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User:Ryan Norton/Xbox360HardwareList

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Hardware

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Central processing unit

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Xbox 360 CPU with some thermal paste left on it

The CPU, named Xenon is a custom IBM tri-core PowerPC-based design.[1]

Graphics processing unit

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Xbox 360 GPU; note the smaller eDRAM die to the left of the main Xenos die

The "Xenos" GPU is a custom chip designed by ATI. (Developed under the name "C1", sometimes "R500")[3] The chip contains two separate silicon dies: the parent GPU and the daughter eDRAM.

  • 315 million transistors total (332 million parent shader die+105 million EDRAM daughter die)
  • 500 MHz parent GPU (90 nm TSMC process, 277 million transistors)
  • 500 MHz 10 MB daughter Embedded DRAM framebuffer (90 nm process, 105 million transistors)
  • 48-way parallel floating-point dynamically-scheduled shader pipelines[5]
    • Unified shader architecture (each pipeline is capable of running either pixel or vertex shaders)
    • Support for a superset of DirectX 9.0 and Shader Model 3.0
    • MEMEXPORT shader function
    • 2 shader ALU operations per pipeline per cycle (1 vec4 and 1 scalar, co-issued)
    • 150 programmable shader operations per cycle (48 ALUs x 2 ops + 16 texture fetch + 32 control flow + 16 vertex fetch)[6]
    • 48 billion shader operations per second (96 billion shader operations per second theoretical maximum) [5]
    • 215 GFLOPS programmable[6]
  • 16 filtered or unfiltered texture samples per clock
  • Maximum polygon performance: 500 million triangles per second
  • Texel fillrate: 8 gigatexel per second fillrate (16 textures x 500 MHz)
  • Pixel fillrate: 16 gigasamples per second fillrate using 4X multisample anti aliasing (MSAA), or 32 gigasamples using Z-only operation; 4 gigapixels per second without MSAA (8 ROPs x 500 MHz)[3]
  • Dot product operations: 24 billion per second or 33.6 billion per second theoretical maximum when summed with CPU operations
  • Cooling: Both the GPU and CPU of the console have heatsinks. The CPU's heatsink uses heatpipe technology, to efficiently conduct heat from the CPU to the fins of the heatsink.[7] The heatsinks are actively cooled by a pair of 60 mm exhaust fans that push the air out of the case (negative case pressure).

Memory and system bandwidth

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Xbox 360 Bandwidth Diagram
Xbox 360 Bandwidth Diagram

Memory

System bandwidth

  • 256 GB/s eDRAM internal logic to eDRAM internal memory bandwidth
  • 32 GB/s GPU to eDRAM bandwidth (2 GHz × 2 accesses per clock cycle on a 64 bit DDR bus)
  • 22.4 GB/s memory interface bus bandwidth (700 MHz × 2 accesses per clock cycle (one per edge) on a 128 bit bus)
  • 21.6 GB/s front side bus (aggregated 10.8 GB/s upstream and downstream)
  • 1 GB/s southbridge bandwidth (aggregated 500 MB/s upstream and downstream)


Audio and video

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  • All games must support at least six channel Dolby Digital surround sound.
  • Support for 48 kHz 16-bit audio [5]
  • 320 independent decompression channels [5]
  • 32 bit processing [5]
  • 256+ audio channels [5]
  • No voice echo to game players on the same console; voice goes only to remote consoles.
  • Voice communication is handled by the console, not by the game code, allowing cross-game communication.

Supported resolutions[8]

  • 640 x 480p/i
  • 848 x 480
  • 1024 x 768
  • 1280 x 720p/i
  • 1280 x 768
  • 1280 x 1024
  • 1360 x 768
  • 1920 x 1080i

Supported codecs

The console has a built-in 100BASE-TX RJ45 ethernet port, suitable for connecting to Xbox Live, and three USB ports.

