Microsoft's Project Scorpio specs revealed

Microsoft has revealed the final specs of its upcoming Project Scorpio console, promising true 4K gaming at 60 frames per second.

Digital Foundry spent time at Microsoft's Redmond campus and got to see Project Scorpio in action as it stands, along with confirmed final specs. Under the hood, the console contains a CPU with eight custom x86 cores clocked at 2.3GHz, still using AMD's Jaguar architecture, rather than the latest Ryzen CPU architecture.

A custom GPU with 40 customised compute units at 1172MHz will be the real powerhouse of Project Scorpio, enabling native 4K gaming at 60fps. Project Scorpio will also boast 12GB GDDR5, compared to 8GB GDDR5 in the PS4 Pro. 4K UDH Blu-ray is also supported.

Microsoft promised at E3 in 2016 that Project Scorpio will be the most powerful gaming console ever, eclipsing the PS4 Pro and it's own Xbox One S.

There is no design for Scorpio to show off yet or any details on release date or pricing. For more information on Scorpio as it stands, read this article at Eurogamer.

Pic Source: Major Nelson

Written by: James Delahunty @ 6 Apr 2017 20:12

ivymike

I wonder if the disk drive will support the BDXL format.....Gonna need it for those 4K games.

6.4.2017 20:38 #1

KillerBug

Originally posted by ivymike: I wonder if the disk drive will support the BDXL format.....Gonna need it for those 4K games. Isn't BDXL a rewrite-able format? Last I checked there were 3 or 4 different 'future' standards for disks ranging from 100GB-6TB, and BDXL was just for DIY disks, not even being considered as a standard for anything store-bought.

Maybe something changed without me noticing...between Amazon, Netflix, and Steam I have so little use for an optical drive that after using the port to copy data off an old hard drive about a year ago I never plugged it back in, and have yet to find a reason to. I guess I should power it on one of these days...don't want spiders making nests in there or something.

7.4.2017 01:03 #2

ivymike

BDXL is a multilayer blu-ray disk with super high capacity rates over "conventional" blu-ray discs. There are currently two types of BDXL: BD Triple Layer 100 Gb and BD Quad Layer 125 Gb.

There are Recordable (Write Once) and Rewritable versions for each type.

7.4.2017 01:13 #3

Jemborg

Is it so it can play XBone games why they are sticking with old Jaguar architecture or are they just cost cutting?

Is the PS4 Pro also Jag arch?

Its a lot easier being righteous than right.

DSE VZ300-
Zilog Z80 CPU, 32KB RAM (16K+16K cartridge), video processor 6847, 2KB video RAM, 16 colours (text mode), 5.25" FDD

7.4.2017 10:58 #4

Bozobub

Originally posted by Jemborg: Is it so it can play XBone games why they are sticking with old Jaguar architecture or are they just cost cutting?

Is the PS4 Pro also Jag arch?
Probably to lower costs. Any time you go to a smaller process, you increase the number of inevitable bad chips. CPU manufacturers usually use chips with bad cores as lower core-count versions.

These days, a 2- or 3-core CPU is really a partially-failed 4-core (or even more cores) CPU that failed QC. But that market isn't readily available, for custom console CPUs ^^' .

Edit -> All we need is hearme0 posting, and that's nearly all currently extant AD posters >.> . Gettin' echo-y in here...

7.4.2017 11:42 #5

hearme0

This won't happen!

Project Scorpio is just a beefed up console........nothing new here.....MOVE ALONG!

Add to this, those that actually care about 4k because 1080 isn't good enough are truly money-wasting morons.

The diff between 4k and 1080P is negligible at best.

Of course, if a dumbass wants to insist on sitting within 18 inches of the tv to see all the indiv pixels while playing games, they by all means, knock your asses out!

7.4.2017 13:10 #6

Bozobub

"Won't happen"..? I think you're underestimating the success of the XBox line. Neither console family is going to stop making new stuff anytime soon. Hell, even Nintendo is doing pretty well with the Switch, at the moment, and it's selling like hotcakes.

