Gaming Consoles Compared
Gaming Consoles Compared
“The console wars continue to rage on. Ever since the PlayStation 3 arrived on the market to challenge the Xbox 360 in 2006, gamers have argued about the merits of each system.” (Schedeen 2006). I, having owned both systems, am going to compare and contrast some key features found in these two major consoles. This comparison is based on the most recent versions of both consoles – the 'Slim ' variations of both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, disregarding previous feature sets (Schedeen 2006).
We will first compare the central processing unit (CPU) of each console. The Xbox 360 has a 3.2 GHz Xenon processor, three dual-threaded cores, and a Maximum 77 GFLOPS (floating point operations per second). GFLOPS is the measure of a computer’s performance. The PlayStation 3 has a 3.2 GHz Cell processor, seven single-threaded cores (plus one backup core), and has a maximum GFLOPS of 230. The processors are unique in each system, but are very similar, thus making it hard to determine which is better. The two CPU chips run at the same GHz speed, but the PlayStation 3’s individual cores are slightly better than the Xbox’s three dual-threaded cores (Schedeen 2006).
Next, we will take a look at the hard drives of each console. The Xbox has a maximum capacity of 250 GB HDD at 5400 RPM (revolutions per minute), and the PlayStation 3 has a maximum of 320 GB HDD at 5400 RPM. Both hard drives are user replaceable (Schedeen 2006). Hard drive capacity is becoming more of an issue today than it has ever been. With both consoles having the ability to download game titles online directly to the hard drive, space is very much a necessity for today’s gamer.
Backwards compatibility is the ability to play previous generation games on the newer platform consoles. For most gamers, it is very important to have the ability to play all of the older games that you have previously purchased on your new console. The Xbox 360 is able to play most Xbox original
“The console wars continue to rage on. Ever since the PlayStation 3 arrived on the market to challenge the Xbox 360 in 2006, gamers have argued about the merits of each system.” (Schedeen 2006). I, having owned both systems, am going to compare and contrast some key features found in these two major consoles. This comparison is based on the most recent versions of both consoles – the 'Slim ' variations of both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, disregarding previous feature sets (Schedeen 2006).
We will first compare the central processing unit (CPU) of each console. The Xbox 360 has a 3.2 GHz Xenon processor, three dual-threaded cores, and a Maximum 77 GFLOPS (floating point operations per second). GFLOPS is the measure of a computer’s performance. The PlayStation 3 has a 3.2 GHz Cell processor, seven single-threaded cores (plus one backup core), and has a maximum GFLOPS of 230. The processors are unique in each system, but are very similar, thus making it hard to determine which is better. The two CPU chips run at the same GHz speed, but the PlayStation 3’s individual cores are slightly better than the Xbox’s three dual-threaded cores (Schedeen 2006).
Next, we will take a look at the hard drives of each console. The Xbox has a maximum capacity of 250 GB HDD at 5400 RPM (revolutions per minute), and the PlayStation 3 has a maximum of 320 GB HDD at 5400 RPM. Both hard drives are user replaceable (Schedeen 2006). Hard drive capacity is becoming more of an issue today than it has ever been. With both consoles having the ability to download game titles online directly to the hard drive, space is very much a necessity for today’s gamer.
Backwards compatibility is the ability to play previous generation games on the newer platform consoles. For most gamers, it is very important to have the ability to play all of the older games that you have previously purchased on your new console. The Xbox 360 is able to play most Xbox original
References: Schedeen, Jesse (August 10, 2006) Xbox 360 vs. PlayStation 3: The Hardware Throwdown. Retrieved May 7, 2011, from http://gear.ign.com/articles/111/1116182p1.html