DF Weekly: Xbox’s new 6nm processor emphasises the console price challenges to come
Nice console games
“Series
X
6nm!
YESSSSSS!
We
found
it!”
Not
my
words,
but
the
excited
exclamations
of
Austin
Evans,
with
a
brand-new
video
that
tears
down
the
new
disc-less
edition
of
the
Xbox
Series
X,
revealing
what’s
generally
believed
to
be
the
first
major
console
revision
for
Microsoft
since
2020.
It’s
an
interesting
contrast
with
Sony,
who
have
revised
the
PlayStation
5
annually,
moving
to
a
6nm
processor
way
back
in
2022
and
delivering
a
further-revised
‘Slim’
edition
a
year
later.
6nm
silicon
brings
with
it
apparent
cost-reductions
and
efficiency
improvements
–
but
this
is
no
game-changing
update
in
the
way
it
was
with
the
Xbox
One
S
and
the
PS4
Slim.
In
concert
with
a
$599
Xbox
Series
X
2TB,
a
$449
disc-less
Series
X
and
a
$699
PlayStation
5
Pro,
the
days
of
console
cost-reductions
are
clearly
over
and
the
whole
nature
of
what
next-gen
will
actually
be
is
up
for
debate.
Going
back
to
the
Austin
Evans
video,
the
nature
of
the
Series
X
revision
is
fully
revealed.
By
moving
from
7nm
to
6nm,
the
chip
itself
is
smaller.
Evans
is
seen
measuring
the
processor
but
doesn’t
offer
a
die-size.
Having
spoken
to
him,
his
measurements
for
the
older
chip
don’t
meet
the
acknowledged
360mm2
(it’s
more
like
380mm2),
but
comparing
his
measurements
for
the
new
chip
to
the
old,
it’s
around
87
percent
of
the
size.
This
would
suggest
a
6nm
die-size
of
around
313mm2.
Truth
is,
package
size
and
die
size
can
be
slightly
different,
perhaps
explaining
the
discrepancy
in
measurements.
Even
so,
the
size
reduction
is
broadly
in
line
with
PS5’s
shrinkage,
with
similar,
modest
power
consumption
improvements
up
against
the
prior
7nm
models.
Thanks
to
this,
Microsoft
follows
Sony
in
also
reducing
the
quality
of
the
cooling
assembly.
The
impressive
heft
of
the
old
cooler
with
its
vapour
chamber
is
swapped
out
for
a
more
conventional
design
with
copper
heat
pipes.
While
internal
temperatures
aren’t
measured
in
the
Evans
video,
the
end
result
is
a
console
that
basically
looks
very
similar
to
the
old
one,
and
has
a
similarly
quiet
acoustic
profile.
Sony
took
the
opportunity
to
build
a
new
form-factor
around
its
efficiency
improvements,
but
Microsoft
has
not.
Despite
the
emergence
of
the
trash
can-like,
adorably
all-digital
Xbox
Series
X
in
Microsoft’s
self-leaked
FTC
disclosures,
it’s
clear
that
the
current
form-factor
remains
the
same.
us
to
present
DF
Direct
Weekly
#185
in
this
embedded
format.
Rich
Leadbetter,
Oliver
Mackenzie
and
John
Linneman
comprise
the
panel
this
week.Watch
on
YouTube
-
0:00:00
Introduction -
0:00:59
News
1:
New
Series
X
has
6nm
SoC,
revised
internals -
0:18:08
News
2:
Xbox
Partner
Showcase
reveals
new
games -
0:38:36
News
3:
Analogue
3D
announced! -
0:49:38
News
4:
Halo
battle
royale
game
was
cancelled -
0:59:18
News
5:
Tomb
Raider
4-6
remasters
announced -
1:10:58
News
6:
3GB
GDDR7
memory
modules
announced -
1:17:16
News
7:
Killing
Time:
Resurrected
released -
1:27:34
Supporter
Q1:
Will
PS5
Pro
have
an
expanded
VRR
range?
When
will
we
see
the
Ultra
Boost
Mode?
And
can
it
unlock
frame-rates
without
developer
intervention? -
1:34:54
Supporter
Q2:
What
type
of
CRT
tube
does
John
prefer? -
1:38:40
Supporter
Q3:
What
would
need
to
change
for
an
Nvidia
powered
Xbox
or
PlayStation
to
happen? -
1:44:45
Supporter
Q4:
Could
PS6
skip
PS4
backwards
compatibility? -
1:48:53
Supporter
Q5:
What
do
you
think
of
the
ModRetro
Chromatic? -
1:52:16
Supporter
Q6:
How
should
we
view
AI-powered
visual
modifications
to
games? -
2:01:20
Supporter
Q7:
Does
AMD
regret
the
5800X3D?
In
this
week’s
DF
Direct,
a
Supporter
asks
us
why
it
took
so
long
for
Microsoft
to
produce
a
new
Xbox,
bearing
in
mind
Sony
embraced
6nm
two
years
ago
–
and
the
Series
X
has
a
markedly
larger
processor,
meaning
a
potentially
higher
cost
saving.
We’re
also
asked
why
the
power
saving
isn’t
more
pronounced
than
PS5’s,
bearing
in
mind
the
larger
chip.
