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Microsoft Teases Project Scorpio for 2017: 8 cores, 6 TeraFLOPs, Backwards Compatible with Xbox. Zen or Jaguar?!
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Microsoft Teases Project Scorpio for 2017: 8 cores, 6 TeraFLOPs, Backwards Compatible with Xbox. Zen or Jaguar?!

This news piece contains speculation, and suggests silicon implementation based on released products and roadmaps.The only elements confirmed for Project Scorpio are the eight cores, >6 TFLOPs, 320 GB/s, it’s built by AMD, and it is coming in 2017. If anyone wants to officially correct any speculation, please get in touch. 

Here’s an announcement at E3 for you. Microsoft just announced Project Scorpio, an internal project to develop the next generation Xbox set to be released in 2017. Project Scorpio is to be backwards compatible with Xbox One, and seems to be directly in line to compete with whatever Sony are supposedly releasing in the near future. But here’s some specifications for you that has my mind in a twist.

In the presentation, Microsoft states that the Project Scorpio SoC will have eight cores, up to 320 GB/s of memory bandwidth, and over 6 TeraFLOPs of power. To put this into context, this is more processing power than the recently announced AMD RX 480 GPU using a GCN 4 based architecture, set to be launched later this month. Microsoft specifically announced that Project Scorpio is to be launched next year, which puts a few things together worth mentioning.

By this time next year, we expect AMD’s Zen microarchitecture to be in full swing, and AMD has already showcased a silicon sample of an 8-core Zen processor. However, the current Xbox line relies on AMD’s ‘cat’ core architecture, which according to current AMD roadmaps doesn’t seem to feature anywhere for 2017. Without a direct confirmation, it’s hard to tell if Project Scorpio is the same Jaguar cores as the Xbox One, or the newer Zen microarchitecture. I would assume we won’t find out until later next year.

Microsoft Console Specification Comparison
  Xbox 360 Xbox One Project Scorpio
CPU Cores/Threads 3/6 8/8 8 / ?
CPU Frequency 3.2GHz 1.6GHz (est) ?
CPU µArch IBM PowerPC AMD Jaguar ?
Shared L2 Cache 1MB 2 x 2MB ?
GPU Cores   768 ?
Peak Shader Throughput 0.24 TFLOPS 1.23 TFLOPS >6 TFLOPs
Embedded Memory 10MB eDRAM 32MB eSRAM ?
Embedded Memory Bandwidth 32GB/s 102GB/s ?
System Memory 512MB 1400MHz GDDR3 8GB 2133MHz DDR3 ?
System Memory Bus 128-bits 256-bits ?
System Memory Bandwidth 22.4 GB/s 68.3 GB/s 320 GB/s
Manufacturing Process   28nm ?

On the GPU side, the current Xbox One uses a 16 CU implementation in the SoC, with two disabled giving 14 CUs. We already know that AMD’s RX 480, running at 5 TFLOPs and built on Global Foundries 14nm FinFET process, runs in at 36 CUs. So Project Scorpio will have easily have more CUs than Xbox One, and judging by the shots in the video, the die size is relatively small. The Xbox One was built on TSMC’s 28nm HP process. At this point it’s still not confirmed if this is an AMD win, however judging by the comments towards backwards compatibility and SoC integration (where CPU and GPU are on the same silicon (or package)), all fingers would point in that direction.

AMD Radeon GPU Specification Comparison
  AMD Radeon RX 480 AMD Radeon R9 390X AMD Radeon R9 390 AMD Radeon R9 380
Stream Processors 2304
(36 CUs)		 2816
(44 CUs)		 2560
(40 CUs)		 1792
(28 CUs)
Texture Units (Many) 176 160 112
ROPs (A Positive Integer) 64 64 32
TFLOPs (FMA) >5 TFLOPs 5.9 TFLOPs 5.1 TFLOPs 3.5 TFLOPs
Boost Clock >1.08GHz 1050MHz 1000MHz 970MHz
Memory Clock 8Gbps GDDR5 5Gbps GDDR5 5Gbps GDDR5 5.5Gbps GDDR5
Memory Bus Width 256-bit 512-bit 512-bit 256-bit
VRAM 4GB/8GB 8GB 8GB 2GB
Transistor Count ? 6.2B 6.2B 5.0B
Typical Board Power 150W 275W 275W 190W
Manufacturing Process GloFo 14nm FinFET TSMC 28nm TSMC 28nm TSMC 28nm
Architecture GCN 4 GCN 1.1 GCN 1.1 GCN 1.2
GPU Polaris 10? Hawaii Hawaii Tonga
Launch Date 06/29/16 06/18/15 06/18/15 06/18/15
Launch Price $199 $429 $329 $199

