Microsofts XBox 360 !!

Microsoft has revealed its new console, the Xbox 360. As can be seen from the picture opposite, the console is smaller, curvy and more stylish than the console before it, with the addition of the PS2 feature of being able to stand vertically or horizontally.

The Xbox 360 can be customised using a variety of faceplates to suit your style or furniture.

As can be seen from the specs, the Xbox 360 boasts a custom-built IBM PowerPC CPU running at 3.2GHz with memory at 512MB RAM. The graphics chip is a custom-built ATI chip capable of advanced antialiasing and shader effects. This means that the Xbox 360 will have the processing power to deliver true 720p and 1080i wide-screen HDTV images for all of its games - similar to what the PS3 can achieve.

Microsoft are set to continue and improve their Xbox Live feature, being available in silver and gold tiers, with the addition of a new feature: Xbox Live Marketplace where users can access a multitude of demos, maps, skins etc. for download. However, there are no details of an additional cost for this service.

Probably the most interesting feature of the Xbox 360 is the Media Center Extender where you can stream video, audio and photos from networked PCs running Windows Media Center Edition. also media can be streamed from portable music players, digital cameras, and Windows XP PCs. Also the Xbox 360 will have a video camera attachment, possibly similar to Sony’s Eye-Toy.

Currently the Xbox 360 retails for around £200. You can have the choice of whether to buy your system with a 20 GB hard drive - its necessity is up for scrutiny but is a useful addition for caching etc.

The Xbox 360 uses the main gaming format, HD-DVD technology compared to the slightly more advanced Blu-ray technology (BD-ROM) used in the PS3. The Xbox 360 is backwards compatible with the top Xbox games.

The Nintendo Wii finally had its details announced, and is an interesting alterantive to both the Xbox 360 and the PS3. For many though, the Wii will be seen as the “family” console rather than the graphical realism and power of the big two.

Technical Specifications !!

 

Xbox 360 Specs

Specification

Description

CPU

Custom IBM
PowerPC

Cores

x3 symmetrical

Clock speed

3.2 GHz each 2
hardware threads per core 1
VMX-128 vector unit per core

Memory

Custom ATI

RAM

512 MB GDDR3 (Shared with GPU)

VRAM

512 MB UMA (Shared with CPU)

eDRAM

10 MB

Memory Bandwidth

Main

22.4 GB/s

eDRAM

256 GB/s

FSB

21.6 GB/s

L2 Cache

1 MB

Graphics

Custom ATI @ 500
MHz

Hard drive

20 GB Removable

Max Resolution

1080i

Audio

5.1 Digital

Game Format

HD-DVD

Controllers

Supports four 2.4
GHz Wireless

Wireless Connectivity

Wi-Fi-ready
IEEE 802.11 a/b/g (needs adapter)

Input/Output

3 USB 2.0 ports Ethernet (RJ45) 2 Memory Slots

Other Features

Interchangeable Face Plates Media Center Extender Xbox LIVE Eye-Toy like camera

Top Games

Halo 3

Project Gotham Racing 3

Need for Speed Most Wanted

Call of Duty 3

Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell 5

Gears of War

Dead or Alive 4