7.4.2017 13:13 #7

KillerBug

Originally posted by hearme0: This won't happen!

Project Scorpio is just a beefed up console........nothing new here.....MOVE ALONG!

Add to this, those that actually care about 4k because 1080 isn't good enough are truly money-wasting morons.

The diff between 4k and 1080P is negligible at best.

Of course, if a dumbass wants to insist on sitting within 18 inches of the tv to see all the indiv pixels while playing games, they by all means, knock your asses out! 4K is also useful for VR...from what I've read (never been able to try it) some people can see some of the grid between pixels with 8k/eye. I can see the use for 4K on a gaming machine given that; I can see potential reasons for someone in the near-ish future wanting to upgrade from their double-4k console to something better. In time we might even see consoles with quad 8k; two per player.

7.4.2017 15:15 #8

hearme0

Originally posted by KillerBug: Originally posted by hearme0: This won't happen!

Project Scorpio is just a beefed up console........nothing new here.....MOVE ALONG!

Add to this, those that actually care about 4k because 1080 isn't good enough are truly money-wasting morons.

The diff between 4k and 1080P is negligible at best.

Of course, if a dumbass wants to insist on sitting within 18 inches of the tv to see all the indiv pixels while playing games, they by all means, knock your asses out! 4K is also useful for VR...from what I've read (never been able to try it) some people can see some of the grid between pixels with 8k/eye. I can see the use for 4K on a gaming machine given that; I can see potential reasons for someone in the near-ish future wanting to upgrade from their double-4k console to something better. In time we might even see consoles with quad 8k; two per player. Agreed! VR heavyily dependent on 4K for quality.

7.4.2017 16:15 #9

Jemborg

Originally posted by hearme0:

The diff between 4k and 1080P is negligible at best.

Of course, if a dumbass wants to insist on sitting within 18 inches of the tv to see all the indiv pixels while playing games... How small is your screen mate?

Its a lot easier being righteous than right.

DSE VZ300-
Zilog Z80 CPU, 32KB RAM (16K+16K cartridge), video processor 6847, 2KB video RAM, 16 colours (text mode), 5.25" FDD

8.4.2017 00:28 #10

Bozobub

For anything smaller than 40-45", 4K is simply overkill.

11.4.2017 00:03 #11

KillerBug

Originally posted by Bozobub: For anything smaller than 40-45", 4K is simply overkill. There are basically three things that people do with screens: Stuff that involves text (internet, video editing, CAD, etc), things that involve showing videos, and games. For the last two, assuming text is not involved at all (or all the text is oversized) 4K offers big benefits if the hardware and content can actually keep up with the screen. Even if your eyes can't make out 10pt text on a 4K screen, you will still notice the higher fidelity (assuming we are not talking about a 15" 4K screen from 5 feet away or something). Just to be clear, we are assuming that your system doesn't have to lower texture quality or draw distance or whatever in order to get good frame rates at 4k; a big assumption I know. For the first, it's about how much of your view is filled by the screen. 1080P is about all you need with a 15" laptop screen...with a 17" you ideally want more (maybe not 4K, but that's essentially the next step after 1080P). They make 21" laptops now; if I had the money I'd buy one happily...most of these machines are designed for gaming but they would be great for 3D CAD as well. By that standard, even with relatively normal laptop specs the size and weight of such a laptop could be justified by someone like me simply because the larger screen offered opportunities for higher productivity...but only if the larger screen was higher resolution; if it was 1080P the advantage would be lost.

So basically it's about how you will use the screen; there are some real advantages to 4K screens for a lot of situations and there will be more coming as GPUs and video formats get better.

Also remember...there was a time when people thought 800x600 was overkill because even laserdisk wasn't that high of a resolution...now 800x600 wouldn't be acceptable on a 4" budget phone.

11.4.2017 12:17 #12

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