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[Rumor] Xbox One May Be Getting A New APU Based On AMD’s Polaris Architecture

KingJ2002

Member
This gives more credibility to the rumors that Microsoft will be releasing an Apple TV version of the Xbox One... and if this version comes coupled with the Xbox equivalent to Playstation Now where you can stream past/present Xbox titles for a monthly fee. It may be a compelling way to get people to buy into their ecosystem with a very low barrier of entry.
 

ZehDon

Gold Member
I know it is not something that has been done in the past, but is it really unrealistic/impossible that a hardware maker could release an updated console that plays all the existing games and future games, but just at better resolution, frame rate or image quality?...
Breakdown realistically, and you'll see why it's unlikely. Let's be honest: Xbone has had a rough generation. From being the most hated thing since the last most hated thing, to abandoning virtually every policy and vision, Microsoft have had to work hard to get the customers they have today. And they're so far behind their competitor, they abandoned hardware sales figures as a performance metric. Then, in order to stop the Xbox 360 from slowing down adoption rates and cannibalising future hardware sales, Microsoft implemented an astoundingly generous backwards compatibility system. Microsoft need positive PR and customer-friendly business decisions to salvage every sale possible.

Now, imagine if Microsoft released a revised hardware version of the Xbone that was superior in every way. How do you think the customers that Microsoft have managed to retain would feel about supporting the Xbone thus far? Look at the angry people who felt forced to buy a Kinect, because Microsoft said they'd never sell the Xbone without one. And then they sold the Xbone without one. For less. And that's not even taking into consideration the technical impossibilities, being that changing the fundamentals of a console mid-gen, and expecting old titles to work without issue is... not realistic.

Releasing a superior Xbone at this point would be the Xbone reveal all over again.
 

onQ123

Member
I know it is not something that has been done in the past, but is it really unrealistic/impossible that a hardware maker could release an updated console that plays all the existing games and future games, but just at better resolution, frame rate or image quality?

I know some say that developers would hate it, but they currently are doing it with many PS4/Xbox One games having a resolution difference in many games. PC dev's have been doing it for ages, making games scalable based on the users PC configuration.

I am not saying this news is confirmation of that happening, but I am not sure if someone trying this would be really a bad thing and I am not sure if it would cause a segmentation per se since it would not have games specifically made for it, it would use existing games or upcoming games and the games would just run better.

Again, not saying this is happening, but just curious if one of the 2 big guns would have the balls to try it.
Seems to be what they was planning.

Xbox Next /Xbox 720 / Durango Patent?
 

Inuhanyou

Believes Dragon Quest is a franchise managed by Sony
Yeah......no. Sony and MS would never do such a thing.

I know it is not something that has been done in the past, but is it really unrealistic/impossible that a hardware maker could release an updated console that plays all the existing games and future games, but just at better resolution, frame rate or image quality?

I know some say that developers would hate it, but they currently are doing it with many PS4/Xbox One games having a resolution difference in many games. PC dev's have been doing it for ages, making games scalable based on the users PC configuration.

I am not saying this news is confirmation of that happening, but I am not sure if someone trying this would be really a bad thing and I am not sure if it would cause a segmentation per se since it would not have games specifically made for it, it would use existing games or upcoming games and the games would just run better.
.

Dreams and wishes. That's not how any of this works. If they are going to do a refresh like you say, it might as well be the next generation complete with BC and OS synchronization, along with getting the maximum hardware jump.

The market does not want consoles to become like you say with incremental steps. The whole point is NOT to be like PC's in regards to a baseline standard for development. Pointing to PC's is the case against such a thing, not the case for it.

Also, considering this would hypothetically be a stop gap console, that means relatively small jump for a far longer time to wait for a bigger one. MS and Sony don't have the logistics to continuously make new updates to internals and push them out. They have to be planned well in advance. They have a hard enough time with refreshes to externals while keeping the innards the same architecture.
 

eXMomoj

Member
Not going to happen. It would be a disaster for a console maker to divide their user base within the same generation. As far as I am aware, the N64 was the last system to "upgrade" their hardware within a single generation with the expansion pack. And an "add-on" is less damaging than a complete hardware revision as well.
 

Putty

Member
here is one of their speculation
xbox_one_polaris_3.png
This is that MrCteam from MrX btw,,,,.take it how you will.

But reality is MS will not fracture the market with an improved box for a plethora of reasons. History most certainly isn't on their side.
 

twinturbo2

butthurt Heat fan
I've been thinking that MS is going to get their next Xbox out by late 2017, and frankly, I think this might be a major clue that this is going to happen.

They're not going to upgrade the Xbox One, this is for the NextBox.
 
Why would an already released standard X1 have this new name, if it is supposed to signify a new apu?

