[RUMOR] XB1 to be underclocked?

[DinohScene]

Anonymous sources claim XB1 has 'heat issues'​

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I'm not much for rumors at all, but considering the first Xbox also ran quite hot (50/60+ degrees)​

And the first 360 models also ran extremely hot.​

I won't be surprised if this is actually true.​

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The GPU/CPU combo in the XB1 along with the XB1 design allows for insufficient heat disposal.​

So instead of another RRoD fiasco, MS decided to underclock the console by 200Mhz as a quickfix.​

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What does this mean to developers?

Well we already know that the PS4 is more of a powerhouse than the Xbox One. It has faster RAM and bus bandwidth than the Xbox One already. Under clocking the system will widen the gap between the two consoles, but at the same time will keep the failure rate on the Xbox One very low. The last thing we need is another RRoD fiasco.

In terms of games, you will see a significant difference in multiplatform titles. Lower clock speed means lower frame rates. This means that a game running 60fps on PS4 may only run at 30fps on Xbox One. Even given the current specs, this would probably still be the case except now we are under clocking the GPU. This could affect other things like the Peak Shader Throughput.

If Minecraft were to be released for both Xbox One and PS4, you'd see no difference. A game like Battlefield 4 my run at a lower framerate on the Xbox One than it does on the PS4. We still don't know how much the eSRAM is going to boost or hinder performance of the Xbox One.

We also can't leave out the fact that every developer, every game and every engine runs differently. They could theoretically boost frame rates on the Xbox One to match PS4 by turning off AA effects and lowering resolution.

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Ofcourse this is a rumor and can only be confirmed by ripping apart the console and testing busspeeds etc after the launch.​

If later XB1 models run faster then the first ones then it can be confirmed as true.​

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Source:360Crunch​

 

[Mushkin]

Bleh I pass on Xbox one

 

[GHANMI]

It's getting better and better.

 

[Eerpow]

Seems like a really lazy thing to do if it's due to poor cooling. What could happen is that they decide to up the clockspeed later in the system's life resulting in potentially reducing the XBone's life expectancy.
If it's true then Microsoft need to hire new people to design their stuff.

 

[DinohScene]

As I always said.
MS should add intake and outtake fans into the 360.
Same can be said for the XB1.

 

[kristianity77]

Even if they do "underclock" it, i very much doubt a later revision would up the speeds or else surely youd hit compatibility and performance issues between a first wave of Xbox One and a following model of the same console.

And it wouldn't be a case of just a system update to bring the old ones up to par (as per PSP, bringing all models up to 333), as that would just cause the issue they feared in the first place. Unless of course......the update comes along way past most peoples warranty period. Hello red ring mark 2, time to buy a new better version of the same console?

Err no.

 

[GameWinner]

Even if they do "underclock" it, i very much doubt a later revision would up the speeds or else surely youd hit compatibility and performance issues between a first wave of Xbox One and a following model of the same console.

And it wouldn't be a case of just a system update to bring the old ones up to par ( as per PSP, bringing all models up to 333), as that would just cause the issue they feared in the first place. Unless of course......the update comes along way past most peoples warranty period. Hello red ring mark 2, time to buy a new better version of the same console?

Err no.

Mark 3 if you're one of the unlucky few, like me, that got the RROD with the original Xbox.

 

[Veho]

Is the console in production already or is it still in prototype stage? I'm not familiar with the time frame of these things.

 

[Foxi4]

As I always said.
MS should add intake and outtake fans into the 360.
Same can be said for the XB1.

Exactly. The outer casing itself blocks airflow to the main radiator as it is. If not intakes, they should've at least placed a huge "grid" above the radiator to allow for easy airflow. That, and they could've redirected the heat to the sides or the back of the system with heatpipes anyways. This is not rocket science, Microsoft.

EDIT: Actually it does have that now that I looked at higher res photos.

 

[pokefloote]

That's the reason I didn't want a 360. (and at one time, the PS3) because it seemed like such a waste of money that it could "break" at any time without even doing anything. -.-

Buying proper fans and such helps but still, it shouldn't need that. Hope the XB1 doesn't repeat this someway or another.

 

[kristianity77]

Is the console in production already or is it still in prototype stage? I'm not familiar with the time frame of these things.

Hard to know but I would guess not. I can't remember where I seen it, but I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that the original 360 didn't actually go into full production until about 7 or 8 weeks before release date. I'm open to be shot down on this though, but I've read it somewhere.

 

[DinohScene]

Exactly. The outer casing itself blocks airflow to the main radiator as it is. If not intakes, there should've at least been a huge "grid" above the radiator to allow for easy airflow. That, and they could've redirected the heat to the sides or the back of the system with heatpipes anyways. This is not rocket science, Microsoft.

Seems like it is for them.

Xbox had a foolish design (slow running fan far away from the heatsinks, no fanduct) it sucked out hot air which is good but there's barely any cool air forced into the console.
360 had a foolish design (slow running fans far away from the heatsinks, fanduct) Same as original Box.
Slim 360 has a pretty good design, stil bad cause it spreads hot air in the console >_>
XB1, same as the Slim.

MS...
haven't you learned from Personal Computers?
Or are you hiring monkeys to do the design work?

 

[FAST6191]

After the presentation they had a a picture of their controller lab. It had a little robot which has the sole task of shaking the controller to make sure prototypes do not accidentally press buttons. Now I appreciate that long term and accelerated testing is hard but this seems a bit strong (it is not like heat is a new issue in higher performance computing after all).

Wonder if it is going to be worth making a proper cooling model/kit.

 

[Ethevion]

Nice one MS. Reduce the speed instead of making a better design because we all know speed is not important and the current design is just perfect. -.-

 

[KingVamp]

If true, I would have thought the size of it was enough to avoid it.

 

[McHaggis]

haven't you learned from Personal Computers?
Or are you hiring monkeys to do the design work?

I've been speaking to a source close to the monkeys within the company, he says they were hired to test the infinite monkey theorem. When Microsoft overspent on their R&D budgets they had to move some of the staff around to pick up the slack on the design work.

My source wishes to remain anonymous. He's worried that if his boss finds out, he'll go bananas.

 

[DinohScene]

I've been speaking to a source close to the monkeys within the company, he says they were hired to test the infinite monkey theorem. When Microsoft overspent on their R&D budgets they had to move some of the staff around to pick up the slack on the design work.

My source wishes to remain anonymous. He's worried that if his boss finds out, he'll go bananas.

I'd offer him a peanut is he went apeshit insane.

 

[geoflcl]

This would make sense when coupled with all that dust-kicking regarding the XBOne's sluggish GUI.
If theGUI was coded before the underclock, it probably wouldn't fare too well on a scaled-back CPU.

On a different note, though, underclocking to get rid of heat issues does seem really silly to me*. And if ol' Microsoft wants to play nice with developers so their new console has lots of delicious third-party launch support, I'm not sure how good of an idea changing the specs on them would be. :S

(*"Me" meaning "some silly little guy with absolutely no experience in building computers", so take that however you want!)

 

[Foxi4]

If true, I would have thought the size of it was enough to avoid it.

You can use a fan the size of a helicopter and it would still overheat if the ventilation inside the case is terrible. Restricted airflow causes the fan to blow hot air onto a hot radiator.

It's a netbook-grade processor on steroids, how hard can it be to keep it cool? I sincerely hope this rumour is false or that the issue will be adressed before the release.

 

[Gabelvampir]

How many times can one company forget that you should design your electronics that enough heat can be pumped out?