XBOX hardware requirements

[Soap Mactavish]

this isnt really an issue but a random curiosity. I looked up the tech specs of an XboX 360 and the hardware inside it isnt very high, at least not as high as a PC and some of the PC requirements. I was wondering, how is an xbox able to run a game with no lag with such low hardware power?

[aeria.]

I'm assuming because of the lack of security and background processes of the xbox 360 OS is a contributing factor. Also keep in mind that games are always visually inferior consoles and the fact that they constantly get the RRoD (internet cafe downstairs are always repairing them )

[aeria.]

Red pretty much summed it up.

Since you're limited to 20 or so buttons on the 360, you're better off on a PC by default.

[vf501]

In addition to what Red said, the Xbox360 is also a closed system designed from the ground up with both Hardware and Software developed simultaneously.  Since the system is so closed knit and its embedded OS was developed specifically for the hardware, there is less resource overhead unlike a PC where the OS has to work across several possible hardware configurations.

Also, as Red stated games run at 720p native or lower, and they also run at 30-60 frames a second compared to the higher numbers a PC is capable of.

Call of Duty4 for instance runs at about 60fps on the 360, the PC version can reach 120-400 fps on a decent to exceptional Gaming PC.

[Soap Mactavish]

I doubt close knit programming caused such a high efficiency in that console. Apple designs all their components yet they don't get that high efficiency and gaming speeds. course I could be wrong

[quik]

Red pretty much summed it up.

Since you're limited to 20 or so buttons on the 360, you're better off on a PC by default.

False. Some people, like me, like those buttons. I like controllers! Especially street fighter on those arcades. So much fun!

[Soap Mactavish]

still tho, even with these factors in mind the hardware on the XboX isnt very good. I would dare say worse than my mac. Even so, they can still play demanding games, like uhh crysis.

[quik]

still tho, even with these factors in mind the hardware on the XboX isnt very good. I would dare say worse than my mac. Even so, they can still play demanding games, like uhh crysis.

Keep in mind it's not meant to be a computer. It's meant to be a console. For fun, nothing more than that. Imagine the computer compared to it. The computer's a monster. However, the console's are meant more for simplicity than anything else.

[Soap Mactavish]

but while i am in a game i am not doing much more than a xbox is.

[Hardcore]

Your doing loads more then the xbox is....your entire OS is running in the background.

And the Mac OS-X is made for many different hardware types just like Windows is.

[aeria.]

False. Some people, like me, like those buttons. I like controllers! Especially street fighter on those arcades. So much fun!

Who uses a controller for street fighter?
Only newbs use a controller, buy yourself a joystick

On topic: The xbox hardware is fairly outdated so more effort goes into the technology to work within the limitations of the hardware. If you take a look at MW2, it uses texture and audio streaming technology to work around the limited power of the xbox. Also there's a smaller resolution, less background processes (xbox dashboard, that's it), and they can get really, really hot. Microsoft forgot that the xbox is merely a PC with failure-prone parts.

The PS3 hardware is very different and is capable of so much more than what most games produce. Games these days come out multiplatform and are just a direct port to the PS3, resulting is decreased performance. It runs on a cell processor that is more or less a simulation of a 6-core processor. The problem is that it is fairly difficult for programmers to take advantage of, which is why they end up only using the one true core that it has, unlike the 3 cores the xbox has. If you take a look at games like the Orange Box for the PS3, you'll see there is a huge decrease of performance to a point where it can be unplayable and in Portal, the loading times are longer than they should be. However if you look at games that were made for the PS3, like Killzone 2 or Uncharted 2, you'll see how visually superior these games can be compared to what you'll find on the xbox. This is because the developers tooks time to take advantage of the unique hardware that the PS3 has.

If you take a look at the screenshots of Gran Turismo 5, you can see the power of the PS3. It shows photo-realistic capabilites that you wouldn't find on an xbox, or potentially on a resonably priced PC today.

My apologizes for my lack of terminology (I'm sure I made a few mistakes that aren't too bad) but you'll get a good idea how it works.

[Soap Mactavish]

i think i understand, so basically xbox games are a little "watered down" to meet the hardware capabilities of the machine. Whereas on PC, performance is on limited?

[vf501]

Xbox games are watered down graphically to meet the RAM and GPU requirements.  Closest equivalent settings for PC would be Low-Medium depending on the game.  The main factor though is the Embedded OS the Xbox has.  It has very few background processes, is designed for a specific and majorly unchanging hardware spec, and is not meant to do more than 1 thing at a time.

The efficiency of a Computer program depends on a few factors.

The hardware
Its purpose
The sophistication of the coding (finessing is harder but better than brute force code)
The OS it is written for
If it is a port from one OS to another
Is it running in a VM or an API translator or Emulator

All those can affect a computer program.

Force Unleashed for instance is very CPU bound.  Since it's a half-arsed port from console, it runs like crap on any CPU that's not Dual Core @3.0GHz or Quad @2.5GHz.  Same goes for GTA IV, but there most recent update addressed allot of issues.  Thing is both games run fine on medium settings at 1920x1080res on old GPUs like the 8800gtx/9800gtx or HD4650/4680