XBox 360 vs. PS3 spec Tech Head-to-Head

[dubb93]

Some of this may be hard to read, I don't really know how to transfer the table over to this board, but some people may not be able to click the link so I went ahead and copied it over here....

hxxp://hardware.gamespot.com/Story-ST-15016-1985-x-x-x

Everyone was expecting Sony to deliver a technological powerhouse with its PlayStation 3 debut here at E3 and Sony sure didn't disappoint. The PlayStation 3 combines the power of the Cell processor and the Nvidia-based RSX graphics processor to create what Sony Computer Entertainment's Ken Kutaragi calls a "supercomputer for computer entertainment."

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In this corner…PlayStation 3!

Which Numbers Are Meaningful?

However, whenever you look at console technical specs, you also have to take them with a whole truckload of salt since the game console market has a long history of making a big deal out of numbers that don't really matter, or even making up numbers that have a tenuous grasp on reality. Remember the internal data precision arguments? That specification measurement became useless fairly quickly once marketing departments start adding different specification numbers together to get up into 64-bit or 128-bit range (OK, Turbografix started doing it back when we were still in the 16-bit era).

Console specifications are a lot like statistics in that you can really change perceptions by paying special attention in selecting what you measure and how you go about measuring it. Microsoft may have been the first manufacturer to announce its next-generation console, but in order to gain that advantage Microsoft also had to reveal its console specs first--giving a fat target-list for Sony's marketing team. Do you really think that Sony would have even mentioned the 51-billion-dot-product-operations per second number during the PS3 press conference if Microsoft hadn't boasted that the Xbox 360 could do 9-million-dot-product-operations per second?

We're not saying to ignore specifications altogether--most of them are relevant in some way or another. And we're going to talk about the specifications that really jumped out at us at first glance. Let's start with the processor. Sony has announced that the PlayStation 3 will have a 3.2GHz Cell processor that consists of a PowerPC-based core with seven synergistic processing units. The PS3 spec-sheet says that there's an eighth SPE reserved for redundancy--whatever that means. The Xbox 360, in comparison, has a multicore PowerPC processor that has three dual-threaded cores that can handle six total threads at a time. You might be able to call the Cell's SPE overgrown math units, but we think Sony's Cell processor wins from a brute power perspective.

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…and in this corner, Xbox 360!

Apples to Apples on Graphics?

The Xbox 360's ATI graphics core also throws a wrench into our graphics comparison since it uses a new-fangled Unified Shader Architecture that mixes up pixel- and vertex-pipelines and makes comparison to older video card technology very difficult. The Xbox 360 graphics core may have 48-pipelines, but they aren't nearly as powerful as traditional dedicated pixel pipelines.

The PlayStation 3 has a pretty strong Nvidia graphics processor, but you can see how Sony may be afraid of the specification sheet comparison by the pipeline number conveniently omitted from the PS3 graphics specifications. We're guessing that the RSX graphics processors has a traditional, non-unified shader engine, so it likely has a smaller total "pipeline" number than the ATI chip. Even if the RSX's normal pipelines are more powerful than the Xbox 360's pipes, Sony doesn't want to risk printing a lower "pipeline" number since people won't understand that it isn't an apples-to-apples comparison.

So how many traditional pipelines does the RSX have? Sony has revealed that the RSX GPU has a 550MHz core clock and has over 300 million transistors. Sony has also stated that the chip is more powerful than two GeForce 6800 Ultra cards put together. Your first guess might be that Nvidia simply doubled the pipeline number on the 6800 Ultra to make the RSX, but you also have to remember that the Ultra only clocked in at 400MHz. If the "double" performance measurement is based on fill-rate performance rather than hardware, the clock speed increase up to 550MHz is clear sign that the hardware improvement isn't from a pure doubling of pipelines. We're guessing that the actual pipeline count is going to be at 24, which is about right for 300 million transistors and, at 550MHz, has just a slightly larger fill-rate than two GeForce 6800 Ultras clocked at 400MHz.

Memory and Media

From a memory standpoint, both systems are roughly equal with about 512MB of memory dedicated to system and graphics. The Xbox 360 has Unified Memory Architecture that lets the CPU and GPU share the system's 512MB of memory. The PlayStation 3 on the other had has 256MB of XDR memory and 256MB of GDDR3 memory dedicated to graphics. We still have to take a closer look at the memory bandwidth differences, but game developers will be happy with the graphics bandwidth and memory space available for both systems.

The PlayStation 3 comes with an array of data storage and transfer features. Whereas the PlayStation 2 only supported a memory card and the optional hard drive attachment (for a brief time), the PlayStation 3 supports numerous forms of portable media. The PlayStation 3 has 6 USB 2.0 ports, a memory stick slot, an SD slot, and, in stark contrast to many of Sony’s other consumer electronics products, the system actually supports compact flash. Sony even saved a space for a removable 2.5” hard drive.