Storage

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  • Optical
  • Hard drive: 20 GB optional, detachable, upgradeable, and external 2.5" SATA drive (5400 rpm)
  • 64MB Memory Unit: For game saves and small downloads
  • 256MB Memory Unit: Announced, planned for release Q4 2006


Miscellaneous

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Console

  • Weight 3.5 kg (7.7 lb)
  • 29.5 x 25.8 x 8.3 cm (12.16 x 10.15 x 3.27 in)

External power supply

  • 21.3 x 7.6 x 5.7 cm (8.4 x 3 x 2.25 in)
  • 5 amps / 100-120V A/C input and D/C output of 203W.

Other

  • Capable of accelerating procedural synthesis to dynamically generate game data.
  • The option to apply a regional lockout to games is available to publishers. DVD region codes are always enforced.
  • 1 RJ45 ethernet port for 100BASE-TX (100 Mbit/s), located on the back of the console.
  • Three USB ports, two in the front, one at the back of the console.
  • Specifications are also available at the official Xbox 360 website.[10]
  • Some users have reported a cache clearing workaround for games that have lock-up errors such as NCAA Football '07 and Oblivion. It can be useful if the system and games seems sluggish or unresponsive. The most important part of clearing the cache is knowing what to expect. The cache clearing method has been proven to clear all software updates, so that individual game updates and purchased game add ons must be re-downloaded after the process is complete. [11][12]
  • Some users have reported technical problems.

Components and accessories

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  • Xbox 360 Gamepad: Up to four controllers are supported by the Xbox 360, either in wired and wireless varieties.
  • Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel: Includes force feedback, used for racing games ($149.99 separately).
  • Faceplates: Used to change the look of the front of the console.
  • HD DVD Drive: An external drive used to play HD DVDs to be released in Q4 2006 (with a rumored price of $200).
  • Detachable Hard Drive: An optional detachable SATA 20 GB hard drive. Used for the storage of games, music, and other content ($100 separately).
  • Memory Unit: A portable device to save data.
  • Wireless Network Adapter: A Wi-Fi adapter (802.11a/g/b) to connect to Xbox Live, or a home network through a wireless router($100 separately).
  • Headset: Headset used for communication over Xbox Live, wired and wireless versions available.
  • Live Vision Camera: An Xbox 360 branded webcam (The first package, at $39.99, will include the Vision camera, a headset, a one-month Xbox Live Gold subscription, and two Vision-enabled Xbox Live Arcade games: Uno and TotemBall. The second bundle, for $79.99, will include the Vision camera, a headset, a full-year Xbox Live Gold subscription, 200 Microsoft Points, and three Xbox Live Arcade games including Uno, TotemBall, and Robotron: 2084).
  • Universal Media Remote: Assists in the playing of DVD movies and music. Also controls Windows Media Center functions if a media center PC is connected to the network.
  • Wireless Headset: Has a built-in bluetooth transmitter that allows it to communicate directly with the Xbox 360 console without going through the controller (separately $59.99).
  1. ^ "Application-customized CPU design", Brown, Jeffery, IBM developerWorks, 2005
  2. ^ "Xbox 360 getting new CPU", GameSpot, 23 April, 2006
  3. ^ a b Wavey Dave Baumann. "ATI Xenos: XBOX 360 Graphics Demystified". Beyond3D. Retrieved 2006-04-11.
  4. ^ ATI engineers by way of Beyond 3D's Dave Baumann.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h [1]
  6. ^ a b "Xbox 360 & PlayStation 3 performance comparison". IGN. Retrieved 2006-05-25.
  7. ^ "Xbox 360 cooling hardware images"
  8. ^ Xbox 360 High Def Details
  9. ^ "New Xbox360 Tech Info From CEDEC", GamersReports, 9 September 2005
  10. ^ "Xbox 360: Feel the Power", Microsoft
  11. ^ http://www.joystiq.com/2006/06/09/xbox-360-hdd-cache-clear-code-discovered/
  12. ^ "How do I clear the cache on the Xbox 360?"