Sony PS3 275,000,000 polygons per second vs Xbox 360’s 500,000,000
Filed under: News | By: Daniel
Posted on: November 6, 2007 | 167 Comments
Kim Naroz left a really long comment on the post about the amount of power the developers are using form the Xbox 360 and Sony Playstation 3, he pointed out that the Sony PS3 display’s 275,000,000 polygons per second, compared to the 500,000,000 polygons per second of the Xbox 360.
My question is does this really matter?
Here is Kim Naroz’s Comment:
Someone needs to point out that the Playstation 3 can only display 275,000,000 polygons per second, compared to the 500,000,000 polygons per second of the Xbox 360.
That is the reason why games like John Madden Football 2008, NCAA Football 2008, All-Pro Football 2008, and many other games from EA Sports, 2K Sports, and so many others all run at 60 frames per second on the Xbox 360, but only 30 frames per second on the Playstation 3.
Gamespot specifically said in the review of those sports games: “The Xbox 360 versions run smoothly at 60 frames per second at 1080p resolution, while the Playstation 3 versions struggle to run at 30 frames per second at 720p resolution.”
It isn’t just sports games with that problem. Look at all the Tony Hawk Skating games, Tom Clancy Splinter Cell: Double Agent, and F.E.A.R. They have frame rates that drop below 20 frames per second on the PS3 and go into slow motion it is so bad…even though the Xbox 360 versions have very smooth framerates.
Oblivion is NOW BETTER on the Xbox 360!!!
When Oblivion was released a year later on the PS3, it used a new shader design…that had NOTHING to do with hardware technology; it was just something put into the new version of the game as a software program. The download was released for the Xbox 360 later on, but the PS3 fanboys always pointed out, “But when you compare the actual discs, the PS3 one has some advantages (although the Xbox 360 version also has advantages, and was ALWAYS rated higher).
Oblivion: Game of the Year Edition is now available for the Xbox 360, and when you now compare Oblivion on the Xbox 360 to Oblivion on the PS3, there is NO DOUBT that the Xbox 360 version is significantly better; that is why it is rated higher!
The Playstation 3 version of Oblivon is a perfect example that what this man is saying about the Hard Drive of the PS3 being used to help out with memory limitations is NOT true. Consider the FACT that the Playstation 3 version of Oblivion does NOT allow the entire world to exist in the game at the same time, like the Xbox 360 version does. This is because of the Memory Bandwidth hardware bottleneck of the Playstation 3.
Also, when it comes to RAM, the Xbox 360 certainly DOES have fundamental advantages over the Playstation 3!
For example, the CPU of the PS3 can NEVER access more than 256MB of RAM at any point. The Xbox 360 CPU is free to access up to 512MB of RAM if there was a need. With the PS3, there are plenty of times when the CPU needs more than 256MB of RAM, and the Video-RAM of the PS3 is actually using less than 256MB of RAM, which means that if the PS3 had a Unified RAM environment–like the Xbox 360’s–then that unused Video-RAM could help the CPU, like it does on the Xbox 360. OBVIOUSLY, the Xbox 360 RAM design is much more flexible; it helps developers in ways that they enjoy working with.
Plus, it’s important to remember that the original design of the Playstation 3 called for the used of TWO Cell CPU processors–each with two Threads that could Send signals to the SPE subprocessors.
However, when Sony saw the design of the Xbox 360, and they saw how much better the Xbox 360 was, then Sony was forced to redesign the Playstation 3 very quickly in a way that hurt the PS3 system. This is nearly identical to what happened with Sega and the Saturn. Sega saw how much better the original PS1 was, and they were forced to quickly redesign the Saturn in a way that used parallel processing that was difficult to work with and was more expensive. This is EXACTLY what happened with the Playstation 3.
The original design of the PS3 was not even supposed to used a GPU, because it was going to have two of the Cell CPU processors. But when Sony saw the revolutionary ATI GPU in the Xbox 360 that was Custom designed for the Xbox 360, and was 1.5 years ahead of its time (since the PC didn’t see similar Unified Shader technology until January 30, 2007), then Sony was forced to removed one of the Cell CPUs in the PS3, and instead add a Nvidia GPU. But there was NOT time to custom design the GPU, so Sony was forced to included a four-year old generic GPU in the PS3. That is why people often point out the vast superiority of the Xbox 360 GPU.
