So what bit graphics are modern day consoles?

[Demon Dash]

No Fanboy-Ism!

So one thing I've always been aware of is the bit graphics that consoles have had. They always seemed to multiply in varying degrees, 8 bit, 16 bit, 32 bit, 64 bit, 128 bit. But now I'm kind of lost to what bit next gen consoles actually are. So do consoles even follow this tradition any more?

[Rioting Soul]

Probably double the number of the last generation. But I don't think it matters anymore.

The guy below is smarter than me.

[Septimus Prime]

Technically, they should both be multi-core 64-bit consoles. Wii is not a next-gen console, and it has a 32-bit CPU.

[Demon Dash]

Technically, they should both be multi-core 64-bit consoles. Wii is not a next-gen console, and it has a 32-bit CPU.
Could you elaborate on that a little?

[Septimus Prime]

PS3's Cell is an 8-core processor, with each core being a 64-bit CPU. 360 uses a shittier IBM multicore processor (it might be an early Cell prototype), with each core being 64-bit.

Wii is a Gamecube, which uses an old-ass 32-bit PowerPC chip.

EDIT: Here's an article comparing the CPUs of the 360 and the PS3.

[Taito]

Yeah, nobody really follows bit count anymore for a few reasons.. one being they stopped increasing with each generation, like they supposedly did before Sat/PSX/N64..

Also, when you compare last gen's systems purely by CPU bit count, you can see how little significance it all has.. PS2's and DC's were 128-bit, and GC and Xbox's CPUs were 32.. but we all know the demonstrable performance ranking is completely different.

[Demon Dash]

I see, thanks for clearing that up...

[Jedi W.]

Yeah, nobody really follows bit count anymore for a few reasons.. one being they stopped increasing with each generation, like they supposedly did before Sat/PSX/N64..

Also, when you compare last gen's systems purely by CPU bit count, you can see how little significance it all has.. PS2's and DC's were 128-bit, and GC and Xbox's CPUs were 32.. but we all know the demonstrable performance ranking is completely different.

...and in terms of graphics, 4/8/16/32-bit was really only used as marketing shorthand for how many colors the system can display. You probably won't see anything over 32-bit color for a good long while. In terms of power, a higher bit count on the processor simply tells you how many more instructions it can perform and how much more memory it can address. That means nothing if the software written for said processor doesn't utilize said tools.

Back in the 4/8 bit days, adding another set of instructions and thereby exponentially increasing your memory address space was a very big deal. Now, not so much.

It's why PC applications run relatively the same on 32-bit and 64-bit CPUs. They're programmed for Win32, and most never utilize the extra instruction set since 32-bit CPUs don't support them.

Like PCs, the next big step for consoles in the next gen will probably be parallel processing.

--jedi\/\/.

[pherai]

^^word. whatever N bit processor your console has nowadays means little with regards to graphics power. just has to do with addressable memory. i doubt we'll see any single processors above 64 bits for a while