Microsoft: Why taking away RAM from developers is good for them

"Xbox One offers a total of eight gigabytes of RAM, a stupendous leap over its predecessor's 512 MB - but around three gigabytes of this is set aside for entertainment apps, system-wide Kinect features and communication tools like Skype, which run in parallel to games. Naturally, this has provoked a certain amount of upset among those who'd rather each and every byte of memory was set aside for the sole, exclusive purpose of (e.g.) rendering every fold in Batman's cape.

According to Xbox's director of development Boyd Multerer, however, that kind of all-or-nothing thinking simply isn't reflective of the myriad functionality players now expect of their consoles. Xbox One's operating system setup, he argued, is an attempt to reconcile this hunger for supposedly "peripheral" features with the stability developers require of console hardware. Speaking to us shortly before the console's reveal, Multerer explained Microsoft's thinking in greater depth: how it built Xbox One to have both a fixed games platform for developers to target, and something more flexible for rapidly-changing apps of the moment - rather than trying to cram the latter into the former, as with Xbox 360's unloved Twitter app.

Xbox 360 already divides its memory allowance, in order to run the dashboard Guide on top of games, but there's now much more pressure to save RAM for so-called "broader entertainment" and networking features. "

"You start thinking of it like "ah, okay, the game developer could really focus on the 3D world, focus on the art and the money they put into it, have this look beautiful," mused Multerer, "While working with a set of apps over here that allows us to have different surfaces, hook into social systems, to add value beyond the 3D world of the game, flip back and forth quickly between them.

"And you end up with a vibrant, changing world that can handle the innovation and the pace of change over on the internet, all the start-ups, that sort of stuff - but can still work with the games, that need the predictability, that need the optimization, that need to make sure they're spending their money on the right things."

TL;DR : We need more RAM for a bloated OS and apps, fvck games!apps = innovation

Consoles are sounding dumber and dumber, I just want to play the damn games.tagyhag

Remember when cows used to love the arguments for split RAM, back when Sony did it with the PS3?charizard1605

Remember when cows used to love the arguments for split RAM, back when Sony did it with the PS3?charizard1605

[QUOTE="Blabadon"]Still a smaller OS than the PS4's lame-looking one. Neither should be this big, it's ridiculous.DrTrafalgarLaw

He's a genius!

That actually sounds totally reasonable for me.

Hes saying just make everything laid out with all peripherals like Kinect and all System resources, so no matter what the user is doing you know exactly what you have.

I see no issue at all.  Its really the same thing consoles have done since the beginning of time, he just worded it differently.  

Zaibach: Why beating my wife is good for her

Remember when cows used to love the arguments for split RAM, back when Sony did it with the PS3?charizard1605

that's all we, gamers, wanted.

[QUOTE="legalize82"][QUOTE="Blabadon"]Still a smaller OS than the PS4's lame-looking one. Neither should be this big, it's ridiculous.superclocked

The memory setup in the xb1 is inferior to the memory setup in ps4 in just about every way. 

[QUOTE="charizard1605"]Remember when cows used to love the arguments for split RAM, back when Sony did it with the PS3?Suppaman100

In other words. MS had a plan from the beginning. And intelligently allocated RAM for the OS and other applications from the get go. While Sony is trying to figure it out as they go. Cool.

In other words. MS had a plan from the beginning. And intelligently allocated RAM for the OS and other applications from the get go. While Sony is trying to figure it out as they go. Cool.

GravityX

In other words. MS had a plan from the beginning. And intelligently allocated RAM for the OS and other applications from the get go. While Sony is trying to figure it out as they go. Cool.

GravityX

So, from a MS statement about their own product you get a conclusion about the competition's plans. Great reasoning, you're a very logical person!

[QUOTE="GravityX"]

In other words. MS had a plan from the beginning. And intelligently allocated RAM for the OS and other applications from the get go. While Sony is trying to figure it out as they go. Cool.

legalize82

Don't worry they already no everything about you and your stash.

In other words. MS had a plan from the beginning. And intelligently allocated RAM for the OS and other applications from the get go. While Sony is trying to figure it out as they go. Cool.

GravityX

In other words. MS had a plan from the beginning. And intelligently allocated RAM for the OS and other applications from the get go. While Sony is trying to figure it out as they go. Cool.

GravityX

[QUOTE="GravityX"]

In other words. MS had a plan from the beginning. And intelligently allocated RAM for the OS and other applications from the get go. While Sony is trying to figure it out as they go. Cool.

