Xbox One vs PlayStation 4: on performance and the agony of choice

The closer the release of Sony's PlayStation 4 and Xbox One Microsoft consoles, the stronger the agony of choosing the best candidate for a future purchase. On paper, the PlayStation 4 looks more like a game console, in turn, the Xbox One looks more like not just a game console, but a whole media center. However, the closer the release becomes, the more people have questions about the difference in the performance of both new products, why is it there and how can it be compensated?

When we learned the technical characteristics of both systems, it immediately became clear that the performance of the PlayStation 4 in games would be higher than the same performance in games on the Xbox One. It should be noted that after the announcement of the technical features of the new-generation consoles, having familiarized themselves with the reaction of the players and future buyers, Sony and Microsoft decided to quickly change some of the characteristics of their set-top boxes. Therefore, now, just before the release, it would be good to review and compare all the key features that play a large part in performance.

Pure Emerald Kernels

Both consoles use 8-core processors based on the Jaguar energy-efficient microarchitecture developed by AMD specifically for compact mobile computers and tablets. Since the announcement of the technical characteristics of its Xbox One, Microsoft decided to overclock the processor from 1.6 GHz to 1.75 GHz. Despite the fact that Sony has not yet officially announced the frequency of its PS4 processor, most consider that the chip clock frequency is still the same base 1.6 GHz. Some will think that the difference of 150 MHz is insignificant, but in the case of a general picture of performance, this 150 MHz will also contribute.

Madness of colors

When it comes to graphics-based consoles, the picture emerges for each individual case completely different. Both consoles use AMD Radeon graphics chips. The frequency of the Xbox One GPU is 853 MHz, the PlayStation 4 graphics works at 800 MHz. But more importantly, the PlayStation 4 graphics chip has 18 computing units, and the Xbox One GPU has only 12. In total, the Sony console uses a total of 1,152 stream processors, in contrast to 768, which are used by the Microsoft console. If we consider the issue from the point of view of performance in games, in which the most basic work rests on the graphics subsystem of the console, it turns out that the PlayStation 4 is almost one and a half times higher than the Xbox One. Portal IGN notes that an important indicator here is the frequency of the graphics core, which in total gives about 40 percent advantage over the competitor.

Need to think

In a conversation about memory, it becomes more difficult to understand what is better. Both consoles are equipped with 8 GB of RAM. However, in the case of the Xbox One, DDR3 memory is used. In the case of the PlayStation - GDDR5, which promises to increase the overall speed of graphics processing. The stumbling block in this case is the additional 32 MB of ESRAM ultrafast memory used in the Xbox One, and which in theory should outweigh the balance in terms of actual bandwidth towards the console from Microsoft.

To the smallest details

If you followed all the news (starting from the earliest ones) about the prefixes of the new generation, you probably saw the messages that already made it clear who is cooler here, dotting all the “i”. Nowhere are the differences in performance distinguished so clearly and clearly as in the case of resolution, which consoles support when it comes to cross-platform games. A simple example is the game Call of Duty: Ghosts. The manufacturers announced that in order for the game to go on the console very smoothly at 60 frames per second, the Xbox One had to use the native resolution of 720p. In turn, the version for the PlayStation 4 is able to go to 1080p (although it should be noted that some journalists who got the opportunity to get to PS4 and Call of Duty: Ghosts before everyone else, noted some subsidence in frames). The same difference exists in the Battlefield 4 game. The game from DICE on the Xbox One will work at 720p, and on the PlayStation 4 - 900p.

Some try to justify the Xbox One, saying that the situation will be helped by the same 32 MB of ESRAM memory, but it is already becoming clear that the memory set used in the Xbox One cannot cope with the amount of information needed for 1080p quality support. As a result, game manufacturers will have to face some difficulties in developing game titles. Yes, and this ESRAM is more likely to add headaches when optimizing.

Ease of development

Certainty is not in it yet. Some believe that the final performance of the Xbox One can not be assessed only by the first wave of games that will be released on it. However, here it should be noted that Xbox One inherently has two different sets of memory, and not one, as is the case with the PlayStation 4. Unfortunately, in the production of game titles, concepts such as deadlines are not alien to developers. And an important factor in the quality and timely performance of their work is the simplicity of iron, for which games are developed. And the complexity of optimization is now seen precisely from the Xbox One.

Are the possibilities endless?

At the moment, the Xbox One looks weaker than its competitor. However, the Xbox One has another trump card, which in theory will allow it to impose a very serious competition to the console from Sony. Accessories. The new Kinect sensor, which will come bundled with the Xbox One, allows a person to switch between the game, TV shows and Skype messenger with simple voice control. The usefulness of this function in the Russian context so far leaves some questions (“will the team need to speak in English or in Russian?”, For example). But most importantly, 10 percent of the graphics subsystem of the console is used for the operation of these functions. The trouble is that the problem of compensating for the loss of these resources Microsoft, most likely, is going to lay on the game developers themselves.

At one time, many developers have noted that in comparison with the PlayStation 3, developing games for the Xbox 360 is much easier. During this time, Sony realized its mistakes and deciding that the story should not happen again, created a game console with a simple architecture. The irony is that Microsoft did exactly the opposite. Now it will be harder to develop games for its console. It will be shameful and shameful to realize that a different set of memory and a wider focus of entertainment features, which are more inherent in the media hub, but not in the game console, ultimately overshadowed the importance of its performance in games.

Is it in graphics?

Trying to somehow hush up the problems with the resolution, Microsoft began to talk about the breadth of opportunities Xbox One.

“Power is a subjective indicator,” said Microsoft Vice President Phil Spencer in an interview with Shack News.

"We are looking at the question from all the possibilities that we have given the console: our investment in cloud services, Kinect, the console operating system, which allows us to quickly switch between different tasks, that the console has become a full-fledged all-in-one system entertainment.

It is quite possible that everything is true, but this may not be enough to convince the main target audience of the console - ordinary players.

Differences in the performance of both consoles without any doubt really exist. But how great these differences are, only time can show. However, even in spite of this, Microsoft’s positioning of its device as a full-fledged entertainment media hub can already seem to some as a convincing argument in favor of its choice. As for ordinary gamers who do not need numerous media functions, but simply need a good gaming console of a new generation, they may eventually be disappointed. Everything will depend on the pre-order for which system they have already done.

Release of the PlayStation 4 in the United States will be held on November 15. Europe and Australia will receive the prefix on November 29th. Xbox One will go on sale in these territories on November 22, in Russia the prefix will have to wait until next year. But how many will wait?

The article is based on materials https://hi-news.ru/consoles/xbox-one-protiv-playstation-4-o-proizvoditelnosti-i-mukax-vybora.html.