The memory bandwidth of Project Scorpio, 320 GB/s, is also relatively interesting given the current rates of the RX 480 topping out at 256 GB/s. The 320 GB/s number seems round enough to be a GPU only figure, but given previous embedded memory designs is likely to include some form of embedded memory. How much is impossible to say at this point.

AMD has stated that the RX 480 is a VR Gaming capable card, so given what we’ve said about the Xbox One S tackling VR, it’s clear that Project Scorpio is right on the money. AMD’s business plan as of late is to expand its custom SoC business, and thus sticking Zen and a GCN 4 based architecture on a combined package or die for Microsoft makes a lot of sense. At the RX 480 announcement, it was stated that AMD wants to power the first 100 million VR users, and this would help towards that goal.

It’s worth noting that this news piece contains a decent amount of speculation based on knowledge of the market, and the only elements confirmed for Project Scorpio are the eight cores, >6 TFLOPs, 320 GB/s, and it is coming in 2017. If anyone wants to officially correct any speculation, please get in touch. 

Sources: Ars Technica (Carousel Image), Verge Live Blog (Video Screen Capture)

Additional: We can confirm that Scorpio will be an AMD based design, as expected.

Cortana Coming to Xbox Live
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Cortana Coming to Xbox Live

A short word coming out of E3: despite rolling out a couple of days ago, Microsoft has formally announced Cortana, the Windows-based speech recognition helper (similar to Siri and Google Now) is coming to Xbox Live and the Xbox console platform. This announcement has been suspected for a while as Microsoft integrates more of its technologies together, trying to craft a consistent user experience across as many potential devices as possible. Aside from ‘Xbox On’, all commands can be processed via Kinect or a headset.

According to XboxOneUK via Xbox One Preview Program’s Facebook Page, the following commands are supported:

Xbox One Cortana Commands (June 2016)
Power “Hey Cortana, Xbox on” (only with Kinect)
“Hey Cortana, turn off”
“Hey Cortana, restart”
Media Controls “Hey Cortana, pause the movie”
“Hey Cortana, rewind”
“Hey Cortana, play the next song”
Audio Controls “Hey Cortana, volume up”
“Hey Cortana, mute”
“Hey Cortana, volume down”
Navigation “Hey Cortana, go home”
“Hey Cortana, go back”
“Hey Cortana, show menu”
“Hey Cortana, change view”
“Hey Cortana, switch”
“Hey Cortana, show notifications”
Profile “Hey Cortana, sign in”
“Hey Cortana, sign in as John”
“Hey Cortana, sign out”
Friends “Hey Cortana, is Michael online?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s Amy doing?”
“Hey Cortana, start a party with Ryan”
“Hey Cortana, send a message to Jasmine”
Games and Apps “Hey Cortana, snap friends”
“Hey Cortana, launch settings”
“Hey Cortana, play Forza”
Game captures “Hey Cortana, take a screenshot”
“Hey Cortana, start broadcast”
“Hey Cortana, record that”
TV & OneGuide “Hey Cortana, watch TV”
“Hey Cortana, watch ESPN”
“Hey Cortana, show the OneGuide”
Search  “Hey Cortana, search the web for news about Xbox One”
“Hey Cortana, search the store for Minecraft”
Help “Hey Cortana, help”
“Hey Cortana, what can I say?”
Places “Hey Cortana, show me a map of 123 Main Street”
“Hey Cortana, how far to the Grand Canyon”
“Hey Cortana, when does Starbucks open?”
“Hey Cortana, find cheap pizza restaurants near me”
Facts “Hey Cortana, who is the tallest woman in the world?”
“Hey Cortana, who is the president of Finland?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the capital of Qatar?”
“Hey Cortana, who won the first Super Bowl?”
“Hey Cortana, how tall is Mount Kilimanjaro?”
“Hey Cortana, how many floors are in the Empire State Building?”
“Hey Cortana, who built the White House?”
“Hey Cortana, who are Tom Hanks’ parents?”
“Hey Cortana, when does Fall begin?”
“Hey Cortana, where was Obama born?”
Tracking “Hey Cortana, what time does Alaska 32 depart?”
“Hey Cortana, flight status for Southwest 11?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the status of Hawaiian flight 21?”
Sports  “Hey Cortana, when is the next Seahawks game?”
“Hey Cortana, what is the score of the Packers game?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the Arsenal score?”
“Hey Cortana, who will win the 49ers Cardinals game?”
Show times “Hey Cortana, what are the showtimes for Star Wars?”
“Hey Cortana, what movies are playing near me?”
“Hey Cortana, Daft Punk events near me?”
Finance  “Hey Cortana, convert 60 dollars to yen?”
“Hey Cortana, bitcoin exchange rate?”
“Hey Cortana, how much is Costco stock worth?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the stock market symbol for Ford Motors?”
“Hey Cortana, how are the US markets doing?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the value of Microsoft stock?”
Math  “Hey Cortana, convert 172 pounds to kilograms”
“Hey Cortana, how many meters in 1 kilometer?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the value of cos 60?”
“Hey Cortana, what is the square root of 256?”
Dictionary  “Hey Cortana, define delve”
“Hey Cortana, what is the meaning of spartan?”
“Hey Cortana, translate hello to German”
“Hey Cortana, how do you say how are you in French?”
Weather  “Hey Cortana, is it hot in Rio de Janeiro?”
“Hey Cortana, will it rain this weekend?”
“Hey Cortana, do I need an umbrella?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the weather right now?”

