The PlayStation 4, like the Xbox One (and the Wii U, really), will feature more modern GPU’s that are able to be tapped for general purpose computing; calculating physics, AI and the like in parallel with the CPU instead of just being used to push pixels and polygons. It won’t, however, be necessary – at least not for a while.
Driveclub developer Evolution studio’s Technical Director Scott Kirkland doesn’t think there’s much reason to worry about GPU general computing right now – but that it opens up exciting future prospects.
You already have a lot of CPU power at your disposal. I think with many of the first generation PS4 titles, developers probably won’t need to worry about it – they’ll be able to get a lot out of parallelism across the CPU cores – but for teams who are a bit more ambitious, who want to do interesting things, it’s just waiting there. We’re doing some of that in DriveClub and I’m sure other guys will go further – and the platform guys will expose more of that functionality through the lifespan of the machine, unlocking more potential.
I actually thing the general purpose computing stuff is going to be tapped in t sooner rather than later; the 8-core CPU that powers the PS4, while probably quite well suited to a console, isn’t exactly bleeding edge stuff. Still it’s nice to see that the next crop of consoles will have a little more legroom to grow.
DriveClub is exclusive to the Ps4 and will be one of the system’s launch titles. though it’ll be available at retail, it’ll also be given to PS Plus subscribers as a lighter, less fully-featured freebie.
Last Updated: August 8, 2013
TiMsTeR1033
August 8, 2013 at 12:16
When will they start showing some more on drive club…. No more videos since E3 I think, correct me if I am wrong.
Pieter Kruger
August 8, 2013 at 12:42
Well, to be totally honest there hasn’t been much at all from Sony since E3! ????. Not even 2 weeks till Gamescom though, sure you’ll get your fix then!????
Spathi
August 8, 2013 at 13:19
There has been news about most of the games actually.
Here is a hands-on about Drive Club:
http://za.playstation.com/psn/news/articles/detail/item632260/Hands-on-with-DRIVECLUB/
Jakster
August 8, 2013 at 12:23
Fail Club and Killzone Shadow Fail aren’t pushing the FailStation 4 in the first place. We knew that all along judging by the mediocre graphics.
Martin du preez
August 8, 2013 at 12:25
What size clown shoes do you wear?
Jakster
August 8, 2013 at 15:38
One doesn’t wear shoes in Africa.
Next gen geff
August 8, 2013 at 22:46
Knob cheese
TiMsTeR1033
August 8, 2013 at 12:32
*speaks in russian accent* Listen boy, I will take you and crush you like a little dog, and then put you in a can and sell you on ebay as unicorn meat for only 1 us dollar kapesh!
Martin du preez
August 8, 2013 at 12:25
Header of the week!
TiMsTeR1033
August 8, 2013 at 12:33
that was a brillent video, esp guy in start hahahah
Pieter Kruger
August 8, 2013 at 12:35
I think these guys were rushed or just lazy coming in at 30fps. Will have to wait for the new GT on PS4 to teach them how it’s done maybe?
Milesh Bhana
August 8, 2013 at 12:37
that’s what Forza is for 😛
Pieter Kruger
August 8, 2013 at 12:39
Hehe! Forza will also be a day one purchase for myself for sure!????
TiMsTeR1033
August 8, 2013 at 13:33
so your getting an xbone?
Pieter Kruger
August 8, 2013 at 13:39
For sure! Will look at the PS4 later next year maybe! ????
TiMsTeR1033
August 8, 2013 at 13:40
so your not really bothered by ps4 being more powerful ect and all the mabo jumbo crap? what made you wanna get xbone? Forza? btw you play on live?
Spathi
August 8, 2013 at 13:41
Pieter, forget about the XB1…All the cool kids (yeah, it’s gonna be cool to own a PS4 apparently, because it is cool to hate on the XB1) will have a shiny new PS4 by Christmas, playing awesome games like The Order, Infamous, Killzone, Drive Club and a host of new MMOs! 😛
Milesh Bhana
August 8, 2013 at 15:09
honestly, my preference for xbox (and still wanting to get an XB1) is purely for the controller. I simply can’t play FPS and Racing games on the sixaxis and I don’t feel that the PS4 controller has improved enough to be a match for the 360’s one.
The PS is definitely a better deal now though, especially with PSN Plus!
anthony
August 8, 2013 at 16:15
did u go to the e3 to try the controller??? if no how can u say its not ergonomic…??
Spathi
August 9, 2013 at 10:51
I can’t play FPSs on any console, I suck! Keyboard and mouse on the other hand :D.
Also, I have a G25 for racing games that the Xbox doesn’t support, so that is part of the reason I go for PS. But to each his own!
