Gaming Rumor: Xbox Next Packs Radeon HD7000 Series GPU

[x3sphere]

A juicy rumor from SemiAccurate indicates that production for the initial run of Xbox Next devkits has already started, with units expected to arrive at select studios by March or earlier. Although details have not been finalized at this stage, it appears Microsoft will be using some variant of the Radeon HD7000 series in its next box, which is built on 28nm process technology.

Power consumption matters, you can't lump a 250 watt GPU in a console so it's likely Microsoft will be using a chip that fits somewhere in AMD's midrange lineup, rather than a top-end part like the just-released HD7970.

Even if production of dev hardware has started, the release of the Xbox Next is still a ways off[...]

Continue reading: Rumor: Xbox Next Packs Radeon HD7000 Series GPU...

 

[hush404]

Isn't the 7000 a fairly new series? aka expensive... like really expensive?

 

[slicer4ever]

Isn't the 7000 a fairly new series? aka expensive... like really expensive?

these are gaming consoles, personally, i expect a price point similar, if not slightly higher than what the 360/ps3 cost when it first came out.

 

[x3sphere]

It is now but by late 2012 once production is supposed to ramp up it'll be much cheaper. GPU prices always fall dramatically once the next series is about to be released. If we're talking like 9-10 months out, there might even be an HD8000 series by then.

So I have no doubt, that by late 2012, there will be midrange HD7000 parts around the $200 price point.

 

[Mr Devil]

Cool, are they just calling he dev units Xbox Next, or is that the name of the next Xbox?

 

[x3sphere]

It's just a tentative name, not official in any way. Could call it Xbox 720 if you wanted to