The Graphic Touch
At A Glance
- High-definition standard.
- Graphic processing power.
- Photo-realistic environments.
No element of next-generation gaming, and more specifically, Xbox 360™, will be more closely scrutinized than the graphics. The visual flair and competence showcased will need to be extraordinary to impress.
No other aspect of the console will be more noticed or commented upon, but now that we are seeing screenshots and video, we can begin to see just how fundamental a shift we can expect. The graphics aren't just a step up; they're a quantum leap forward.
It speaks for itself.
New Standards
Potential is great, but a guarantee is worlds better. In an unprecedented move, all Xbox 360 games have been given the following edict: Support widescreen formatting and 720 progressive scan. These aren't suggestions, they're requirements, and the benefit to HDTV owners is significant.
"Some GPUs have looked good on paper, but fallen
far short of expectations. This GPU delivers."
With widescreen as a standard, no longer stretch or zoom images to utilize the whole screen. 720 progressive scan as a standard utilizes nearly the best resolution possible on the most advanced HDTVs. If the substantial resolution shift (most games now support 480 progressive at most) doesn't register, try the following: Set your PC to 800x600 resolution and play any graphically intensive game. Then switch over the resolution to 1024x768. The image is clearer, more defined, and better focused.
All games are capable of running at 480i (that's the resolution of your standard definition TV), 480p, 720p, and 1080i, so no matter what your TV supports, Xbox 360 has you covered.
Imagination come to life.
The Facts
For those that dig numbers, here are just a few raw specs for you to chew on regarding the graphical processing unit (GPU) for Xbox 360:
- 500 MHz core frequency
- 48 Vector ALU
- 48 Scalar ALU
- 16 Texture Fetch Units
- 16 Interpolation Units
- 16 Vertex Vetch Units with programmable tessellation
- Dedicated shader control flow unit
- Custom high-speed EDRAM
For the non-techies among us, that's a beast of a card. Michael Dougherty (graphics guru on the Xbox 360 team), had this to say when talking about the sheer horsepower:
"The GPU has an honest design with respect to performance. For example, texture filtering and MSAA can be done at full rate with no performance penalties. Some GPUs have looked good on paper, but fallen far short of expectations due to unpublished penalties when doing real rendering. This GPU delivers."
Itagaki does it again ... breathtaking.
In regards to some of the GPU's more remarkable abilities, Michael points to the 48 Vector and Scalar ALU: "We are seeing shading operations that take hundreds of math operations per pixel. That's pretty amazing to see in real time."
The graphical potential for Xbox 360 is just barely
being tapped. We haven't seen anything yet.
Also of significant note is the balance struck in processing power. In the past, you could expect dedicated elements of the GPU (for example, the vertex and pixel shaders) to work independently, but the Xbox 360 GPU is able to balance the two, so while one isn't needed the other can pull from its resources. As Michael puts it, "The processing power is put where it's needed."
What does this all mean? See the practical results in every screenshot and video: the textured skin of a basketball player, the thousands and thousands of individual blades of grass, the realistic way the muscles in a character's face move, the armies of highly detailed soldiers on screen at once, the breathtaking photo-realistic environments.
The list goes on and on, but the proof is in the pudding. The graphical horsepower the Xbox 360 provides maybe its most scrutinized feature, but it's also the greatest asset. There's no easier way to tell the next generation of gaming has arrived.
The good news is that as spectacular as things look now, the graphical potential for Xbox 360 is just barely being tapped. We haven't seen anything yet.
Article by Alex McLain
