360 32nm chips 2009

geordie10 · 15 Dec 2007 at 15:48

IBM made a major announcement today that they will be offering 32nm chips to their partners in the second half of 2009. This would mean that, yes, the Xbox 360 could get even smaller chips than the 65nm "Falcon" CPUs..or the rumored 45nm upgrade. We're talking power savings of 45% and speed boosts of 30% over IBM's last generation of hardware...it's flat-out better technology that will reduce the propensity of overheating drastically, and maybe even make way for a smaller console
http://www.n4g.com/industrynews/News-91660.aspx

Gackt · 15 Dec 2007 at 15:57

So could we be looking at being forced to upgrade our consoles, that is, if we have the older ones, if new games are created using this tech?

I sincerely hope not, as I didn't buy a console so I could upgrade it whenever they wanted to make money.

cb_linus · 15 Dec 2007 at 16:01

I think all 360 games are supposed to work in all 360s no matter what revision it is. I'll be interested to see how this improves the console, and I'll look forward to being able to buy one if the hardware and noise issues are completely resolved

Steedie · 15 Dec 2007 at 16:03

=C0ld c4Th0d3= said:
So could we be looking at being forced to upgrade our consoles, that is, if we have the older ones, if new games are created using this tech?

I sincerely hope not, as I didn't buy a console so I could upgrade it whenever they wanted to make money.

Its a smaller manufacturing process, not a new architecture or platform

You wont need to upgrade anything

Buffman · 15 Dec 2007 at 16:21

By the end of 2009 the xbox 3/720 (whatever you wanna call it) will be announced / released.

NokkonWud · 15 Dec 2007 at 16:29

=C0ld c4Th0d3= said:
So could we be looking at being forced to upgrade our consoles, that is, if we have the older ones, if new games are created using this tech?

I sincerely hope not, as I didn't buy a console so I could upgrade it whenever they wanted to make money.

I think you've missed the point.
No, it wouldn't cause older consoles to become out-dated. The hardware is essentially just the same, but it will run with less head and power.

Gackt · 15 Dec 2007 at 16:45

I was basing it on the OP's comment about a speed increase of 30%.

bilston · 15 Dec 2007 at 16:45

think of it as the PS2 going to PS2 Slim. They didnt just think one day "lets cut half the crap out".

Wrathamon · 15 Dec 2007 at 17:07

=C0ld c4Th0d3= said:
I was basing it on the OP's comment about a speed increase of 30%.

A smaller gate size does allow a faster clock speed (the current die shrink of 90->65nm would allow it too as long as the internal archetecture of the CPU was up to it - there is a lot of factors involved), but just because it's possible they won't clock it any faster.

To introduce a 'faster' xbox360 would be very, very daft, and clearly won't happen. You can't fragment the market into two camps - original and faster. The current clock speed of 3.2GHz will remain until the end of the 360's life. No doubt Microsoft (and the other console companies) will be aiming to release their next console before the end of the decade.