Makes a nonsense of this whole idea.
 

onQ123

Member
Breakdown realistically, and you'll see why it's unlikely. Let's be honest: Xbone has had a rough generation. From being the most hated thing since the last most hated thing, to abandoning virtually every policy and vision, Microsoft have had to work hard to get the customers they have today. And they're so far behind their competitor, they abandoned hardware sales figures as a performance metric. Then, in order to stop the Xbox 360 from slowing down adoption rates and cannibalising future hardware sales, Microsoft implemented an astoundingly generous backwards compatibility system. Microsoft need positive PR and customer-friendly business decisions to salvage every sale possible.

Now, imagine if Microsoft released a revised hardware version of the Xbone that was superior in every way. How do you think the customers that Microsoft have managed to retain would feel about supporting the Xbone thus far? Look at the angry people who felt forced to buy a Kinect, because Microsoft said they'd never sell the Xbone without one. And then they sold the Xbone without one. For less. And that's not even taking into consideration the technical impossibilities, being that changing the fundamentals of a console mid-gen, and expecting old titles to work without issue is... not realistic.

Releasing a superior Xbone at this point would be the Xbone reveal all over again.

Yeah......no. Sony and MS would never do such a thing.



Dreams and wishes. That's not how any of this works. If they are going to do a refresh like you say, it might as well be the next generation complete with BC and OS synchronization, along with getting the maximum hardware jump.

The market does not want consoles to become like you say with incremental steps. The whole point is NOT to be like PC's in regards to a baseline standard for development. Pointing to PC's is the case against such a thing, not the case for it.

Also, considering this would hypothetically be a stop gap console, that means relatively small jump for a far longer time to wait for a bigger one. MS and Sony don't have the logistics to continuously make new updates to internals and push them out. They have to be planned well in advance. They have a hard enough time with refreshes to externals while keeping the innards the same architecture.

Not going to happen. It would be a disaster for a console maker to divide their user base within the same generation. As far as I am aware, the N64 was the last system to "upgrade" their hardware within a single generation with the expansion pack. And an "add-on" is less damaging than a complete hardware revision as well.

I think it can & will happen.


I think the update to the Xbox One will be the SoC that's on the GPU getting upgraded while the CPU & Compute units stay about the same.

So basically the front end would stay the same but the output will be upgraded



kZr4MSS.png
 

Inuhanyou

Believes Dragon Quest is a franchise managed by Sony
I think it can & will happen.

And...your proof of splitting the market with having to provide compatibility with a different architecture years before its necessary is where exactly?

Don't be like Jeff onQ.
 
Rumor is actually about "NX" but the source misconstrued it as X1

BELIEVE

NX = Nintendo Xbox. Rare will be allowed to make a sequel to Donkey Kong 64, in return a Donkey Konga sequel will appear on Xbone as a Rock Band/Guitar Hero killer where, in addition to the legendary bongo drums, players can use kinect to dance and play air guitar. Finally, the next Smash will have all the Rare characters like Banjo and Joanna Dark included and will be online cross play between Xbone and NX.
 
I've been thinking that MS is going to get their next Xbox out by late 2017, and frankly, I think this might be a major clue that this is going to happen.

They're not going to upgrade the Xbox One, this is for the NextBox.

No way is it happening late 2017. That will be GTA 6 Christmas, MS aren't putting a new console against a $199 PS4 with GTA 6.
 

Inuhanyou

Believes Dragon Quest is a franchise managed by Sony
The absolute most likely thing i can see coming down the pipe revision wise is a 16nm finfet APU reduction and external revision, and even that, i don't know if its possible to see next year. Hopefully so.
 

Pachinko

Member
Guys, it's MS, they are the leakiest ship out there when it comes to rumors - remember when I asked if anyone would be surprised if we had a 2017 release date for a new console from them ?

yeah I think this might be it. :p

Seriously though, they've gotta at least be working on a hardware revision that shrinks everything so they can make the console smaller and cheaper for the next couple years. It's the only way they can keep with the price cuts.
 

onQ123

Member
And...your proof of splitting the market with having to provide compatibility with a different architecture years before its necessary is where exactly?

Don't be like Jeff onQ.

I think the CPU & GPU will be mostly the same while the SoC with all the offload processors will be updated.


Xbox_neu_3-5145d885291b2272.png

Xbox-One-GPU-Diagram.png
 

Blanquito

Member
Even if they did just upgrade the Arm SoC, that's still essentially two different hardware configurations they have to support and test for. Doesn't seem like a good idea, in addition to alienating some of your fans because they suddenly have a lesser SKU
 
Yeah this might be a die shrink. MS and Sony are going to bring smaller consoles to the table eventually. I am rather interested in seeing what a redesigned xbox one would look like under Spencer. Looking at the Surface line of hardware I think it could be a hell of a system.
 
