New PS4 Specs Leak Based on January's Development Kit
The PlayStation 4 spec list has been refreshed thanks to Orbis documentation and the development kit.
Kotaku has acquired a list of specs for the unannounced PlayStation 4 "Orbis" console that are based on the development kits, model # DVKT-KS000K, as of January 2013. It's noted that these specs will likely change as the console gets closer to its final retail date, so take these components as merely what's provided for developers for the moment. AMD will take the center stage, providing both the CPU and GPU.
According to the specs, the kit has 8 GB of RAM and 2.2 GB of video memory. The CPU is listed as 4x dual-core AMD64 "Bulldozer" – indicating that there will be eight cores total – and the GPU is listed as an AMD R10xx. Also included is a 160 GB HDD, a Blu-ray drive, four USB 3.0 ports, two Ethernet ports, HDMI and optical output, and 2.0, 5.1 and 7.1 audio channels.
Kotaku added that there's also a headphone jack but it's unclear whether this will end up on the final product. It's also noted that the extra Ethernet port will likely not end up in the final build, as it's used for local sharing and testing purposes.
Kotaku goes on to cover the controller aspect, saying that developers are working with both the Sixaxis and DualShock 3 controller, indicating that the design and capabilities will be similar to the PlayStation 3 models. There's also a new model in development called the Orbis Development Tool which retains the same features but adds one key component: a capacitive touch pad as seen with the PlayStation Vita. It will recognize two-point multi-touch input, and will also serve as an additional input button when "clicked".
The PlayStation 4 will also supposedly offer multi-user simultaneous logins, meaning the console will allow more than one person to be logged into the same system at the same time. This is done by linking controllers to user accounts, thus when a second player activates a controller, he/she will be asked to log into their account. This would indicate that all user information will be stored in the cloud including trophies and game settings which can be accessed on any PlayStation 4 console.
Kotaku said the information contained in its report was generated from the development kit, and from official Orbis documentation provided by the same individual who attempted to sell a pair of Xbox development kits on eBay last year. To read the full report (which offers more detail about the controller), head here.
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cptnjarhead interesting, sony's previous consoles had custom (exotic ) hardware.Reply
Seems rather off the shelf for sony.
we will see.
: on the plus side, hope we will see more natively multi-threaded (console ported) games for PC.
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antilycus If those are truly the specs that gamers and developers have to look forward to, this isn't very next gen at all. I would expect OUYA and PC Gaming to take off. I think it's becoming apparent that 500 USD consoles w/ games that are clones of other games just isn't worth it. 100 bucks for OUYA and about 500 for an AMD A10 or ~600 for AMD FX 8150 w/ 16 GB of ram. I dont see the developers really changing anything and I think the Next iterations of Open GL and DX are going to more important than the specs. The current system is about to change massively, thanks to tablet gaming, cheap hardware (OUYA) and dedicated PC Gamers.Reply -
LukeCWM I'm glad AMD got the bid. They need the boost! But it's unfortunate that it's Bulldozer they landed with. Well, unfortunate for console gamers. Maybe it will shift more people towards PC gaming, but but I doubt it will affect many. Most console gamers I know don't care about visual detail or smoothness or high frame rate; they just want to shoot stuff.Reply -
neon neophyte this is a real boon for octo loving amd fans. this next generation of games should be designed to play quite nicely with their cpus (and gpus.)Reply -
aicom LukeCWMI'm glad AMD got the bid. They need the boost! But it's unfortunate that it's Bulldozer they landed with. Well, unfortunate for console gamers. Maybe it will shift more people towards PC gaming, but but I doubt it will affect many. Most console gamers I know don't care about visual detail or smoothness or high frame rate; they just want to shoot stuff.Actually, choosing Bulldozer is a godsend for PC gaming. This means that in order to perform well on low-clocked, poor-IPC CPUs, they will have to multithread extensively. This means that games built for the new console may finally see some benefit from HT on the Core i7s, not to mention perform quite will on Piledriver and its successors.Reply -
Evolution2001 (hoping this doesn't double-post...if so, "sorry" in advance)Reply
I'm not really a fan of PC-like hardware making up the consoles. What this leads to for cross-platform gaming is that the game gets developed on the console hardware first because it's a quicker dev/release cycle and more profitable since console gamers aren't likely to pirate their games, and then we PC gamers get the craptastic ported version with lower res graphics & lousy controls. -
CaedenV The CPU is listed as 4x dual-core AMD64 "Bulldozer": Don't believe it, 4-6 cores in total (2-3 bulldozer units)Reply
GPU is listed as an AMD R10xx: probably right as the GPU is the single most important part to get right in a dev kit
160 GB HDD: Absolutely, and I would not be suprised to see much larger drives, as well as an SSD option down the road
Blu-ray drive: maybe, maybe not. I know there was talk of 'download only' for games, but if they want it to be a multimedia center then it needs a blu-ray player.
four USB 3.0 ports: possible, more likely to see some cost cutting with 4 USB2 for controllers, and 2 USB3 for external HDD option (my origonal thought was they would have a small SSD for the OS and user files, and then force users to get an external USB3 drive to store games)
two Ethernet ports: Why would they do this on the final build? One gigabit port is already 1 more than what will be used by most users. Give it an ethernet and wireless N, and call it a day.
HDMI and optical output: Absolutely will happen, likely firmware upgradeable HDMI to support future 4K and Ethernet over HDMI technologies.
2.0, 5.1 and 7.1 audio channels: Absolutely will happen. Audio is cheap and easy tech to integrate, and the PS3 already has this, so why would they take a step backwards?
"The PlayStation 4 will also supposedly offer multi-user simultaneous logins, meaning the console will allow more than one person to be logged into the same system at the same time. This is done by linking controllers to user accounts, thus when a second player activates a controller, he/she will be asked to log into their account."
The problem with this is that I would then be expected to carry my controller to my friend's house, or expect people to be able to tell each of their identical black playstation controllers apart... I like the general idea behind it as it allows for trophy tracking when you are away, but it also may allow developers to say "you cannot play as the 2nd player on this game until you pay a $5 log-in fee, or purchase rights to the full game" kind of thing. That would be terrible. -
beppomarx I am not a gamer by any means, I have never in my life bought a gaming console but do play very very occasionally on my pc. But by following the market this seems like a decent setup. You're simply not going to find i7 processing power in a console to be sold in the 300 or so dollar range. Assuming they can keep thermals under control, the power draw isn't much of a concern for console gamers and depending on the actual video setup (cores, speed, architecture) it makes sense. I mean just looking at what's posted here I would assume $300 worth of hardware is being used and the fact that large mainstream developers are going to be pushed onto an 8 core CPU that means that pc ports will be easier and better handled by your 4, 6, and 8 core processors. And bringing more experience to the dev world for multi core setups seems like a great thing to me.Reply
Just look at consoles today (ps3 Xbox360 even Wii u), they still sell and are more than adequate for their market even with 7 year old specs. The market isn't going to accept $500 base model consoles and with good programming that setup shouldn't have any problem running games at 1080p at 60fps, and mainstream televisions don't need anything more than that for a while now. Looks good to me. -
calmstateofmind Funny how these get "leaked" right after the new Xbox specs are "leaked" as well.Reply