~*~Official Wii U Lobby Specs/Graphics/Power Thread~*~

FIRST!

You're lame for not sticking the other thread.

sigh, i cant be arsed anymore. cant we just wait for more specs? we hardly know anything about the gpu yet.

Yeah just knowing the clock doesn't do it just like the CPU. But there's nothing special about the GPU and having the core clock at 500 means it is not underpowered when compared to Xbox 360 because it has better pipelines than the R500, but it definitely falls short of next-gen.

What are the spec of the new sony and ms?

Here's my problem with the "3 Broadways glued together" theory. At 90nm, Broadway was 18.9sqmm in size. Espresso is built on a 45nm process. This reduces the size of the chip to 25%, or 4.725sqmm. Three of these together is 14.175sqmm. Espresso is 32.76sqmm in size. That leaves 15.585sqmm. 3MB of eDRAM and silicon for SMP would not take this much space on the die. So if we are simply looking at higher clocked, unmodified Broadways, what is using the rest of the die space?

where did you get the edram numbers from?

GAF leaks. CPU apparently has 3MB of eDRAM cache, asymmetrically divided between the cores (2MB for one core, 512KB each for the other two).

3mb of edram sounds really low? any info on the gpu?

For a CPU, that's pretty good size. The 360 only had 1MB of L2 cache.

The GPU uses the 32MB of eDRAM, but it's seems the CPU also has access to that as well as an L3, if I recall correctly.

which i assume is what is helping it with ps360 ports considering the slow cpu

also looking at those numbers 3x more cache on the cpu than the 360 and more than 3x on the gpu than the 360 which i believe had 10mb of edram?

the fact that the cpu has access to the gpu's edram really helps when it comes to cpu centric games (ports) but with 1st party games i presume nintendo will go gpu centric since it's way better off

nintendoomed!

I'll just stick with my logical view on this...why would Nintendo put twice the RAM and a much more modern GPGPU in the Wii U if it isn't going to match up with the rest of the architecture?

2-3 times more powerful than PS360 - you can close the thread now Lost!

: P

It's actually for Wii backward compatibility from what I have read. Gekko and Broadway both had direct access to the 1TSRAM, so Espresso would need to as well.

And someone at GAF figured out what the extra die space is being used for: Pikmin Dormitories!

well its more like 4-8x ram really but i agree. i think ps4 will be twice as powerful with the next xbox being even more (micro$oft have nothing to lose) which hopefully for nintendo may result in a repeat of ps2/gc/xbox, if it doesnt, first party games on the wii u will look great anyway.

Main thread probably runs on that 2MB Core. It depends on how the code uses the cache, if you're constantly getting cache hits rather than cache misses differences in cache memory is quickly negated.

Thank you LIT. I may start back posting more often again. Was getting tired of pages flooded with the same damn topic.

Exactly. If this is happening, it could be a compiler issue or something else in the toolset. It's certainly not a hardware problem.

Doesn't my flux capacitor already do some of this?

This thread is probably not going to be used. People don't want their posts lost in a thread.

Really Lost? It's a troll thread It's not real lol

Not having the most powerful console technically possibly does not equate to a policy of "thinking that graphics don't matter".

If that were the case than graphics didn't matter to the PlayStation brand until the 7th generation.

There's an official thread for this by the way.

But games 5/6 years ago looked ugly on the PS360...

I think it's safe to say, Nintendo doesn't care about the power race so you should just get used to it. It's not like Wii U games are going to be ugly by any means and it's a lot more capable of a machine than the Wii since it actually has modern architecture this time around. If the Wii made it, Wii U will have no worries even when the next MS and Sony systems arrive. Just enjoy the system for what it can do.

You're not taking into account that as the generations roll on the cost of hardware to produce "breathtaking" graphics goes up, as does the cost for the development of that "breathtaking" software. Nintendo took the most intelligent approach when designing the Wii U. How many developers are going to risk spending millions on a new IP on expensive hardware?

Think about it for a minute, if Microsoft and Sony both try to incorporate a game changing feature like the Wii U Gamepad AND implement high end specs, those consoles are going to cost a fortune to produce. If the Wii U gets a substantial install base, and I feel it will, there are going to be more titles available on the Wii U, and isn't that what matters most? Also, I would like to add, that The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword, as well as the Galaxy games were prettier than a lot of games last generation on any platform, and that was accomplished in standard definition on the console with the lowest specs. I really don't think Nintendo has anything to worry about.

wow, what an exciting and new topic from one of the boards oldest members..........

I think graphics for some games matter to an extent. I remember thinking skyward sword looking disappointing when i first booted it up. Like an old gamecube game. It would be nice if nintendo made a really powerful system, but like someone said above, nintendo isn't taking this route. They want to make a system that appeals to everyone, not just gamers.

Some companies are taking a wait and see approach, but no company that I'm aware of is boycotting the Wii U. Developers are going to go where the players are because that's where the money is, and because the cost of development on the Wii U is going to be VERY affordable, I foresee a Nintendo renaissance on the horizon.

I actually agree with a few of your points, but this is wrong

Its not. That would be mario galaxy, given all time great status by reviewers and gamers alike.