People wishing for a faster X1 with higher resolution and framerate, how would you handle multiplayer? I know I wouldn't want to play online against people with a higher/more stable framerate. Or would people with the X1.1 only play against people with the same console revision (fragmenting the userbase further)?
 
Seems like this has been pretty well covered. MS and Sony are always going to look for smaller, more efficient chips to make the boxes cheaper but you aren't going to get anything more powerful. Any power change would split the community.
 

Vitacat

Member
People wishing for a faster X1 with higher resolution and framerate, how would you handle multiplayer? I know I wouldn't want to play online against people with a higher/more stable framerate. Or would people with the X1.1 only play against people with the same console revision (fragmenting the userbase further)?

Don't PC gamers play each other using a huge variety of hardware that run at highly variable levels of performance? Seems like they get along ok.

So what if another player has higher resolution and better frame rates? Yes, they will have that advantage, but you're still at the same level of performance so what has changed on your end? You can stay as you are or choose to upgrade. PC gamers do this all the time.

But I know it won't happen anyway, so doesn't matter.

The biggest thing I want to see in an XB1 hardware revision is a power brick that doesn't constantly run a damn fan when the console is in sleep mode AKA instant on.
 

xxracerxx

Don't worry, I'll vouch for them.
Don't PC gamers play each other using a huge variety of hardware that run at highly variable levels of performance? Seems like they get along ok.

So what if one person has higher resolution and better frame rates? Yes, they will have that advantage, but you're still at the same level of performance so what has changed on your end? You can stay as you are or choose to upgrade. PC gamers do this all the time.
You are not "at the same level of performance" if one person has a better frame rate than you.
 

Locuza

Member
Given ESRAM was on the X1 CPU die, a die shrink could give them huge cost and pricing advantages?
Depends what you define as huge but since you can scale down the SRAM most, the die-size will came more down, than on Sonys side.

What if I told you Polaris Architecture was based on Xbox One's SoC?
How can the next GPU Architecture be based on an SoC with old IP-Blocks?

I think the CPU & GPU will be mostly the same while the SoC with all the offload processors will be updated.
And for what reasons would you update the offload processors?
 

Inuhanyou

Believes Dragon Quest is a franchise managed by Sony
Don't PC gamers play each other using a huge variety of hardware that run at highly variable levels of performance? Seems like they get along ok.

So what if another player has higher resolution and better frame rates? Yes, they will have that advantage, but you're still at the same level of performance so what has changed on your end? You can stay as you are or choose to upgrade. PC gamers do this all the time.

But I know it won't happen anyway, so doesn't matter.

The biggest thing I want to see in an XB1 hardware revision is a power brick that doesn't constantly run a damn fan when the console is in sleep mode AKA instant on.

PC's aren't consoles. Consoles aren't PCs. A big draw is that everyone gets the exact same experience. It seems a lot of people just want something that is a PC with constantly upgrading HW. So go buy one.
 

scoobs

Member
Is this misterxmedia or a real thing? Seems really insane to screw over your current userbase, but I'm all for more powerful consoles.

I'm quite certain this isn't happening, but it would be wild to see one of the big console manufacturers do this finally. Just to see the reaction and reception sales wise.
 

Vitacat

Member
You are not "at the same level of performance" if one person has a better frame rate than you.

You misread my meaning. I mean your level of performance is the same as you've always had.

And realistically IF this happened, which it won't, the performance increase would probably not be much. Maybe get closer to PS4, able to render at 1080p instead of 900p, and hold steadier frame rates.

PC's aren't consoles. Consoles aren't PCs. A big draw is that everyone gets the exact same experience. It seems a lot of people just want something that is a PC with constantly upgrading HW. So go buy one.

Actually there have been console upgrades over the years. Not many, mostly on handhelds, and not on big mainstream systems.

I don't think it will happen, but if it did, I would welcome it.
 
Don't PC gamers play each other using a huge variety of hardware that run at highly variable levels of performance? Seems like they get along ok.

So what if another player has higher resolution and better frame rates? Yes, they will have that advantage, but you're still at the same level of performance so what has changed on your end? You can stay as you are or choose to upgrade. PC gamers do this all the time.
Yeah no, people dont play fps games with sub-30 framerates on PC. They lower their graphics settings so they run at a high stable framerate. On a PC I can choose for myself if I prefer to run at 25 or 60 frames/sec, on a console I can't. Therefore my relative performance will decrease unless I can choose to only play with people on my own console performance level.
 

Vitacat

Member
Yeah no, people dont play fps games with sub-30 framerates on PC. They lower their graphics settings so they run at a high stable framerate. On a PC I can choose for myself if I prefer to run at 25 or 60 frames/sec, on a console I can't. Therefore my relative performance will decrease unless I can choose to only play with people on my own console performance level.

