QUOTE(cr_blah_blah @ Mar 8 2005, 01:19 PM)
CPU - Xenon's CPU has three 3.0 GHz PowerPC cores. Each core is capable of two instructions per cycle and has an L1 cache with 32 KB for data and 32 KB for instructions. The three cores share 1 MB of L2 cache. Alpha 2 developer kits currently have two cores instead of three.
3 X 3.0 GHz PowerPC cores
"Each core is capable of two instructions per cycle"
That means each core does 3,000,000 x 2 = 6,000,000 instructions per second.
So, all three combined do 6,000,000 x 3 = 18,000,000(18 Billion) instructions per second.
These PowerPC cores are 32 bit processors (not 32 + 32 + 32, just 32). So, the instructions per second can be compared accurately to any 32 bit processor.
Amd Athlon XP 3200+ (32 bit)
1 Core @ 2.2 Ghz capable of 9 instructions per cycle.
2,200,000 x 9 = 19,800,000(19.8 Billion) instructions per cycle.
So, the Xbox 2's processor is slower than a Athlon Xp 3200+.
But, I don't understand why everyone thinks that MS is going to build a gaming console with all the hardware from a $2000 gaming pc and sell it for $300-350. This console is going to rock, the processor isn't going to be the fastest retail processor ever made, but it will still kick most pc's asses.
5,131,000 instructions per second for the original xbox.
19,000,000 instructions per second for the Xbox-2.
Thats nearly 4 times as fast, and then you add a video card that is 4 times as powerful, and 4 or more times the ram (and faster ram at that). What you get is one hell of a nice console.