the Gamecube was codenamed "Dolphin")
and on the other side, the XboxNext name is a rumor. completely unconfirmed and pulled out of some reporter's ass.
Newsie, Moderator, www.tauniverse.com
Hard drives typically only become bigger, not cheaper, over the consoles life time. The processors can be moved to a cheaper process, the die size reduced, they can be redesigned to improve yield etc. In the long run this makes a big difference in console manufacturing cost.
As an example, originally the PS2 had separate chips for the cpu, the vector units and the graphics chip. Over time, Sony have migrated all of these to a single die on a newer process. This means significantly lower costs for Sony.