As I said above, if this happened and it won't, but if it did, you probably wouldn't be getting games going from 25fps to 60fps on the new hardware anyway. You'd maybe go from 900p to 1080p and hold a steadier 30fps with fewer dips.

But this is all pointless because it's highly unlikely to happen. It would increase dev costs, support costs etc. so I know it's just a fantasy. But it's a fantasy that I personally would welcome so I wouldn't feel the need to buy multiplats on PS4.
 
So software and hardware have the same codename so that means Xbox is going to get a new APU?

You can't just drop a new APU in without redesigning all the hardware inside. Maybe Zen powered Xbox Two but not a revision of One.
 

Dr.Acula

Banned
I wouldn't be shocked to see consoles that undergo revisions that increase game performance in my lifetime. Call me cynical, but one of these companies is gonna do it. You're gonna see on the back of the game box lists of performances.

Enjoy Assassin's Creed Mongolia Exclusively* on your XBox Two family of consoles!

XBox Two Classic -720p/30fps**
XBox Two Pro - 900p/60fps**
XBox Two Cinematic Feel - 1080p/30fps**
XBox Two Elite 1080p***/60fps**

*for three months
**frame rates may vary
***upscaled from 1040

Someone bookmark this post, thx.
 

Xone9

Banned
console lifecycles last like 7 years or so..

tech like HDMI comes out (remember, the original xbox 360 did not have HDMI until HDMI became poplular, then a new revisiion of the 360 with HDMI came out).

A new XboxOne will arrive with support for VR Headsets and HoloLens
 

WolvenOne

Member
A revision based on the new die shrink, sure, but the specifications would remain the same. You can't really mess with a consoles specifications much without potentially causing severe compatibility issues.
 
I wouldn't be shocked to see consoles that undergo revisions that increase game performance in my lifetime. Call me cynical, but one of these companies is gonna do it. You're gonna see on the back of the game box lists of performances.



Someone bookmark this post, thx.

I kind of wouldn't be surprised if we see something like this at some point either. Every other form of consumer tech releases revisions all the time, usually a yearly refresh. Phones, Graphics Cards, Tablets, etc etc. The idea of a "console cycle" is somewhat old thinking.

I wont be surprised if someone tries this at some point, and handle the OS like iOS.
 
As I said above, if this happened and it won't, but if it did, you probably wouldn't be getting games going from 25fps to 60fps on the new hardware anyway. You'd maybe go from 900p to 1080p and hold a steadier 30fps with fewer dips.

But this is all pointless because it's highly unlikely to happen. It would increase dev costs, support costs etc. so I know it's just a fantasy. But it's a fantasy that I personally would welcome so I wouldn't feel the need to buy multiplats on PS4.
That depends on what the bottleneck is, for some games it will mean you can up the resolution and for some it will mean you get higher and more stable framerate. Unless the developers use variable resolution and hard target a specific framerate, which I find highly unlikely for multiplats.
 

DieH@rd

Banned
I call this a fake [standard for Wccftech].

It is absolutely retarded to offer performance difference in 2017, especially after the troubled launch of original Xbone. They forced users to purchase [mostly] irrelevant Kinect, then dropped price for $150 in less than a year without giving anything to early addopters [which are the biggest Xbox supporters]. The last thing they need is brand new console that they need to purchase, especially outside of US and UK where Xbone has not found much traction.

Doing a APU shrink to 20/16finfet/14finfet is fine and expected for both nextgen consoles, but shortening the lifecycle of original hardware is not good.

I would see it like you upgrade from a i3 to i7. Your framerate will be better but iq wise will look the same.
Reality does not work that way.
 
Q

Queen of Hunting

Unconfirmed Member
So mr x is using a advanced warfare xbox one bundle console. Ok cool
 

Saintruski

Unconfirmed Member
Well, you have shots in my post above.

No one needs those shots you just need to see "wccftech" that place needs to be banned from the Internet. Wccftech is like misterx on steroids for all hardware...outsourcing all there articles a lot of times just straight copying and pasting then and making up shit and rumors just for clicks and fanboy fights in their comments section.
 

Marlenus

Member
The absolute most I could see is a hybrid setup with the GCN 1.1 core combined with polaris powergating but I am not convinced AMD would spend the resources on it when a plain old die shrink will reduce power significantly anyway.
 

big_z

Member
this will be for cost reduction not performance. the only way they increase the specs is if Microsoft plans do something like VR where they offer an all in one box along side the gimp dongle box.

when sony said they could release a better ps4 as well I took the comment to be a regular ps4 but with the vr box guts also inside.
 
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