Initially, Cortana will be available for Xbox Live Preview Members, before being launched in supported markets to all users. Initially Cortana will come to Preview users in the US, UK, France, Italy, Germany and Span first. No specific timeframe has been announced as of yet to roll out to all users.

Source: Microsoft E3 and XboxOneUK

Cortana Coming to Xbox Live
  • Comments are Closed

Cortana Coming to Xbox Live

A short word coming out of E3: despite rolling out a couple of days ago, Microsoft has formally announced Cortana, the Windows-based speech recognition helper (similar to Siri and Google Now) is coming to Xbox Live and the Xbox console platform. This announcement has been suspected for a while as Microsoft integrates more of its technologies together, trying to craft a consistent user experience across as many potential devices as possible. Aside from ‘Xbox On’, all commands can be processed via Kinect or a headset.

According to XboxOneUK via Xbox One Preview Program’s Facebook Page, the following commands are supported:

Xbox One Cortana Commands (June 2016)
Power “Hey Cortana, Xbox on” (only with Kinect)
“Hey Cortana, turn off”
“Hey Cortana, restart”
Media Controls “Hey Cortana, pause the movie”
“Hey Cortana, rewind”
“Hey Cortana, play the next song”
Audio Controls “Hey Cortana, volume up”
“Hey Cortana, mute”
“Hey Cortana, volume down”
Navigation “Hey Cortana, go home”
“Hey Cortana, go back”
“Hey Cortana, show menu”
“Hey Cortana, change view”
“Hey Cortana, switch”
“Hey Cortana, show notifications”
Profile “Hey Cortana, sign in”
“Hey Cortana, sign in as John”
“Hey Cortana, sign out”
Friends “Hey Cortana, is Michael online?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s Amy doing?”
“Hey Cortana, start a party with Ryan”
“Hey Cortana, send a message to Jasmine”
Games and Apps “Hey Cortana, snap friends”
“Hey Cortana, launch settings”
“Hey Cortana, play Forza”
Game captures “Hey Cortana, take a screenshot”
“Hey Cortana, start broadcast”
“Hey Cortana, record that”
TV & OneGuide “Hey Cortana, watch TV”
“Hey Cortana, watch ESPN”
“Hey Cortana, show the OneGuide”
Search  “Hey Cortana, search the web for news about Xbox One”
“Hey Cortana, search the store for Minecraft”
Help “Hey Cortana, help”
“Hey Cortana, what can I say?”
Places “Hey Cortana, show me a map of 123 Main Street”
“Hey Cortana, how far to the Grand Canyon”
“Hey Cortana, when does Starbucks open?”
“Hey Cortana, find cheap pizza restaurants near me”
Facts “Hey Cortana, who is the tallest woman in the world?”
“Hey Cortana, who is the president of Finland?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the capital of Qatar?”
“Hey Cortana, who won the first Super Bowl?”
“Hey Cortana, how tall is Mount Kilimanjaro?”
“Hey Cortana, how many floors are in the Empire State Building?”
“Hey Cortana, who built the White House?”
“Hey Cortana, who are Tom Hanks’ parents?”
“Hey Cortana, when does Fall begin?”
“Hey Cortana, where was Obama born?”
Tracking “Hey Cortana, what time does Alaska 32 depart?”
“Hey Cortana, flight status for Southwest 11?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the status of Hawaiian flight 21?”
Sports  “Hey Cortana, when is the next Seahawks game?”
“Hey Cortana, what is the score of the Packers game?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the Arsenal score?”
“Hey Cortana, who will win the 49ers Cardinals game?”
Show times “Hey Cortana, what are the showtimes for Star Wars?”
“Hey Cortana, what movies are playing near me?”
“Hey Cortana, Daft Punk events near me?”
Finance  “Hey Cortana, convert 60 dollars to yen?”
“Hey Cortana, bitcoin exchange rate?”
“Hey Cortana, how much is Costco stock worth?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the stock market symbol for Ford Motors?”
