For a while, PlayStation 4 games were running at higher resolutions and framerates than their Xbox One counterparts. This is changing, as games like Diablo 3: Ultimate Evil Edition, Destiny and Metro Redux have shown. Much of this increase in performance has been ascribed to the extra 10 percent of power that was reserved for Kinect, but has now been freed up. It’s not quite as simple as that, as Metro developer 4A games explains.
“Well, the issue is slightly more complicated – it is not like ‘here, take that ten per cent of performance we’ve stolen before’,” 4A’s Oles Shishkovstov told Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry
“…actually it is variable, like sometimes you can use 1.5 per cent more, and sometimes seven per cent and so on. We could possibly have aimed for a higher res, but we went for a 100 percent stable, vsync-locked frame-rate this time That is not to say we could not have done more with more time.
Right now, the Xbox one is still behind the PS4 in many ways, but it’s something that’s changing, with 4A saying that “the XDK and system software continues to improve every month.”
“Microsoft is not sleeping, really. Each XDK that has been released both before and after the Xbox One launch has brought faster and faster draw-calls to the table,” he said.
“They added tons of features just to work around limitations of the DX11 API model. They even made a DX12/GNM style do-it-yourself API available – although we didn’t ship with it on Redux due to time constraints.”
There is a very definite power gulf between the two consoles though, as Digital Foundry found out… though it’s probably not as great as you imagine.
PS4 is just a bit more powerful. You forgot to mention the ROP count, it’s important too – and let’s not forget that both CPU and GPU share bandwidth to DRAM [on both consoles]. I’ve seen a lot of cases while profiling Xbox One when the GPU could perform fast enough but only when the CPU is basically idle. Unfortunately I’ve even seen the other way round, when the CPU does perform as expected but only under idle GPU, even if it (the CPU) is supposed to get prioritised memory access. That is why Microsoft’s decision to boost the clocks just before the launch was a sensible thing to do with the design set in stone.
“Counting pixel output probably isn’t the best way to measure the difference between them though. There are plenty of other (and more important factors) that affect image quality besides resolution. We may push 40% more pixels per frame on PS4, but it’s not 40% better as a result… your own eyes can tell you that.”
The whole interview is a long and technical one, but it’s interesting reading for people who like to know more about the hardware powering their games, without really divulging in to fanboy drivel.
Last Updated: August 28, 2014
Xcalibersa
August 28, 2014 at 10:41
So….this assumes that the PS4 will not improve software over time as well?
Rinceable
August 28, 2014 at 10:44
Good point.
LadyOfTheLakeGiveMeMySwordBack
August 28, 2014 at 11:14
Wow, you are a dumbass. A positive for one console does not mean a negative for another. Why come to a site that does balanced reporting if you end up reading anything that is not “PS4 is awesome and everything else sucks”. An article – “Carrots are good for you”; some dumbass comments “So…. this assumes other vegetables have nothing to offer?”
Xcalibersa
August 28, 2014 at 12:19
Wait wait, the author agrees with a post calling me a dumbass?
Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim
August 28, 2014 at 14:56
Aside from the namecalling, which I don;t think is necessary, I think salient points were made.
Xcalibersa
August 28, 2014 at 15:21
Cool, I understand the points made. Just that after reading the whole long interview it boils down to gap closing if the flag does not move.
Nothing about how broccoli wants to control minds if the other vegs stand still.
Rinceable
August 28, 2014 at 10:44
Lulz.
Martin du preez (D4RKL1NGza)
August 28, 2014 at 11:00
XBone hidden power is like a Spirit Bomb. We need you all to send your
energy to the XBone now to unlock the hidden powahs inside
http://www.spawnfirst.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/MatrixRG1.gif
Admiral Chief Assassin
August 28, 2014 at 11:04
CLOUUUUUUUD
Admiral Chief Assassin
August 28, 2014 at 11:04
Hahaha, dat gap!
FoxOneZA
August 28, 2014 at 11:44
Looks like a gif from a movie for old peoples.
Norm
August 28, 2014 at 14:42
^This!
John Doe
August 28, 2014 at 21:19
Direct X is nothing special. It’s a rip off of Open GL.
ShoNuff
August 29, 2014 at 04:04
uhm….no, no it is not. This is just a troll post. Both open GL and Direct X are both great API’s , but, neither is a ripoff of the other. While they do share some feature sets they are not the same.
Hammersteyn
August 29, 2014 at 09:14
LOL!
Labey-Kun
August 29, 2014 at 09:41
Hahahahaha This is so hilarious!! OpenGL is awesome but it has it’s limitation compared to what DX11 and DX12 can pull off.
CodeName Tailgunner
August 28, 2014 at 11:01
“Burn Her!”
Labey-Kun
August 28, 2014 at 11:08
Well like they say, you can have a powerful gun but it’s useless if you don’t know how to use it properly.
FoxOneZA
August 28, 2014 at 11:45
Quality of quantity unless we are talking gigahertz’s
Ryanza
August 28, 2014 at 11:47
What makes you think Microsoft is a witch?
Well, Microsoft turned the Xbox One performance into a newt!
A newt?
… It got better.
Burn it anyway!
Love that movie.
CodeName Tailgunner
August 28, 2014 at 12:22
But does a Xbox One float?
Ryanza
August 28, 2014 at 13:00
Wood floats and a duck floats.
So logically
If Xbox One weighed the same as a duck then it’s made of wood.
And therefore
A witch!
Burn the witch!
Ryanza
August 28, 2014 at 12:00
We are no longer the Microsoft who say DRM
Kinict
Shh…
We are now the Microsoft who say…”ekki ekki ekki ekki ptang zoom boing z’nourrwringmm.”
CodeName Tailgunner
August 28, 2014 at 12:23
Ni!
Ryanza
August 28, 2014 at 12:50
That’s what I say to the Xbox One
fred
August 28, 2014 at 12:29
Let me fire a rocket …. xbone is a dud , ps4 is a beast.;-)
Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)
August 28, 2014 at 15:33
It’s getting better through the power of Phil Spencer’s jacket.
Hammersteyn
August 29, 2014 at 09:13
LOL
Charles - The Great and Powerf
August 28, 2014 at 20:20
LOL. DRAM… CPU AND GPU share DRAM like on PS4, but XBOX One has ESRAM. Which means while on the PS4 the CPU AND GPU have to be constrained by this. XBox One does not. GPU can use ESRAM and CPU can use DRAM. Of course this is the first time that anyone’s mentioned using the DRAM on XBox One for graphics which is something thats very exciting. Putting all of it together you have XBox One having much better hardware than PS4. Once the development is more simplified by newer software packages. PS4 is still limited by its hardware no matter what software it enhances, so no PS4 will not get better. Only XBox One.
ShoNuff
August 29, 2014 at 04:08
I guess this is a troll cave because all I see is trolls.