Xbox/Xbox2 graphics vs. PC

[Stiffler_]

sup guys
I have an X box but i dont play it at all, mainly cuz i get fucking owned when i try to aim at people with a controller. those analog sticks fucking piss me off, reaction time is so shitty with them. I'd rather have a mouse and blast some guys skull to peices, than have to fiddle with those two dick sticks to get my cursor on some guy and then die anyways.
So i blow with controller and thats why i dont play xbox

anyways my buddy swears that xbox graphics 'ruin PC graphics hard', and i dont think its true... i dunno what to beleive
but could people go into some detail about the graphic capacity and ability of xbox compared to pc's. I know the better videocard and ram you have for your PC, then you will be able to handle games with better graphics.

It just doesn't make sense to me that Xbox would be able to handle a game, lets say Doom 3, and be able to display graphics as good as a PC could, given the hardware requirements for the game. And it doesnt seem to me that people can open up their Xbox all the time and upgrade its video card or ram... so could someone just tell me how this shit works, what games have good graphics and which is better for graphical capacity... xbox, or PC?

[Fivestar]

Just kinda browsed your post, but I'm sure if you hook up xbox that has a game with HDTV ready on an HDTV, it'll look pretty nice.

Then again if I misread your post, then ignore mine.

[doc]

One of the things I loved on Sudeki. The graphics were very nice to look at.
I would call my fiance into the room and be like, check this out.\


Alright, now on to specs and such... Found this:

For the CPU, Xbox has an Intel Pentium III 733 MHz (with 128K cache). A high-end PC in Q4 2001, could have a 1.6 GHz Athlon, a 2 GHz Pentium4, or a dual CPU system of either. PC wins the CPU category.

For memory size, Xbox has unified 64MB. High-end PC will have at least 256MB system RAM + 64MB video RAM, totaling to 320MB RAM. PC wins here.

For main memory bandwidth, Xbox has 6.4 GB/s (gigabytes per second) shared with other parts of the system. For the main RAM alone, a high-end PC will have 2.1 GB/s for an Athlon system, 4.2 GB/s on an Athlon system using nForce, or 3.2 GB/s to 4.26 GB/s on a Pentium4 system. I’ll call this one a tie, but Xbox may have a lead for a while due to bottlenecks on PC motherboards such as AGP and FSB bandwidths. However, PC will eventually increase these areas beyond what Xbox can manage, but the time is uncertain just like many PC technology release dates.

For the GPU geometry, Xbox has the xGPU that has around 2x the vertex processing power of the current GeForce3. A high-end PC will have a similar or faster GPU by the end of the year. We have a tie here again.

For the GPU bandwidth, Xbox shares the 6.4 GB/s bandwidth with the rest of the system. A high-end PC will have 8 GB/s (250 MHz 128bit DDR) for video. PC wins this one.

For sound processing, Xbox and PC will both have similar specs with Dolby Digital and 64 3D channels. Bandwidth available to each will also be similar. So chalk this one up as a tie also.

Based on those hardware specs, PC wins big with CPU speed, memory size, and GPU bandwidth. The rest is a tie

Now I will move on to software specs.

For the operating system, Xbox has a stripped down OS similar to the Windows 2000 kernel. PC will have Windows XP. From a performance standpoint, Xbox wins here since it can be more optimized and efficient with resources.

For development tools, Xbox has the XDK and a version of DirectX 8 improved with features available on Xbox. PC has DirectX 8, OpenGL, and possibly DirectX 9 by then. This is close, so I’ll call it a tie.

For code optimization, debugging, and testing, Xbox has a standard hardware and software so developers can focus on that alone. PC will vary from one user to another, so developers will have to sacrifice some in order to have a large user base. Xbox wins this category.

Based on these comparisons, Xbox leads in the software area.

So it looks like a high-end PC will have higher performance when the Xbox is released. However, since Xbox has the edge with software efficiency, the two may have very similar performance in many games.

Another thing to consider, most developer’s target specification is a mid-range PC, so games won’t maximize a high-end PC.

For the other consoles (PS2 and GC), they are inferior to Xbox from a performance view; therefore they require no such comparison.

I will run a prediction algorithm targeted for when PC will catch up to Xbox. Please be patient while I process this information.

Compiling…
Processing…
Analyzing…

I have an answer. A high-end PC will have the opportunity to perform better and look better than Xbox as early as summer 2002, but more likely in Q4 2002 (1 year after Xbox launch).

Percent Error = 4.2731232 %

This comparison involved hardware and software specifications only. Other gaming factors can be available games, available game genres, Internet speeds, Internet availability, marketing tactics, exclusive games, price, size of user base, and downloadable add-ons. end article



So, I look at it on this level. A PC built at the time of xbox release is pretty well outdated now. Same goes for the xbox. That's why xbox2 is coming.

[Gr8Shot]

the cpu/ram for xbox can't really be compared too that of a computer since the comp is made to run lots of programs, while the xbox just runs one at a time.

but still the comp is a better piece of machinery. games that are available on both xbox and pc come out looking better on the comp.

[Nine]

I'll buy your xbox if you don't want it. :)

[typeA]

Xbox graphics were better than PC when it came out, but not anymore. Xbox 2 will probably be the same way.