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PS3 GPU Less Powerful Than GeForce 7800?

Posted by Zonk on from the confusing dept.

dividedsky319 writes "The Inquirer (as well as a more biased Team Xbox) is reporting that the PlayStation 3's GPU will be a little less powerful than a GeForce 7800, which would also mean it's less powerful than the Xbox360. If true, what could this mean for the release of the PS3, a year later than the Xbox360 is released?" From the article: "It's all awfully confusing we know, though it is an interesting tech mystery to try and get to the bottom of. Of course Microsoft and Sony engineers all know exactly what's in the difference between the two consoles, but the marketing people want to tell us that their console is twenty times better than everyone elses, so we must wait until someone rips the two boxes open and benchmarks them..."

16 of 104 comments (clear)

  1. Disproven in minutes by TechniMyoko · · Score: 5, Informative
    http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/9132/PlayStation-3-G PU-More-Powerful-than-GeForce-7800/

    Kick the fanboys off the editors panel!

    1. Re:Disproven in minutes by TechniMyoko · · Score: 3, Informative
      NVIDIA contacted us today after we published the "PlayStation 3 GPU Less Powerful than GeForce 7800" story based on a report found at The Inquirer. Derek Perez, NVIDIA's Director of Public Relations, was kind enough to provide us the actual paragraph from the September issue of PSM. Here is the information from the blurb in question:

      There's no doubting that NVIDIA's new 7800GTX is the ultimate in PC graphics technology. The card's G70 GPU, which is more than twice as powerful as two of NVIDIA's previous top-of-the-line 6800 boards, shares a lot of similar workings with the PS3's RSX chip - only it isn't as fast. Oh, and it retails for $599.

      The article actually says the GeForce 7800 GTX is not as fast as the RSX graphics processing unit that NVIDIA developed for the PlayStation 3.

      We apologize for any confusion and we'd like to thank NVIDIA for providing the exact info

    2. Re:Disproven in minutes by superpulpsicle · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I am glad you got 1st post on this. Expect alot more xbox false propaganda to come on slashdot and beyond. This is hurting M$ xbox reputation more than helping.

  2. Relativity? by DamienMcKenna · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The PS3 will be released for the same price as one expansion card and have (guessing) ten times the technology in it and people are bitching? Get a life. Does the 7800 have a cell processor behind it? Or any of the other advanced features?

    Damien

    1. Re:Relativity? by KDR_11k · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Can Gabe Newell handle the PS2? Because most of the people who are going to work on the PS3 can.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    2. Re:Relativity? by yasth · · Score: 3, Interesting

      One should keep in mind the bill of materials cost for producing a graphics chip is actually pretty low. Nvidia places a massive markup to cover research, and product development (and marketing and other things). So there is no cost to eat. They lose some margin, but make it up in volume, and since you can't rip the chips out and use them in a pc, they don't hurt any other market (except for those few that would have bought a high end card that will now buy a console)

      --
      I'd do something interesting, but my server can't handle a slashdotting.
  3. Who cares! by defkkon · · Score: 4, Insightful
    I really don't think that many of us care whether the PS3 graphics chip will be a generation behind, and the Xbox 360 will be the cutting edge for the next 12 months.

    How many times do we need to say it - its not the hardware that makes great games - its the gameplay! The graphics chips will help make a more immersive environment - but other than that, who cares?

    The only thing these statistics help is the pissing contest between Sony and Microsoft.

    I'm buying an Xbox 360. Its not because of the fact that its graphics chip is "bigger" than the PS3's.

    BTW, don't even bother reading the Team Xbox article. It extremely biased, and sounds like it was written by the PR department.

  4. Already corrected by Murrow · · Score: 4, Informative

    Inq has already corrected the story. NVidia says the PS3 GPU will be slightly more powerful than the 7800.

    1. Re:Already corrected by Satorian · · Score: 3, Interesting

      From the link on TheInq: For all those who have blamed this debacle on us, we'd point casually towards the people we sourced. What the fuck? This quote shows everything one needs to know about TheInq's 'journalism'.

  5. System specs are second... by Irish_Samurai · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Man, the only people who buy systems on systems specs alone are idiots. Who cares how beefy a console is if it has 1/3 the library of another console? Game Cube anyone? That purple box could render graphics far superior to the PS2, yet the PS2 library is waht made it king.