Now that the PS3 only has one 3.2Ghz Cell CPU, it means that the PS3 has only two Threads capable of Sending signals to the six SPE sub-processors running parallel. Each of those six SPE processors is capable of Receiving a Threaded signal; however, the PS3 CPU is only capable of Sending two Threaded signals. This is where the hardware “bottleneck” of the PS3 reveals itself. Programmers often say that the PS3 has two arms (CPU Threads) that are trying to juggle six balls (SPE sub-processors). Obviously, that is NOT possible, and that is why the Playstation 3 hardware is such a BIG disappointment.
With the Xbox 360, Microsoft used a much newer and better form of technology. PCs often brag about their “dual-core” CPU design. The Xbox 360 actually takes that to the next level and used a “tri-core” CPU design, with each CPU using the most developer-favored videogame processor available–the PowerPC.
The Xbox 360 is literally the exact opposite when compared to the Playstation 3 in terms of hardware design and efficiency. The Xbox 360 has three 3.2Ghz CPUs, each with two Threads capable of Sending instructions. But the Xbox 360 doesn’t the outdated parallel processing environment of the PS3. There are no “sub-processors” to worry about with the Xbox 360. The signals can be focused on CPU and GPU commands. This literally means the Xbox 360 has six arms (CPU Threads) that are being asked to juggle only two balls (GPU and CPU functions).
THAT is why the developers absolutely LOVE the Xbox 360 and can design games so much more efficiently for the Xbox 360.
THAT is why games are released so much earlier for the Xbox 360.
THAT is why the overwhelming majority of Xbox 360 games offer better graphic and online performance on the Xbox 360.
THAT is NOT going to change!
It may be easier to port a PS3 game to the Xbox 360 than it is to port an Xbox 360 to the PS3 (since the Xbox 360 is more powerful in terms of videogame performance–500,000,000 polygons for the Xbox 360 is more than the 275,000,000 for the PS3), but the Xbox 360 will continue to be the Lead Platform this generation for two reasons:
(1) Because the Xbox 360 is so much easier for developers to develop games for and experiment with new types of gameplay.
(2) Because the Xbox 360 has sold over Eight-Million more systems than the Playstation 3, and that lead continues grow by hundreds of thousands of systems each month, in terms of Worldwide Sales.
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Eric,
I am a Video Game retailer. An independent game store. Guess how many ps3’s i sold this holiday. I think its less than 5
I sold at least 50 360’s
Everyday people come in and we let them play anything they want. its been over 3 months since a PS3 game was requested to be played on our Big screen.
Im just being realistic. I sell more N64 and NES then PS3 related anything.
@marc
Are you saying that developers are favoring the MS platform because you aren’t selling PS3s and games? That is a stretch. People buy consoles for many reasons. Yes the 360 does have the critical mass right now but that all because of perception rather than reality. It is the popular choice. Hey go ahead buy a 360, what do I care. I think they are basically equal performance wise. 360 probably does have a better game selection, so that’s a very good reason to buy one. I mean it’s just as much as little johny’s friends all play Halo and he wants to join in over the web so little johney ask’s his mommy for a 360. Simple as that.
Also you saying it’s a 10-1 selling ratio? That is out of the norm. Right now it is 1.75-1 in the US and almost even parity world wide.
Also I think it needs to be said that last generation sales were over 120 million units and with Wii/360/PS3 combined we are at what 25 million right now? Still quite early to say any of them is the winner or loser. Maybe mid 2009 that can be said more definitively.
Im seeing 10-1 on console sales and maybe 30-1 game sales and 50-1 accessory sales with 360 being the favorite in my store.
