The proof will be in the pudding, however, if true it would imply a much later entry for the Xbox 360's successor that I had originally thought. This type of capability would put the '720' squarely into the 2013-2014 launch window placing it closer to the expectations of outspoke analysts like Pachter (cringe) - that is, unless AMD and Microsoft have something up their sleeve. Either way, the future is very exciting for gaming.
19 July 2011
AMD hints next Xbox will have ray-traced graphics
In one of those cheeky 'off-the-record' comments, AMD has told the Examiner that the next Xbox (aka '720') will have graphics that rival the quality of the CGI found in James Cameron's 'Avatar.' Well then, this would imply ray-traced graphics although the comment is slightly confusing. Firstly, AMD hasn't even been confirmed as the GPU developer for Microsoft's next console (although we could place a pretty safe bet that they will be) and such technology doesn't quite exist today - although it's getting close.
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I'm still less interested in the graphics, even if Raytracing definitely is a HUGE leap forward. What I would like to see more focus on, is durability and heat dispersion. With a GPU capable of pulling off raytracing, I hesitate to ask what kind of cooling that's going to need - and again with such small form factors, there's a significant risk that overheating will once again be the box-killing ghost haunting the next generation. I don't think we should accept that as consumers.
ReplyDeleteAmen to that, Christian. We definitely don't want to see a repeat of the problems with either the launch 360s OR the launch PS3s. Having said that, a lot of this comes down to design and I don't think we're talking ridiculous grunt here. With 22nm chips already being produced, there should be sufficient hardware accomodation for ray-trace capable machines in 2-3 years time.
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