Next Xbox rumored to have 16-core processor
updated 04:35 pm EDT, Fri April 13, 2012
Next-gen Xbox console to get 16-core CPU?
The next-generation Xbox console, which may or may not be called the Xbox 720, may be powered by a 16-core CPU, SlashGear reported on Friday. That CPU may be branded as IBM Power PC, and be paired with one or two GPUs that has comparable processing power to AMD's Radeon HD 7000. That power will be needed to run next-generation games and the Kinect successor, which is said to be able to read lips and fingertips as well as track multiple players and thus require at least four cores.
If other recent rumors are to be believed, the next-gen console will have two Radeon HD 7000 graphics cores inside. It would also get a Blu-ray drive and an integrated rather than add-on Kinect camera.
Competitor Sony might also unveil its Orbis console, due to eventually replace the current PS3, at around the same time as Microsoft. It may also use AMD video processing hardware but could switch to AMD x86 processors to make game development easier to support. Both companies are believed to be aiming for a holiday, 2013 release.
