Microsoft’s next Xbox system specs have allegedly been leaked by website vgleaks.com.
According to the leak, the next Xbox features an AMD-made eight-core CPU running at 1.6GHz and built on x64 architecture. This is coupled with 8GB DDR3 RAM and 32MB of faster embedded SRAM.
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The 32MB of ESRAM is significant for its transfer speed, a reported 102 GB per second. Working in parallel with the DDR3 RAM, the leak claims a peak memory bandwidth for the GPU of 170 GB per second.
If confirmed, it also marks a change from the current Xbox 360’s 10MB of eDRAM, which is built into the system’s GPU. According to the leak, the 32MB of ESRAM will interface with the GPU but will actually be a separate part, potentially allowing other aspects of the system to access its memory if needed.
The GPU is said to be a custom D3D 11.1 processor at 800MHz. It allegedly has 12 shader cores, offering peak performance of 1.2 trillion floating-point operations per second.
For the system’s other hardware, it will have a built-in non-removable hard drive and a 6x Blu-ray drive to take 50GB discs. In terms of ports, it will have HDMI out, USB 3.0, Kinect port, gigabit ethernet, wi-fi and a sata 2.0 port for an external hard drive. Interestingly, an HDMI in port is also listed, suggesting possible DVR functionality.
All of the leaked specs are consistent with what developers were saying at CES when claiming that the PlayStation 4, codenamed Orbis, will be 50 percent more powerful than the next Xbox.
Recently it was also rumoured that the new Xbox, with the codename Durango, will feature Skype at the core of the system, replacing Xbox Live’s voice and video chat services.
Both consoles are expected to be announced in March for a late 2013 release.
Sony and Microsoft are yet to officially confirm any specific details of their future consoles.