Well,
on
the
latter
point,
PS5
and
Series
X
at
7nm
consumed
similar
power
so
it
stands
to
reason
it’s
the
same
situation
at
6nm
too.
Microsoft’s
chip
might
be
larger,
but
Sony’s
is
pushed
to
higher
clocks
–
on
the
GPU
side
at
least.
As
for
why
it
has
taken
Microsoft
so
long
to
shrink
the
Project
Scarlett
SoC,
this
moves
us
into
the
kind
of
economic
decision-making
nobody
outside
of
the
console
manufacturers
really
has
visibility
on.
We
can
only
assume
that
these
companies
are
not
in
the
business
of
needlessly
throwing
money
away
and
that
the
decision
is
sound.
There
are
any
number
of
reasonable
theories
that
might
fit:
Microsoft
may
simply
have
had
a
larger
stockpile
of
chips,
for
starters.
We
just
don’t
know.
The
bigger
story
is
the
fact
that
outside
of
localised
discounts,
this
particular
mid
generation
cost
reduction
is
not
like
any
other
before
it.
Moving
the
main
processors
to
lower
process
nodes
was
a
routine
practise
during
the
PlayStation
3/Xbox
360
era,
with
many
different
revisions
available.
Both
consoles
went
through
three
visible
form-factor
revisions,
but
the
chips
were
improved
even
more
frequently
than
that.
PS4
and
Xbox
One?
There
was
only
one
process
reduction
across
the
entire
generation.
The
2013-era
28nm
process
yielded
to
2016’s
16nmFF,
offering
huge
efficiency
improvements,
striking
form-factor
revisions
and
opening
the
door
to
the
mid-gen
‘Pro’
consoles:
Xbox
One
X
and
PS4
Pro.
Compare
and
contrast
with
the
7nm
to
6nm
transition:
more
a
step
than
a
leap,
with
no
game-changing
reductions
to
processor
size,
heat
reduction
or
efficiency
–
more
of
a
modest
‘nice
to
have’
series
of
improvements.
Microsoft
clearly
‘did
the
maths’
and
realised
that
a
mid-gen
enhanced
console
was
not
a
good
idea.
Sony,
who
already
had
more
latitude
thanks
to
PS5’s
smaller
chip
vs
Series
X,
decided
it
was
worth
doing
–
even
if
the
end
result
is
a
$699
console.
I’d
still
take
it
over
a
$599
Series
X
2TB
(even
if
it
does
have
the
disc
drive
the
Pro
lacks)
but
the
latitude
to
make
affordable
console
hardware
is
clearly
not
there
if
neither
platform
holder
can
actually
make
it.
All
of
which
asks
serious
questions
of
next-gen,
a
topic
I’ve
covered
before.
Enter
ex-Sony
CEO
Shawn
Layden,
who
reckons
that
the
console
arms
race
has
now
played
out:
“It
has
plateaued.
We’re
at
the
stage
of
hardware
development
that
I
call
‘only
dogs
can
hear
the
difference’.
If
you’re
playing
your
game
and
sunlight
is
coming
through
your
window
onto
your
TV,
you’re
not
seeing
any
ray
tracing.
It
has
to
be
super
optimal,
you
have
to
have
an
8K
monitor
in
a
dark
room
to
see
these
things.
We’re
fighting
over
teraflops
and
that’s
no
place
to
be.
We
need
to
compete
on
content.
Jacking
up
the
specs
of
the
box,
I
think
we’ve
reached
the
ceiling.”
Many
will
agree
with
Layden
–
certainly
the
legions
of
PS4
and
Xbox
One
owners
who’ve
felt
no
need
to
upgrade
their
consoles,
based
on
the
sparse
numbers
we
have
on
Sony
and
Microsoft’s
player
bases
stacked
up
against
their
console
sell-in
numbers.
However,
this
does
stand
in
contrast
to
the
rampant
success
of
Nvidia
in
particular
in
the
PC
space,
where
the
RTX
stands
triumphant
and
where
the
ray
tracing
and
AI
features
of
those
products
have
clearly
found
an
audience.
RTX
40
series
in
particular
has
gained
ground
in
a
way
that
isn’t
compatible
with
our
own
expectations
from
the
price-rises
we
saw
there.
It’s
particularly
amazing
to
me
to
see
that
arguably
the
poorest
value
40
series
GPU
–
the
4060
Ti
–
sits
proudly
in
fourth
spot
in
the
Steam
Hardware
Survey
as
of
this
writing.
Where
I
concur
with
Layden
is
that
content
is
always
king
–
something
proven
out
once
again
by
Nintendo
Switch
–
but
new
technology
is
a
key
enabler
for
fresh
gaming
experiences
and
I’d
say
that
Nintendo
agrees
too,
based
on
what
we
know
of
Switch’s
design.
In
fact,
between
Nvidia,
Intel,
AMD,
Sony,
Microsoft
and
Nintendo,
it’s
clear
that
future
innovation
will
be
based
on
refinements
to
today’s
technology,
augmented
with
more
powerful
RT
and
machine
learning
features.
The
direction
of
travel
is
essentially
set
in
stone
at
this
point,
but
delivering
it
at
a
palatable
price-point
is
the
key
challenge.
