Wrong, Microsoft was full of shit from the beginning:
http://www.techpowerup.com/184398/xbox-one-chip-slower-than-playstation-4.html
This is from May. The thread title is indeed misleading PR.
I thought so then, too. However, newer information since then, through both DF's development sources, and especially now at hot chips seems to directly contradict that initial assumption that they were simply just cobbling bandwidths together.
Unless they're outright lying, which I really don't think is the case, the ESRAM peak theoretical bandwidth is indeed 204GB/s. I'm looking at the diagram from hotchips. I see 68GB/s for the DDR3 off by itself somewhere, I see a 30GB/s coherent bandwidth path way off by itself somewhere, and then further down the diagram I see 4 x 8MB blocks worth of ESRAM totaling 32MB that is labeled as having a minimum bandwidth of 109GB/s and a peak bandwidth of 204GB/s. This isn't the first time that a bandwidth figure from an MS console has been questionable. The 360's 256GB/s for its EDRAM was highly questioned in the early days of the 360, as I remember reading quite a bit of the doubt going around until it was later explained, I believe, by Dave Baumann on beyond3D. People thought Microsoft was playing funny business then, too, but it turned out to be true.
Now obviously I don't know what's going on, but neither do a lot of other people. As an example, Mark Cerny himself stated that it was possible to have an embedded memory chip with upwards of 1TB/s worth of bandwidth for the PS4, but they opted for a simpler design that was easier for developers to extract power from. He said he didn't want developers having to crack some puzzle to get at the system's power. After an unbelievable bandwidth figure like that? 204GB/s doesn't seem all that pie in the sky. I know there's a tendency to be very skeptical of what Microsoft is saying, but they've more or less acknowledged, although not without some kicking and screaming, in so many ways that they aren't packing the kind of raw horsepower that the PS4 is. I don't see what further meaning there is in lying about their memory bandwidth now, as if it would honestly make a big difference to public perception of the console now, especially at hot chips of all places. They gave an honest presentation on Xbox 360 silicon at hot chips when the 360 was launching, and I don't see any reason why they wouldn't do the same this time with the Xbox One. They gain nothing at all with an attempt to wave a bigger penis on their ESRAM bandwidth.
I'm very happy with the specs on both these platforms.
Now bring on games, innovative design and wow us. Use that touchpad, use Kinect and get every drop of power from these systems.
Cant wait
I couldn't agree more. Both are great systems. Developers have what they need to blow our socks off in the coming months and years.