“Hey Cortana, how are the US markets doing?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the value of Microsoft stock?”
Math  “Hey Cortana, convert 172 pounds to kilograms”
“Hey Cortana, how many meters in 1 kilometer?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the value of cos 60?”
“Hey Cortana, what is the square root of 256?”
Dictionary  “Hey Cortana, define delve”
“Hey Cortana, what is the meaning of spartan?”
“Hey Cortana, translate hello to German”
“Hey Cortana, how do you say how are you in French?”
Weather  “Hey Cortana, is it hot in Rio de Janeiro?”
“Hey Cortana, will it rain this weekend?”
“Hey Cortana, do I need an umbrella?”
“Hey Cortana, what’s the weather right now?”

Initially, Cortana will be available for Xbox Live Preview Members, before being launched in supported markets to all users. Initially Cortana will come to Preview users in the US, UK, France, Italy, Germany and Span first. No specific timeframe has been announced as of yet to roll out to all users.

Source: Microsoft E3 and XboxOneUK

Microsoft Announces Xbox One S Console: A Slimmer Design
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Microsoft Announces Xbox One S Console: A Slimmer Design

Today at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Microsoft has lifted the lid on their new Xbox One console design. The Xbox One is part of the eighth generation of consoles, and was originally released in November 2013. The new Xbox One S is assumed to have similar hardware inside, however the design is taking up 40% less volume. Typically when a device changes in volume this much, as with previous generations that have launched slimmer designs, inside there will be a processor on a smaller process node and optimized for power for the same performance. This allows a smaller more efficient design, and in this case Microsoft has integrated the power supply into the console, negating the need for a large power brick.

Other highlights for the launch include HDR and 4K output support, although it is unspecified if this is through HDMI 2.0 or DisplayPort. The main thing here is for streaming video from services such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu rather than running games at 4K. Theoretically it also means that the video outputs can offer enough bandwidth for some of the virtual reality headsets on the market/coming to market. The new Xbox One S will support HDR as well, suggesting that it must also support HDMI 2.0a or DisplayPort 1.4. HDMI 2.0a is more likely, as DisplayPort which isn’t part of the original Xbox design and would suggest that the SoC has been adjusted to support it. Though for consistency we would assume that the core GPU architecture is the same, and is more likely to be HDMI 2.0a. As mentioned by nathanddrews in the comments, HDMI 2.0a can’t support 10-bit 4:4:4 chroma like DisplayPort 1.4, which is what we would expect on a PC-like interface, but it it does do 10-bit in 4:2:0 chroma, which is what we would expect for games and film.

The controller for the Xbox One is also new, featuring a redesigned textured grip on the rear and what looks like at an attempt to improve the ergonomics. The Xbox One Elite Controller was released a while back at $150, but the new controller is designed to mimic the one originally released with the Xbox One. The new controller will be available for worldwide purchase for $60, and now supports Bluetooth for connection to PCs so that USB dongles are not needed. The controllers should still use WiFi Microsoft’s proprietary wireless communication technology to Xbox One as standard, as these controllers need to work with the original Xbox One consoles. 

