XBOX 2 specs revealed!

The Guts of the Next Box

CPU - Xenon's CPU has three 3.0 GHz PowerPC cores. Each core is capable of two instructions per cycle and has an L1 cache with 32 KB for data and 32 KB for instructions. The three cores share 1 MB of L2 cache. Alpha 2 developer kits currently have two cores instead of three.

GPU - Xenon's GPU is a generation beyond the ATI X800. Its clock speed is 500 MHz and it supports Shader 3.0. Developers are currently working with an alpha 2 GPU. Beta GPU units are expected by May and the final GPU is slated for a summer release. The final GPU will be more powerful than anything on the market today; in game terms, it would handle a game like Half-Life 2 with ease.

System Memory - Xenon will have 256 MB of system RAM. Keep in mind that this number should not be equated to typical PC RAM. The Xbox has 64 MB of system RAM and is a very capable machine.

Optical Drive - As many have speculated, Xenon will not use Blu-Ray or HD-DVD. Games will come on dual-layer DVD-9 discs. While the media is the same as that of the current Xbox, the usable space on each disc is up to 7 GB. The drive is slated to run at 12X.

Memory Units - Xenon will use 64 MB to 1,024 MB memory cards. 8 MB is reserved for system use, leaving a 56 MB to 1,016 MB for user data.
Hard Drive - As many have speculated, Xenon's hard drive is optional. 2 GB of the drive will be used as game cache. The final drive size is still being determined.

Camera - Xenon will have a USB 2.0 camera. It's capable of 1.2 megapixel still shots and VGA video. Photos can be used in-game and for gamer profiles. The camera can also be used for video chat. It's unknown if the Xenon camera will allow for EyeToy-like gameplay. Developers are currently using a simulated camera driver.

Sound Chip - Xenon does not have an audio chip in the traditional sense. Decompression is handled by hardware, while the rest of the chores are handled by software. DirectSound3D has been dropped in favor of X3DAudio. The former was deemed too inflexible.

 

Booooring! I'll wait for the PS with the Cell @ 10 instructions per cycle.

 

V cool So when is it expected to be unveiled/ship and how do these specs compare with the PS3?

<edit>LOL, OK, apart from the 10 instructions per cycle... will MS really let the spec of XBX2 be any less than the PS3... I sincerely hope not</edit>

 

I just bought a PS2 at Christmas after deliberating about which system to get (yes I am way behind but I'm not young anymore so I don't buy the latest and greatest)

I like XBox but in the end the backwards compatability was a big thing. I Hope PS continue with this and allows PS2 games to be played in the PS3. The smartest thing they did in my opinion.

I don't think PS would have evolved as much if it wasn't for the XBox threat so I hope they keep adding features.

 

Right there, yfs1, the PS2's backward's compatibility was such a good move - I've got a SNES, PS1 and Xbox, plus Megadrive, Saturn & Dreamcast - if I want to play any great games from those platforms then the individual console has to get dusted off LOL

 

Since we are naming names:

Vic 20 (with cartridges), Atari 2600, NES, SNES, Nintento 64, PS2

I went away from Nintendo (unfortunately) because although I liked a lot of their games, they were making less and less of them. I think they will end up going the route of SEGA although they will keep their highly profitable handheld line for a lot longer.

PS. The Dreamcast was awesome but they underestimated PS and got whacked

 

LOL, wicked stuff, yfs1. Vic20, wasn't that 20k ram, before the Commodore 64 came out with a whopping... 64K ram ?! Still got my BBC B somewhere too

One good thing about the Dreamcast - when Sony launched the PS2 with DVD drive, Sega bundled the DC with a standalone DVD player (mp3, SVCD etc) and mine's still running nicely some 5 years later.

So you got N64 - with StarWing/StarFox I guess - loved that game. And an Atari too - god, I'm so jealous Right, eBay here we come

 

Favourite All Time Game is STILL Mike Tysons Punchout on the NES (no Super was not as good as the original)

I still play it all the time.

 

That Tyson game wasn't anything like "Track & Field" that Peter Kaye goes on about so much is it?

LOL, what about "Zelda:A Link to the Past" on the SNES - great game. I used to skip work with a bottle of port and a pouch of... er... baccy to play that

 

I thin eBaums World has a video of a guy finishing the original Mario Brothers in like 7 minutes. Its really funny.

<<added>> http://www.ebaumsworld.com/smb3beat-r.html <</added>

 

XBOX?? PS2?? Pfffffffft..I still play Sonic on my Sega Megadrive

 

yfs1: Mario in 7 minutes!!! superb find dude, I'll let you know in a mo - not bad D/L speed for an 18Mb file...

Mella: Hey, bunnygirl, I thought rabbits and hedgehogs were incompatible...

 

Teehee!! I play against the hedgehog - I am Tails. Super duper flying fox.

Woops, I am like a century behind in these contraptions. I still have my Super Nintendo, and I'm addicted to Driver, Crash Banjicoot and Spyro the dragon on Playstation 1.

I am too cooooool for y'allll

 

I'm not buying it unless it ships with halo 3, and it had better not be an unbalaced rush job. Say what you will, halo 2 has some poor design elements.

 

I haven't touched my xbox since I had a baby 2 years ago. Crazy how things change! I can no longer afford to lose 2 days straight to a video game, but lord how I want to.

Halo 1 was the bomb.

 

i was teh master of halo 1, no1 in my dorm could come close. There was a fluidity to it that didn't even make it feel like shooting.

Now halo 2 is out and you win by spamming, and they put in those gay jackal snipers and the new precision weapons to ensure that spammers win. If you don't get a precision weapon, you damn well better be lucky.

In halo one, I could beat almost anything with a plasma pistol if I could pick the engagement, nowadays you stand no chance, it's so unbalanced.

I'm stuck at level 18 in halo 2, but I'd be a helluva a lot higher if they had live enabled halo 1.

My gamertag is lll David lll so all DPers who play more than once a month, feel free to add me.

 

wow the specs are nice it will blow away some of the competion i cant wait to have a go at it

I have a xbox now and with the online feature i love it so it should be fun when xbox 2 comes out

 

Yeah, and like david_sakh says, Xbox 2 and a "proper" version of Halo 3 will be v cool indeed Ideal way to launch Xbox 2, people will go mad for it

Though with the time it took Bungie to come up with Halo 2, it could be a long time comin'... it seems more likely the Xbox 2 will come out first, but that depends on how good the PS3 really is when it launches...

 

Awsome !!! great find !!,,,,i remember taking 36 hours out of my life just to get thru the first level
even now looking at it...it was going faster than my eyes could move

resident evil part 1 on the station was another 48 hour stint...
never even thought the medallions would be in the books you haven't got someone completing that in 5 mins have you???...cos that would really p*ss me off

 

]

bungie really only worked on the game about 12 months. The wasted a lot of time on the demo and marketing shit and sitting on their asses. Maybe they have been developing halo 3 all along, tho (at least after the storyboards were written), the technology is certainly there
.