Riaan
August 8, 2013 at 12:47
Could you learned gamers please tell me what the benefit is of going above a frame rate of 25fps? Considering that full high definition (1080p) bluray movies are typically rendered at “only” 24fps. And as a follow-up question, what is the minimum frame rate before the human eye will detect “stutter”?
Umar Kiiroi Senk?
August 8, 2013 at 12:48
Why are you acting so condescending?
Spathi
August 8, 2013 at 13:14
I think he was being sincere 🙂
Umar Kiiroi Senk?
August 8, 2013 at 13:16
oh, well then I’m condescending, it’s been a long day, meh, gonna nap now ZZZZ
Spathi
August 8, 2013 at 13:18
My office closes at 14h00! Then it is long weekend baby!
Umar Kiiroi Senk?
August 8, 2013 at 13:26
lucky bastard …. ENJOY!! 🙂
TiMsTeR1033
August 8, 2013 at 13:33
I close at 17:00 🙁
Spathi
August 8, 2013 at 13:35
Develop some kinda of highly contagious disease…DO IT, NOW!!!
TiMsTeR1033
August 8, 2013 at 13:37
and tell whom my boss is on site. 🙁 the joys working as graphic designer in signage company
Uberutang
August 8, 2013 at 12:54
I detect the diff between 30 and 60 fps in games, clearly.
Games feel far less ‘smooth’ at 30 vs 60.
Melasco
August 8, 2013 at 12:54
Framerate affects input response time. Higher framerate = more responsive control. Play BF3 and BLOPS2 on console and you’ll see what I mean. As long as a game runs solid 30 fps, it wont really look worse than 60. 25 fps is a pushing it for gaming imo, I can notice the difference(stutter) compared to 30.
Umar Kiiroi Senk?
August 8, 2013 at 12:58
Also it’s a lot smoother and faster, if you play DmC on console as opposed to PC, you can feel and see the difference, it just makes 30fps seem very slow
Pieter Kruger
August 8, 2013 at 12:57
I’m just saying it’s a launch title, it’s flagship and they shouldn’t skimp on it!
Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim
August 8, 2013 at 13:09
It really comes down to how it “feels” rather than how it looks. It’s different from a movie, because that’s passive, whereas with a game your inputs are affecting the outcome.
You’ll see it with Mario Kart 8 on Wii U – which is the first 60fps Mario Kart – and it just feels so much smoother. Also compare the Wii and 3DS versions of donkey Kong country Returns. The wii games is 60fps smooth, where the 3ds one is 30fps.Still fine, but certainly noticeable.
A lot of It also comes down to the fact that most monitors/tv’s refresh at a rate of 60hz (that is, 60 times per second) and a frame rate that fits in with that feels less laggy.
As for where it starts feeling..off, I’d say below 23 fps and you’ll perceive stuttering.
HvR
August 8, 2013 at 13:25
“8-core CPU that powers the PS4, while probably quite well suited to a console, isn’t exactly bleeding edge stuff”
The Jaguar is the latest and greatest processor from AMD (I think they only started mass production a month or two ago), the days of comparing CPU performance by looking at the number of cores and clock speed is long gone. Both Intel and AMD are pushing more performance out of CPU’s with improving inter core processing and communication and access to to cache and memory backs and increasing the number of instructions that can be processed by 5% to 15% with each generation.
TiMsTeR1033
August 8, 2013 at 13:30
and to think not so long ago, we man thought by now we would have single 10ghz cpus, and its not like that at all.
Troll Slayer
August 8, 2013 at 14:47
It’s a mobile processor whichever way you spin it.
HvR
August 8, 2013 at 16:04
If that was an attempt on PS4 trolling, the Xbox One uses the same 8 core AMD Jaguar CPU.
Exalted Overlord Geoffrey Tim
August 8, 2013 at 16:30
As successor to the bobcat, the regular 2 and 4 core Jaguar APU is intended for netbooks; yes, the custom jaguars in teh consoles will be a bit beefier – but are a far cry from, say, even intel’s latest haswell core i7.
The a10’s are low power (ie very energy efficient), and compete with core i5’s on a performance level.
HvR
August 8, 2013 at 17:10
Well there are notebooks, mini-pc and server editions of the Jaguar, but the intended market is for custom solutions.
But the silicone tech inside is based on AMD’s latest 28nm tech (sure not as good as Intel 22nm) and they have managed to boost the performance of these by 15% to 20% from the Bobcat at same clock speeds.
Intel on the other hand is in their optimization cycle and have greatly reduced the power consumption with the Haswell generation but performance increase sits at 5%. I won’t bother upgrading if you already have an Ivy Bridge i7.