I loved the uncharted games, but in 10 years they will be surpassed just like the ps2 generation action games and ps1 and most of n64 and gamecube. Meanwhile, Super Mario Galaxy 10 years from now will probably still be referred to as one of the best platformers ever, ala super mario world.

Personally, uncharted 2 didn't leave a lasting impression for me - aside from the length, I thought 3 was better in terms of graphics/set pieces/overall fun, and that underlies the problem with your argument - a game that is based in large part on graphics won't age well in the future.

The biggest reason I want wii u good graphics isn't because they make for better "all time great games", I think thats straight up false. I want this console to be powerful to make sure we get the big third party games and so the game library isn't weak compared to its competition.

This should be moved to the graphics thread, or else close it.

Wii U has a pretty powerful GPU for console standards, hopefully we will see next gen looking games next year.

'Nintendo need to take the graphics route'

...erm, they just released the most graphically powerful console on the market today with a GPGPU around 4 years more modern than any other console.

'When Zelda is released and looks like Uncharted 2'

...you've seen the new Zelda game? You seriously think it won't even match the second to most recent Uncharted game? I feel it will destroy it as well as the most recent Uncharted game as well as any other game yet produced on a home console.

Yawn.

I'll just say I think the Wii U is 2-3x more powerful than the Xbox 360 in terms of raw power.

Thing is that I won't be less impressed by the next Mario or Zelda just because a (hypothetically) graphics heavy hitter of a PS4/720 game comes out. I tend to separate the systems in my minds eye so that a graphically impressive game for the Wii still impresses me while at the same time, something like a BioShock wows me just as much. If the hardware a game is running on is being pushed in some way, I'll be impressed with it. Be it the Wii, Wii U, 360, PS3 or whatever is down the pipe.

I expect to be very impressed with the next Mario or Zelda.

So what's with teh Wii U grafix? More like Pee-U if you ask me. Am I right? Holla!

It's nice that Wii U, Xbox 720 and PS4 can ALL do openGL 4.1+ openGL 4x is pretty much DirectX 11 GFX right? The difference will be frames per second and anti-alaysing.

Wait what?. I remember a thread not ot long ago declaring galaxy 2 the top game of all time. Also how did uncharted change gaming at all?. This is news to me

I think I have found the CPU that the Expresso is based on. The IBM PowerPC 476FP.

https://www-01.ibm.com/chips/techlib/techlib.nsf/products/PowerPC_476FP_Embedded_Core

This is actually a really old rumored Wii HD cpu, but I think it could actually hold some weight. This chip was announced back in 2010, around the time Wii U development would have been ramping up. Its a powerpc design making it fairly easy to customize for backward capability with the Wii. Its very small, and has freakishly low power consumption. The speed is right there. Five instructions per execution would result in similar performance to the 360, maybe a little less.

What am I doing, this is the internet. IBM PowerPC 476FP confirmed for Wii U. Its true, just ask me.

The xbox 720 devkit had a radeon 6670, the Wii U's confirmed GPU was mid 5 series, they aren't that much different. Don't expect Xbox and ps4 to come with Radeon 8 series, I think you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

I am?

Is New Super Mario Bros. U a good difficulty level like NSMB Wii or too easy/hard?
And is Sonic Racing online anywhere near as good as Mario Kart Wii online?
Also does Nintendo Land have a lasting appeal or not?
Thanks

look, we hardly know the important specs of the wii u yet, we know it's more powerful than xbox 360 but by how much? we also have no idea what the other 2 will bring, sony may go back to their ps2 type hardware after the ps3 flop. if you were sony would you want another successful ps2 or another ps3? i think it will go like this:

scenario 1:

- its a repeat of ps2/gc/xbox with wii u being the ps2 in terms of power but it wont sweep the other 2 in terms of sales like the ps2 did, but overall it will win

scenario 2:

- its like the dreamcast, semi next gen console but it doesnt die like the dreamcast, gets ps360 ports first year, ps4/next box ports for another 2 years then hardly any ports after that

scenario 3:

- its like the wii was to the ps360 but it doesnt sell as well as the wii thus angering nintendo and they bring out a monster console in 2018.

so i recently read an article about this and while the cpu clock speed is 1.2ghz and the 360 and PS3 is 3.0ghz the WIIU is more mordern.On the gpu side the WIIU tends to have a gpu much greater than the 360 AND PS3.

I was all ready to care about graphics this gen, but then I was reminded of something Rich and Audrey said in the latest NVC. This gen will be less about graphics and more about the games.

Arguing about sprcs (for me at least) is a waste of time. This gen, I believe, will be more like the fight between Ps2, Gamecube and Xbox. Hopefully, Wii U can take the PS2 slot. Not the most powerful, but as the go-to console for developers toturn a profit. I would also love to see Wii U as the console for niche projects (like the Wii, but on a larger scale). Games like Muramasa, Fragile Dreams, etc. made the Wii worth owning (great 1st party titles notwithstanding).

So, as long as I get the games, I'm going to give the whole specs debate a pass.

Rosa