The Xbox 360, in comparison, doesn't have as much in the way of media support. It has two memory card slots and a handful of USB ports that are rumored to accommodate a host of devices like the iPod, USB memory sticks, and even Sony’s own PSP. Don't forget that Bill Gates's new system can also reach across the network to access media from local, Windows-based PCs.

Sony and Xbox took different strategies when it came to decide on an optical drives. Sony decided to use the PS3 to further its own Blu-ray format, which allows for discs that can hold about 54GB each. The Xbox 360 will support dual layer DVDs, which can hold about 9GB worth of data. Both consoles will support older media formats such as CD-ROMs, conventional DVDs, and user-created DVDs. You'll impress a lot of ladies with the Blu-ray line, but the Xbox 360's normal DVD should serve you just fine in the near future.
A/V and Networking

Sony’s PlayStation 3 provides numerous A/V output hookups. The upcoming console comes with not one but two HDMI outputs, and PlayStation 3 will be able to utilize both at the same time to output two 1080p video streams at the same time allowing for dual-screen HDTV gaming. Microsoft hasn't finalized the console AV outputs yet, but we do know that the Xbox 360 has the more practical offerings with 720p and 1080i support. Both systems process multi-channel surround sound audio in software.

Network connectivity is going to be an enormous part of the next generation of consoles since destroying your neighbor in Halo 2 is fun, but making that random stranger cry on Xbox Live is priceless. Sony’s Playstation 3 comes with a built-it Ethernet adapter, and also includes an 802.11 b/g wireless adapter. The Xbox 360 comes with a built-in Ethernet adapter, but the 802.11 a/b/g wireless adapter will cost extra.

That's it for our quick, spec-sheet driven comparison, but keep your eyes on GameSpot for more hardware updates from E3! In the meantime, peruse the spec comparison chart below, read our massive news article covering the PlayStation 3 launch, and discuss the announcements.

Compare:
Product Name	Sony PlayStation 3	Microsoft Xbox 360
Release Date	2006	Q4 2005
Editors' rating
Price Range	n/a	n/a
Basic Specs
Controller	Bluetooth Wireless	2.4 GHz Wireless
Graphics Core Clock Speed	550 MHz	500MHz
Graphics Processor	RSX "Reality Synthesizer" (300 Million Transistors, 90nm)	Custom ATI Processor
Video Memory	256 MB GDDR at 700 MHz	10MB Embedded DRAM (512MB UMA)
Product Line	Sony PlayStation 3	Microsoft Xbox 360
Resolution	480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p	480p, 480i, 720p, 1080i
Controller Ports	Supports up to 7 Bluetooth Controllers	Supports up to 4 Controllers
Digital Media Formats	Compatible with CR-ROM, CDR+W, DVD, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD+R	DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, WMA CD, MP3 CD, JPEG Photo CD
Game Media Format	Blu-ray BD-ROM	Dual-Layer DVD-ROM
Integrated Communications	802.11 B/G Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0	802.11 A/B/G Wi-Fi ready, adapter not included
Other I/O Connectors	Ethernet (RJ45), 6 USB 2.0, CF Slot (Type I, II), SD Slot (Regular, Compact), Memory Stick, Memory Stick Duo, 1 x Optical Audio	3 USB 2.0, 2 Memory Slots, Ethernet Port (RJ45)
Plug and Play Storage	2.5in Removable Hard Drive (Unkown Size)	2-Memory Slots, Support Starting at 64MB, 20GB Removable Hard Drive
Standard AV Output Connectors	2 x HDMI, 1 x AV	n/a
L2 Cache	512KB L2 cache	1MB
Processor	Cell processor (234 Million Transistors)	Custom IBM PowerPC CPU
Processor (2nd)	1 Core, 7 x SPE 3.2GHz (256KB SRAM per SPE), 7 x 128b 128 SIMD GPRs,	n/a
Processor Clock Speed	3.2 GHz	3.2GHz (3 Cores)
Built-in Features	Backwards compatible with PlayStation 2, Stands Vertically or Horizontally	Stands Vertically or Horizontally, Interchangable Face Plates
Main Memory Bandwidth	25.6GB/s	22.4GB/s
Audio Performance	Dolby 5.1, DTS, LPCM	32-bit, 256 Channel
Surround Sound	Dolby 5.1	Multichannel Output
Fill Rate (pixels)	n/a	16 Gigasamples/s using 4X MSAA
Fill Rate (triangles)	n/a	500 Million/s
Decompression Channels	n/a	320 Independent Decompression Channels

[Marc Vaughan]

Much as magazines and suchlike would love to compare the two consoles you can't really - they're very different beasts and have very different strengths and weaknesses.

Its impossible to say which would have the most power programmed 'properly' as it stands simply because a lot depends on the actual architecture involved (ie. how efficiently the busses communicate on the multi-processor parts of the architecture etc.) ...

