Playstation 4 Announced, Diablo 3 and more coming

[TheWesDude]

... Lol? You seriously think they tacked on 4GB of GDDR5 (which isn't dirt cheap like DD3) that they can't even use?

AMD's Jaguar architecture is 64-bit. Of course, whatever OS they're sticking on the thing has to be 64-bit as well, but it's a safe bet it will be.

Also, this is a unified memory pool so it's not just a question of if games need it. The system's OS is going to use up some, and given that they're going to enable background downloading and having a game open in the background while you multitask, having a large enough pool of memory available is a must. 8GB is surprisingly foward-looking, given it's a console. Not to mention, this should hopefully mean there won't be ugly low-res textures all over the place, which happens with current console games primarily due to the anemic memory.

actually yes, they can. computer hardware has been 64 bit for a very long time, since mid to late 1990s to be honest. if your computer hardware is older than say 97 or 98, it is 64 bit. if you are using a 32 bit operating system, that is another thing entirely. and please note, that due to 32 bit operating systems work, if you are running 64 bit hardware and 32 bit operating system/programs, it will cause premature hardware failure as you will be burning up the "first 32 bits" of your 64 bit hardware far more than someone who runs 64 bit OS and applications. thats just the nature of the beast.

as they control the memory and hardware directly, they can setup what are called "memory pools". plus it appears they added Microsofts method of extensible memory which attempts to "fake" higher bit memory addressing. in XP microsoft used 42 bit memory handlers, thats how it was able to address up to 4 gigs of ram in the first place.

8 gig total unified ram is broken down thusly:
3 gigs for OS
1 gig for video ram
2 gigs in memory pool 1 for applications
2 gigs in memory pool 2 for applications

TheWesDude;
Isn't there a weird semi-parallel process design that uses 2 layer ram use? In this case using 2sys+2vid to play the game and layer an additional 3(ish) gig expand the processed assets with additional layers (bumpmaps, AA, soft shadows, sound depth and so on)

yes, i have heard they setup discrete memory pools to fake the ability to see/use higher than 2 gigs, but to really make the most of it the OS has to use the higher than 32 bit memory addressing, such as microsofts 42 bit system they used in XP which allowed it to see said 4 gigs of ram.

in fact, i believe all they have to do is expand microsofts methodology to 46 bit memory addressing to see/use the full 8 gigs on a 32 bit platform without using the memory pool idea.

keep in mind, i am not sure if "memory pool" is actually what thats called, its just how i think of it.

 

[TheWesDude]

yes, i know this technically would be a double post, but this is more pertinent information that is along a different slant than the above post, with details.

http://www.itproportal.com/2013/02/22/playstation-4-tech-specs-analysed/

the big thing on this page is the following:

that CPU is based off AMDs 4 year old laptop CPU with a few newer CISC abilities.

but the biggest thing:
the physical memory addressing

we know the hardware is 64 bit. the memory addressing is part of the OS, not the hardware. so the OS can address up to 40 bits of memory, which gets you to the 8 gigs unified memory. if they were using a 64 bit OS, then it would have 64 bits of physical memory addressing. the very fact it is not is giving evidence that it will be on a 32 bit OS with extended memory addressing like microsoft did in XP up to 40 bits.

so, the CPU is 4+ year old amd laptop cpu, and the GPU is a 4+ year old amd laptop gpu.

and yet they have the balls to say:

At best, the PS4 has the on-paper spec of a mid-to-high-end gaming PC.

last time i checked, a mid level gaming PC had more power than a laptop based on 4+ year old technology.

keep in mind, sony has already admitted they cannot draw a 1080 HD picture ( which is what the blu-ray standard is ) at 60 frames without downscaling 50%. ( that means the opposite of AA ).

and yet people are excited?

i guess if you compare to the xbox 360 or the PS3, these specs are huge and astounding.

as a PC gamer, i find it hard to be anything but puzzled and mystified over using such old PC technology.

 

[Akratus]

Why are you puzzled and mystified? It's cheap.
Playstation three didn't sell well with it's high price, what did you expect them to do?

 

[Wintermind]

There's a certain amount of interesting things in console hardware and optimization and the like, but that's not what console people are interested in.

 

[TheWesDude]

plus, you have to keep in mind that with these specs, it means that the console makers are moving to amd/radeon video cards.

it means that the games that get ported to PC from consoles will be more "optimized" for radeon video cards.

 

[FearMonkey]

Why are you puzzled and mystified? It's cheap.
Playstation three didn't sell well with it's high price, what did you expect them to do?

It sold ~70M+ units worldwide with its high price, which I would consider very good as it's estimated to be about 1M units behind 360 which came out a year ahead of PS3. *shrug*

 

[Stanislao Moulinsky]

Why are you puzzled and mystified? It's cheap.
Playstation three didn't sell well with it's high price, what did you expect them to do?

It sold ~70M+ units worldwide with its high price, which I would consider very good as it's estimated to be about 1M units behind 360 which came out a year ahead of PS3. *shrug*

A far cry from the numbers of the PS1-2, though. Given the strenght of the brand, with a cheaper price, less esoteric hardware and better planned initial phase (the first year was a total drought) Sony would have reigned again.

Also, just for the lulz, the PS2 has sold 50 millions consoles since the PS3 entered the market.

 

[FearMonkey]

Also, just for the lulz, the PS2 has sold 50 millions consoles since the PS3 entered the market.

The PS2 will never die!!!









Except that they stopped manufacturing them now.

 

[Wintermind]

That's because everyone has like two.

I'll just be happy that games will start being made that are capable of thinking computers have more than a handful of RAM.