For example I cant keep or get many xbox 360 Rock bands or Guitar hero 3’s but I have a stack of ps3 ones.
yeah but yall need to realise something. kfc is way better than churges chicken. period.
thats churches**** my bad
aw hell whatever.
its funny, all this discussion about system specs and crap like that. However, no one talks about what really matters. Fun for your money. Not only is the 360 cheaper, the livemaes it last so much longer. Example, cod 4’s single player didnt last very long, however I has logged over 16 days of online play! Its the replayability that live offers that really matters.
also, multiplayer isn’t the only thing live offers. The microtransactions for arcade game and the indie development games make the $6 oh so justified.
Let’s not forget the ability to rent movies! HD movies! This is revolutionary. All these bonuses blow the blue ray player out of the water and makes the PS online look like shit.
conclusion: xbox offers more bang for your buck. PS3 is the whore on the side with STDs
Gamespot has conducted a Graphics Comparison between the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 each year since the Playstation 3 has been available.
Xbox 360 has been declared the winner of the Graphics Comparison each of the three years: 2006, 2007, 2008.
2008 shows that the gap in performance continues to get bigger, in favor of the Xbox 360.
Here is the hyperlink that shows the newest comparison–one the Xbox 360 easily defeats the Playstation: hxxp://www.gamespot.com/features/6191251/index.html
…And by the way, the Playstation 3 only transfers data at a rate of 54MB per second as a Blu-ray player being used for movies. When it comes to gaming, there are hardware “bottlenecks” that the Playstation 3 faces, which allows the PS3 to transfer data at a rate of only 9MB per second. The Xbox 360 transfers data at a rate of 16MB per second.
The Official Playstation Magazine wrote an article about the longer load times of PS3 games shortly after the Playstation 3 was launched. The only time the PS3 does not have to deal with either noticably or significantly longer load times is when the game is placed on the PS3 hard drive. Sadly, it often takes over TWENTY long minutes to write the game onto the PS3 hard drive. Even when a PS3 game is written onto a hard drive, the load times between Xbox 360 games and PS3 games is virtually identical, as we saw in Devil May Cry 4 and Grand Theft Auto 4.
Also, the person who listed the specifications of the Playstation 3 really should take a look at all of the nonsense that Sony listed. In case you didn’t notice, those specifications STILL have the Playstation 3 listed with 2 (yes, TWO) HDMI outputs!
Those were false specs, buddy! Even Konami’s Hideo Kojima specifically said that when the PS3 development kits arrived, the entire staff of Konami realized Sony listed false specifications about the Playstation 3 at the 2005 E3 show.
In case you don’t remember, Sony told LOTS of LIES with the Playstation 3, just like they did with the Playstation 2. The difference with the Playstation 3 is that this time we were ready for those lies. Like the saying goes, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”
Here’s a small sample of the LIES that Sony told:
(1) Sony said the PS2 Emotion Engine supercomputer CPU would have graphics similar to the Disney Movie called Toy Story. Obviously that never came close to happening.
(2) Sony said the PS3 would have “4D Graphics.” Obviously this never came close to happening. The PS3 only uses simulated 3D graphics.
(3) Sony said the PS3 would have 2 HDMI outputs. We now know this didn’t happen; the PS3 has only 1 HDMI output.
(4) Sony said the Playstation 3 would have games running at a “standard” 1080p resolution. We now know that the Playstation 3 has very few games with a 1080p resolution. Most Playstation 3 games have a Native Resolution of 720p or lower. For example, the Xbox 360 version of Grand Theft Auto 4 runs at 720p, while the Playstation 3 version runs at only 640p.
(5) We also know that the Playstation 3 has ZERO games that run at 120 frames per second, even though Sony said we would see PS3 games running at 120 frames per second. We also know that most Playstation 3 games “struggle to run at 30 frames per second at 720p resolution.” That was a quote from Gamespot.
(5) Sony continues to tell lies to this day. For example, Sony recently said that “ALL” PS3 games would have Trophies included them as a result of Firmware Update 2.4. We now know that only 3 (yes, ONLY THREE) Playstation 3 games received the Trophy feature from Firmware Update 2.4.
What’s worse is that Sony doesn’t require any 3rd party, 2nd party, or even 1st party developers to include the Trophy feature in any games that have already been released or will be released in the future! It is NOT a mandatory feature that developers must include with games the way that Xbox 360 Achievements are.