From what I know of both they've got oodles of power to spare and as with most consoles just as programmers start to master them and squeeze their potential the next big thing will be released

[TazFTW]

Most interesting spec is what IGN posted (PS3 on the left, XBox 360 on the right),

Dimensions

About 13.5" x 3.25"

About 10.25" x 2.5"

Yep, the XBox is smaller.

I can't believe Microsoft sold out. The 360 was supposed to be able to crush a 5 year old.

[dubb93]

actually i'm most interested in the effects the Blu-ray BD-ROM could have on PS3 games. I know many times developers have been forced to cut things off of games b/c they simply would not fit on the disk[i look at all wrestling games as well as MSG3] here. I belive that most games that will be released on both consoles will be shooting at the 9GB limit of the Xbox disk, but that they could very well end up being forced to cut some things that may end up fitting on the Blu-ray disk. I find that very interesting. Oh well, we won't know the effects of it for 3 or 4 years probably, and by then I'll have both of them.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by dubb93

actually i'm most interested in the effects the Blu-ray BD-ROM could have on PS3 games. I know many times developers have been forced to cut things off of games b/c they simply would not fit on the disk[i look at all wrestling games as well as MSG3] here. I belive that most games that will be released on both consoles will be shooting at the 9GB limit of the Xbox disk, but that they could very well end up being forced to cut some things that may end up fitting on the Blu-ray disk. I find that very interesting. Oh well, we won't know the effects of it for 3 or 4 years probably, and by then I'll have both of them.

A key thing to keep in mind is load times. You just can't load 500+MB off a DVD, all THAT fast. You're either streaming the level and textures (which can be difficult as you're likely already streaming sound), or doing some weird chop-up mechanism, or having more on-the-fly calculated content.

I'm not so sure the 9GB will be the limiting factor you think it is. For some titles, sure, but maybe not as many as you think. And for many of those, breaking the game in half and shipping on 2 (3?) DVDs won't be a very big problem.

[dawgfan]

Yeah, in terms of actual gameplay I have a hard time imagining the 9GB DVD format will be limiting in any significant way. I could see where extras like more cut-scene movies or actual digitized video might night have room, or extra feature type things like behind-the-scenes stuff and whatnot, but if that latter kind of content is particularly desirable and doesn't fit on the game disks I would imagine Microsoft would find a way to host that content on Live and make it available for download to the hard drive on their free Silver level Live service, or like gstelmack said the software publishers could package their games on multiple disks.

[ZXTT]

I wonder about the actual performance of the CPUs in these things. Everyone has been going on about "as fast as high-end PCs", but consider this little bit of info about a completely different family of CPUs. This is for the Nios II, a soft-core CPU for use in Altera PGAs. There are three models, Economy, Standard and Fast:

hxxp://www.altera.com/products/ip/processors/nios2/cores/ni2-processor_cores.html

Compare the max MHz, DMIPS and size. Would you want the "fastest" Nios II (in MHz)?

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by ZXTT

I wonder about the actual performance of the CPUs in these things. Everyone has been going on about "as fast as high-end PCs", but consider this little bit of info about a completely different family of CPUs. This is for the Nios II, a soft-core CPU for use in Altera PGAs. There are three models, Economy, Standard and Fast:

hxxp://www.altera.com/products/ip/processors/nios2/cores/ni2-processor_cores.html

Compare the max MHz, DMIPS and size. Would you want the "fastest" Nios II (in MHz)?

I believe you need to look no further than the fact that the Xbox 360 sports 3 processors while the PS3 only sports 1. All four processors clock the same speed, but the 1 processor is apparently as/more powerfull than the 3 combined working together.

[jeff061]

A lot of buzz surrounding the cell architecture of the CPU in the PS3.

Whatever, its really just buzz created by marketing. Graphically I doubt either will be a slouch compared to the other. The PS3 controller look god awful though.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by dubb93

I believe you need to look no further than the fact that the Xbox 360 sports 3 processors while the PS3 only sports 1. All four processors clock the same speed, but the 1 processor is apparently as/more powerfull than the 3 combined working together.

The PS3 has only one 'main' processor but has 7 sub-processors* which can in theory share the load by doing a lot of work themselves - I haven't had a play on the platform yet so I can't say more than that about it and have no idea of the practicality of using them, ease of writing code for doing so etc. ....

*This is the 'cell' stuff which comes up in the hype now and then, dunno the whole setup of the machine (won't look into it in detail unless we decide to look at it for a game) but I'd expect that its likely that these processors are 'cores' more or less (ie. share some elements between processors) in the same manner that the Xbox has 3 processors but 6 cores (ie. each CPU is more or less the same as 2 processors but shares bus etc. between the two processor cores ... same idea as with HT Intel machines).