The Xbox One S can support up to 2 TB of a hard disk drive, suggesting that in the console space having more capacity (for games as well as downloaded shows) is more important than solid state storage. There will be 500GB and 1TB editions as the main set, with 2TB being a special launch edition.

At $299, the One S comes in at the same price as the original Xbox One 500GB console with a one-game bundle when we compare prices on Amazon. In fact, checking the press release shows that $299 is the 500GB edition of the One S, a 1TB model at $349, and the 2TB Special Edition will be available in certain markets at $399 starting from early August. Additionally, the official Xbox One Vertical Stand will be on sale for $20.

When it was first launched, the expected lifetime of a the console generation was around five to seven years, which means that we currently sit in the middle of that timeframe, and if a manufacturer was going to offer an updated model, this would be it. Updating a console design mid-generation is nothing new, we’ve seen it as far back as the original Playstation, however this generation has an additional issue: with everyone talking about VR, no-one is confident that the current generation of consoles is up to the task. So it will be interesting to see how the new Xbox One S will play in this space, now that the video output is up to the task.

Gallery: Xbox One S

Source: Microsoft at E3

 

Microsoft Announces Xbox One S Console: A Slimmer Design
  • Comments are Closed

Microsoft Announces Xbox One S Console: A Slimmer Design

Today at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Microsoft has lifted the lid on their new Xbox One console design. The Xbox One is part of the eighth generation of consoles, and was originally released in November 2013. The new Xbox One S is assumed to have similar hardware inside, however the design is taking up 40% less volume. Typically when a device changes in volume this much, as with previous generations that have launched slimmer designs, inside there will be a processor on a smaller process node and optimized for power for the same performance. This allows a smaller more efficient design, and in this case Microsoft has integrated the power supply into the console, negating the need for a large power brick.

Other highlights for the launch include HDR and 4K output support, although it is unspecified if this is through HDMI 2.0 or DisplayPort. The main thing here is for streaming video from services such as Netflix, Amazon and Hulu rather than running games at 4K. Theoretically it also means that the video outputs can offer enough bandwidth for some of the virtual reality headsets on the market/coming to market. The new Xbox One S will support HDR as well, suggesting that it must also support HDMI 2.0a or DisplayPort 1.4. HDMI 2.0a is more likely, as DisplayPort which isn’t part of the original Xbox design and would suggest that the SoC has been adjusted to support it. Though for consistency we would assume that the core GPU architecture is the same, and is more likely to be HDMI 2.0a. As mentioned by nathanddrews in the comments, HDMI 2.0a can’t support 10-bit 4:4:4 chroma like DisplayPort 1.4, which is what we would expect on a PC-like interface, but it it does do 10-bit in 4:2:0 chroma, which is what we would expect for games and film.

The controller for the Xbox One is also new, featuring a redesigned textured grip on the rear and what looks like at an attempt to improve the ergonomics. The Xbox One Elite Controller was released a while back at $150, but the new controller is designed to mimic the one originally released with the Xbox One. The new controller will be available for worldwide purchase for $60, and now supports Bluetooth for connection to PCs so that USB dongles are not needed. The controllers should still use WiFi Microsoft’s proprietary wireless communication technology to Xbox One as standard, as these controllers need to work with the original Xbox One consoles. 

The Xbox One S can support up to 2 TB of a hard disk drive, suggesting that in the console space having more capacity (for games as well as downloaded shows) is more important than solid state storage. There will be 500GB and 1TB editions as the main set, with 2TB being a special launch edition.

At $299, the One S comes in at the same price as the original Xbox One 500GB console with a one-game bundle when we compare prices on Amazon. In fact, checking the press release shows that $299 is the 500GB edition of the One S, a 1TB model at $349, and the 2TB Special Edition will be available in certain markets at $399 starting from early August. Additionally, the official Xbox One Vertical Stand will be on sale for $20.

When it was first launched, the expected lifetime of a the console generation was around five to seven years, which means that we currently sit in the middle of that timeframe, and if a manufacturer was going to offer an updated model, this would be it. Updating a console design mid-generation is nothing new, we’ve seen it as far back as the original Playstation, however this generation has an additional issue: with everyone talking about VR, no-one is confident that the current generation of consoles is up to the task. So it will be interesting to see how the new Xbox One S will play in this space, now that the video output is up to the task.

Gallery: Xbox One S

Source: Microsoft at E3