PS3 vs. Xbox 360: Graphics

There are 2 points to be given in this section. 1 for CPU and 1 for GPU.

A big debate is going on about which system has the better graphics. Keep in mind, I am not a programmer so everything I say may not be very precise but the general idea is still spot on. It’s the technical things that work me up!

Anywho, Lets, investigate.

These are the specifications for the 360 and PS3’s CPU’s. The CPU carries out tasks such as handling AI and loading graphics. They also manage frame-rates and the faster the CPU, the quicker these tasks can be carried out.

Cell Processor (PS3 CPU)

• One general purpose PPE core that is used for the OS and the game application.
• 512 MB total memory on 2 buses which can be accessed directly only by the PPE core. 256 MB of processor main memory and 256 MB of memory used by GPU.
• 512 KB L2 cache for the PPE.
• 32 KB L1 instruction cache and 32 KB L1 data cache for the PPE.
• 7 specialized SPE cores. One is used for the OS leaving 6 for the game application.
• 256KB SRAM per SPE. but
• Communications between SPE memory or to the PPE memory is performed via the Element Interconnect Bus (EIB) by either accessing ports or via DMA.
• SPEs do not have branch prediction capability.

Xenon Processor (Xbox 360 CPU)

• 3 General purpose PPE cores that are used for the OS and game application.
• 512 MB main memory that is shared by all three cores and GPU.
• 1 MB of L2 cache that is shared by the 3 cores (333 KB per core average).
• 32 KB L1 instruction cache and 32 KB data cache for each core.
• 2 Hardware threads per core.

By looking at the specs of the cell processor, one would expect it to destroy the Xenon. But after looking at all the details, I can see that where the 360 has 3 separate cores (PPE’s), the PS3 only has 1 (PPE core). This does not mean the 360 is more powerful. The cell may only have one core, but it has 7 SPE’s cores within the one PPE core.

Moving on.

Each PPE core has a thread. The Xenon has 3 threads because it has 3 cores. The Cell has 7, because it has 7 SPE’s within one core. Threads are used to assign different elements of a game and handle their code e.g. AI and graphics. Now you may think that the PS3, because it has more threads would be more powerful. While this may be true, programmers have said that it takes a great deal of time and effort to program all of these SPE’s to work with the game application.

So this brings me to my point. While the PS3’s processor is in no doubt a lot more powerful. It is extremely hard to program. This is because the PS3’s SPE’s all have a memory of 256kb. So if a code was say 100mb, the programmer would have to go through hell to make it smaller and also find a way to segment it throughout all 7 SPE’s in the Cell.

However, in the Xenon, the memory is 512kb shared between the 3 cores. This means a larger code can be created and also because the Xenon has the traditional PPE set up, it is a lot easier for programmers.

So in the end, the PS3 is powerful, but it is extremely hard and time consuming to tap into that power. This consequently leads to developers developing multi-platform games on the 360 and then porting them to the PS3. And because of these ports, multi-plat games are always better looking and have better frame-rates on the 360. This is because on the 360, the game can use all the cores, whereas on the PS it can only use one because the PS3 only HAS one.

However, now that the PS3 has been around for a while, exclusive developers such as Naughty Dog have spent a lot of time into the development of their game Uncharted 2. This game is a show-case of hard work and money spent. But keep in mind, this is still a PS3 exclusive, not a multi-plat. So to conclude, PS3 exclusives will always look better than Xbox exclusives due to the Cell processor, but when it comes to multi-plat formers, the Xbox will always come out on top.

I give the point to the PS3 for this section. I have made this decision because although the Cell CPU is very hard to programme, developers such as Naughty Dog have shown with enough work it can be done. So this means that exclusives on the PS3 have an advantage (graphically).

PS3: 3 Xbox 360: 3

Now let’s look at the specs for the GPU’s. The GPU is the graphics processing unit and this piece of hardware is what actually puts the image on your screen. It is responsible for things such as Anti-aliasing and Texture streaming.

So from just looking at these specs I can clearly see that the Xbox’s Xenos GPU is way more powerful than the PS3’s RSX GPU. The Xenos is capable of producing much better anti-aliasing on multi-plat games and is also outstanding at streaming textures.

You may think the PS3 has an edge on streaming textures due to the blu-ray disc having more space. However, the Xenos is capable of decompressing those textures with ease. A fine example of this would be Gears of War 2.

So to wrap this part up i give the 360 the point. The GPU on the 360 is much more powerful than that on the PS3 which means a lot of the textures and anti-aliasing will generally be better on the 360, exclusive or not. The 360 also performs better on the multi-platform side as I have stated before. This is why I think the 360 gets the point.

PS3 for better exclusives, Xbox for better multi-plat’s (graphics wise).

PS3: 3 Xbox 360: 4