Luke and Leo Get Technical (Ep4) – Talking Next-Gen Consoles

With a few months to go until both Microsoft and Sony launch their next generation of consoles, Leo and Luke discuss what we know so far and highlight the different approaches applied by both manufacturers.

As we saw with the previous generation of consoles, both sets of hardware are based around AMD APU hardware. This time, however, the hardware looks to be truly competitive even compared to desktop and mobile components used by PC gamers.

Leo is particularly excited by the hardware specifications and potential level of compute performance claimed by Microsoft for the Xbox Series X. Let's find out why.

Timestamps:

0:16 introduction
0:49 we've been waiting a while
1:24 the specs are awesome!
1:52 what are the processors and graphics?
3:40 how are Microsoft using/cooling the hardware?
5:12 splitting CPU/GPU power budgets
6:30 Xbox and DirectX
8:13 no more re-buying games!
10:04 do teraflops matter? 2Ghz Xbox!
12:05 Sony's different approach and fast storage
15:56 blurring the lines between PC and console
18:36 are the guys most interested in Xbox or PS5?

Luke and Leo's Notes

• It’s funny how some PC gamers simply couldn’t care less about consoles, but others are very interested
• The new consoles have been in the works for a long time, but they’re nearing their launch

Next-Gen Console Hardware

• The hardware specs look genuinely impressive
• AMD Zen 2-based CPU and Next-Gen RDNA GPU in the console APUs
• Will the hardware still seem as powerful in 3 years? Will game streaming have taken over by then?

Microsoft Approach vs Sony Approach

• Microsoft and Sony have different approaches for their hardware
• Microsoft is going for beefy graphics horsepower via a strong cooling solution
• Do you see backwards compatibility as an important factor?
• Luke accidentally punches Leo’s monitor!
• Will Microsoft’s massive Teraflops number give the Xbox the advantage over the PlayStation?
• Sony seems to be putting heavy focus on the storage performance

How will PCs be Affected?

• It seems like consoles are getting more and more competitive with PCs upon each new generation
• Will high-performance APUs such as those for the consoles start to become more common for desktop PC users and gamers?
• Perhaps this level of APU will start to show up and prove worthwhile in laptops

Not Long to Wait

• Are you more excited to see the next PlayStation or the next Xbox?
• Will the new consoles spur a surge in Small Form Factor (SFF) ‘console-killer’ gaming PCs?
• Leo wants his new console to run Adobe Premiere for him!

KitGuru says: With only a few months to wait until the new consoles are released, we are excited to see information keep coming through. The next few months will likely see a spur in SFF ‘console-killer' gaming PCs but it will also be very interesting to see how the PC market is influenced by the transition to vastly more powerful games consoles.

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