    I know fanboys love to brag about the specs for their boxes, but it really doesn't mean that much.

    Take for example the way developers make their games. Japanese developers prefer to prerender their cinematics as opposed to rendering them in real time. The XBOX 360 is designed to render these cinematics in real time. Japanese developers have to change the way they build their games, and that is a speedbump when it comes to garnering the powerful Japanese 3rd party support.
  6. If you're bringing platform exclusivity into it by tepples · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yeah, but you still won't be able to play Gran Turismo 5 on your PC.

    Neither can you play Super Smash Bros. Revolution on your Xbox 360 or PS3.

  7. Re:Who cares! -Average Joes, i.e. Consumers by fwitness · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "How many times do we need to say it - its not the hardware that makes great games - its the gameplay!"

    We have to keep saying it until people stop buying crap. Which they will not for awhile. Games are still new to the overwhelming majority. They still see shiny and cannot avoid the instinct to buy. Just like every other technology at it's beginnings, most people are uneducated about what to look for. So the market droids dumb things down and drawn in people who do not realize an informed decision is beneficial.

    Add to this the PS3 and XBox 360 are almost exactly identical in feature sets. Before you flame me, think about the consumer.

    1. Pretty Graphics - XBox & PS3
    2. Pretty Casing - They both look purty in their own way.
    3. Controller - Most don't care, but other than shape and possible wireless options, mostly identical
    4. Sound - Again no one cares, the difference is not discernable by most people.
    5. Internet Options - XBox Live is proven, but the PS2 worked for many also. Possible advantage XBox
    6. Sports Games - Both get same titles
    7. FPS Games - Both get mostly same titles with occasionaly exclusive
    8. Racing Games - Different exclusives on both sides
    9. High Definition - Specs aren't finalized, but both support some version of high-def, which again a large portion of the market doesn't even use.
    10. "Media Features" - Believe it or not, this is a larger selling point to most then the games. People *assume* that their $299+ super-console will *eventually* get super-awesome games, but if it doesn't play my DVDs now, it never will. HD-DVD/Blu-Ray battle may play a role later, but the tech won't catch on for at least another year, if that.
    11. Brand Loyalty - Huge benefit for either company. If their console treated them well, and most belive their choice was correct <cough>fanboys<cough>, they will have an inclination to trust the company again. Possible advantage Sony, for their PS2 user base.

    When you look at these, it's obvious that the only major difference will be in those rare blockbuster exclusives. The key is you have to do the math, and most people would rather just whip out the cash card.

    Exercise to the reader:Does what we know about the Nintendo Revolution fit into this?

    --
    -- I have fans? Wow.
  8. Comparing Console Specs to PC?? by PoderOmega · · Score: 2, Informative

    Since when do PC specs have anything to do with console? Compare the specs of any console to a high end PC of the time and the PC is going to be more powerful, because it is a general computing machine with tons of hardware options. With a console you can optimize code much better because it is always the same hardware. I thought this was like Gaming 101???

  9. Re:Big Surprise by reedsr · · Score: 2, Interesting

    perhaps Nvidia thinks so?? http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/9132/PlayStation-3-G PU-More-Powerful-than-GeForce-7800/

    The article actually says the GeForce 7800 GTX is not as fast as the RSX graphics processing unit that NVIDIA developed for the PlayStation 3.

    We apologize for any confusion and we'd like to thank NVIDIA for providing the exact info.

    --
    "Is Sausage bad for printers?"
  10. Re:Big Surprise by cornface · · Score: 2, Funny

    It is no surprise to me that the PS3 will be less powerful than the 7800, I figured it all along.

    Can I touch you? I feel humbled to be in the presence of the Great Oracle of Slashdot.

  11. Re:I agree with your point BUT ... by Gothic_Walrus · · Score: 2, Insightful
    I think by "cost money" he meant that that's what Microsoft lost. Unless the situation has changed (and I don't believe it has), they've been losing money on every console sold since release.

    That doesn't sound like much of a profit to me.

    And did you even read the links you posted? They're both articles about how weak the Xbox 360's backward compatibility feature is. Yes, it's there...but as the last line in the second link tells us, just barely so. "[B]etween five and twenty" working titles at launch isn't very impressive.

    --
    Goo goo g'joob.