Chip designer AMD has developed a smaller, more cost-effective 20nm version of the main processor found in Xbox One, opening the door to a cheaper 'slim' version of the Microsoft console. The news comes from the LinkedIn bio of AMD's senior manager of SOC (system on chip) physical design, as discovered by Mosen from the Beyond3D forums. The entry in question says he "successfully planned and executed the first APU for Microsoft's Xbox One Game Console in 28nm technology and a cost-reduced derivative in 20nm technology."
Technology becomes smaller and more powerful according to the density of transistors crammed onto a piece of silicon, with production processes measured at the nanometre level. Currently, the Xbox One and PS4 processors are fabricated at 28nm, meaning each transistor measures 28 thousand-millionths of a metre. The new chip design shrinks that to 20nm. According to TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) - the factory that physically makes the Xbox One and PS4 processors - shrinking down the same chip provides 30 per cent higher speed or 25 per cent less power than the existing processor, at 1.9 times the density.
The main processor inside Xbox One is one of its most expensive components, with the current 28nm version estimated to cost Microsoft something in the region of $50 per chip. Physically reducing the size by 1.9x means more processors can fit onto the silicon wafers used in production, lowering costs. We can safely assume Microsoft's objectives with the revised processor will be to provide exactly the same performance as the current model (a 30 per cent performance boost offered by the smaller chip is an intriguing thought, but unlikely to materialise), while the reduced power consumption makes for a cooler, more efficient console.
This opens the door to a much smaller cooling assembly and a thinner chassis, which in turn leads to cost benefits throughout the whole manufacturing and distribution process - smaller consoles means less packaging, meaning cost savings in physically shipping the units out from China to retail markets worldwide.