Suppaman100

[QUOTE="GravityX"]

In other words. MS had a plan from the beginning. And intelligently allocated RAM for the OS and other applications from the get go. While Sony is trying to figure it out as they go. Cool.

SambaLele

So, from a MS statement about their own product you get a conclusion about the competition's plans. Great reasoning, you're a very logical person!

Well, MS did come out from the beginning and lay out their plan for RAM usage. While Sony on the other hand seems to still be figuring it out. First it was 7, than 4.5, than 5.5, than 5 and now I think were back to 6. And SW dictates I take a jab at Sony.

[QUOTE="Suppaman100"][QUOTE="GravityX"]

In other words. MS had a plan from the beginning. And intelligently allocated RAM for the OS and other applications from the get go. While Sony is trying to figure it out as they go. Cool.

legalize82

In other words. MS had a plan from the beginning. And intelligently allocated RAM for the OS and other applications from the get go. While Sony is trying to figure it out as they go. Cool.

GravityX

[QUOTE="Suppaman100"][QUOTE="GravityX"]

In other words. MS had a plan from the beginning. And intelligently allocated RAM for the OS and other applications from the get go. While Sony is trying to figure it out as they go. Cool.

legalize82

:lol:

MS engineers>>>>>>Sony engineers. And you have fun with your PS360.

[QUOTE="Suppaman100"][QUOTE="superclocked"]eSRAM + Move Engines + Tiling Hardware + LZ Compression hardware + DDR3 > GDDR5 :Psuperclocked

[QUOTE="legalize82"][QUOTE="Suppaman100"] :lol: love it when some forum clown makes a post like this. Sony's engineers >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>....>>>>>>> you. Have fun with your casual, weaker, no privacy xBONE though.GravityX

:lol:

MS engineers>>>>>>Sony engineers. And you have fun with your PS360.

Who cares. Both consoles have enough ram to run beautiful looking next gen games.

[QUOTE="SambaLele"]

[QUOTE="GravityX"]

In other words. MS had a plan from the beginning. And intelligently allocated RAM for the OS and other applications from the get go. While Sony is trying to figure it out as they go. Cool.

GravityX

So, from a MS statement about their own product you get a conclusion about the competition's plans. Great reasoning, you're a very logical person!

Well, MS did come out from the beginning and lay out their plan for RAM usage. While Sony on the other hand seems to still be figuring it out. First it was 7, than 4.5, than 5.5, than 5 and now I think were back to 6. And SW dictates I take a jab at Sony.

Wow, I must admit I'm surprised to see that kind of argument being made in MS' favour.

Do people forget this quickly about things? Can't you see how that can be used against MS' "coming clear and laying out their plan" with all the X1 policies and Kinect fiasco?

Their official excuse for that was exactly that they failed to lay out how it would work, what it really was, etc.

[QUOTE="superclocked"][QUOTE="legalize82"] GDDR5>>>>>>>>>>>> ddr3 sony does everything better for 100 lessfyron256

Its called AMD PRT

it's actually smart if Sony doesn't give all the ram away to developers right away.

Davekeeh

[QUOTE="legalize82"][QUOTE="Blabadon"]Still a smaller OS than the PS4's lame-looking one. Neither should be this big, it's ridiculous.superclocked

When memory issues are reduced for both camps, GCN with 18 CUs > GCN with 12 CUs.

It's basically like W5000(down clocked to @800Mhz, 12 CUs) vs "7860" (18 CUs @ 800Mhz).

Both GPUs has the same triangles per cycle rate i.e. 1.6 billion triangles per second @ 800Mhz.

Both CPUs has the same 6 core Jaguar for games.

[QUOTE="fyron256"][QUOTE="superclocked"]eSRAM + Move Engines + Tiling Hardware + LZ Compression hardware + DDR3 > GDDR5 :Pxboxiphoneps3

Its called AMD PRT

Sony is using 2.5 - 3gb ram for the OS. 

Sony is using 2.5 - 3gb ram for the OS. 

xhawk27

 I know People are saying they just want to play games and I know Im going to be called a lemming but what me play my xbox over my ps3 was just a better ui experience. I actually hope that the ps4 does the 6-2 since that sounds like it gives a nice amount for the games and some for whatever might come in the future. people think the world  will be the same as it is today for the next 5-10 years. The fact is world is always changing and I know sony want to be able to include things that they cant predict in the future like they could not predict cross chat.

TLHBO :lol:

look at all the DC :lol: