PS3 vs. Xbox

[idl12]

So, all through the far reaches of the interwebs I've been hearing arguments, mostly between 10 - 14 year olds about which console is better, as you can imagine, most of these make no sense and look as if it was typed by retarded neanderthols. The purpose of this thread is to ask anyone who is knowledgeable(or at least thinks they are?) of the various hardware differences between a PS3 and Xbox360 to give an explanation of each console, i.e advantages/disadvantages, overall hardware power, things like that. This isn't so much because I'm wondering which console is better, rather I'd just like to know the difference and if possible the limitations of each of them. And please no posts like"PS3 is better [/thread]" cuz I will spam your inbox with russian hermaphrodites.

[Koby]

As far as hardware, capabilities, power, and technology... honestly the PS3 has the 360 outclassed in every department. It's clear if you compare games that really took the consoles to the limit and were released on both.

Seeing how the PS3 uses Blu-ray and the 360 uses DVD, the graphics rendering is leagues different. For example Final Fantasy XIII. It took one disc on PS3 and multiple on the 360 and the overall graphics looked worse on the 360 because it was compressed more to fit for the console.

This isn't even mentioning the rate at which a 360 fails and breaks. The new version was thought to have fixed the problem but it hasn't. It's not as bad as it was but the problems still exist and it's still the worst of the three consoles of this generation for breaking. The lifetime of a PS3 will last longer if you compare both used in the same environment, used the same amount, and both taken care of.

[Spacecreepkitan]

I've returned my 360 13 times! wtf! It used to take like a month or two but now I get it back in about two weeks... not shabby -sarcasm- , I've never had a ps3 but from past experience sending in a sony console after warranty expires is a friggin nightmare ! I will say this of ps3, every time they release an exclusive it seems that is the game that makes me want to go get a ps3 ! The 360 controllers also seem to fail more often ( joysticks and shoulder buttons mostly )

[idl12]

It's a given the PS3 is more sturdy than the 360(I don't own either but most of my friends have had to scrap their 360's due to hardware failures and microsoft tends to hang up when they receive calls regarding repairs from this country lol) and displays better graphics when it comes to exclusives, but I was wondering if anyone could give an overview of the actual hardware specs.

[Koby]

PlayStation 3 Specifications and Details

CPU: Cell Processor

• PowerPC-base Core @3.2GHz
  
• 1 VMX vector unit per core
  
• 512KB L2 cache
  
• 7 x SPE @3.2GHz
  
• 7 x 128b 128 SIMD GPRs
  
• 7 x 256KB SRAM for SPE
  
• * 1 of 8 SPEs reserved for redundancy total floating point performance: 218 GFLOPS
  

GPU: RSX @550MHz

• 1.8 TFLOPS floating point performance
  
• Full HD (up to 1080p) x 2 channels
  
• Multi-way programmable parallel floating point shader pipelines
  

Sound: Dolby 5.1ch, DTS, LPCM, etc. (Cell-base processing)

Memory:

• 256MB XDR Main RAM @3.2GHz
  
• 256MB GDDR3 VRAM @700MHz
  

System Bandwidth:

• Main RAM: 25.6GB/s
  
• VRAM: 22.4GB/s
  
• RSX: 20GB/s (write) + 15GB/s (read)
  
• SB: 2.5GB/s (write) + 2.5GB/s (read)
  

System Floating Point Performance: 2 TFLOPS

Storage:

• HDD
  
• Detachable 2.5” HDD slot x 1
  

I/O:

• USB: Front x 4, Rear x 2 (USB2.0)
  
• Memory Stick: standard/Duo, PRO x 1
  
• SD: standard/mini x 1
  
• CompactFlash: (Type I, II) x 1
  

Communication: Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T) x3 (input x 1 + output x 2)

Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 b/g

Bluetooth: Bluetooth 2.0 (EDR)

Controller:

• Bluetooth (up to 7)
  
• USB2.0 (wired)
  
• Wi-Fi (PSP®)
  
• Network (over IP)
  

AV Output:

• Screen size: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
  
• HDMI: HDMI out x 2
  
• Analog: AV MULTI OUT x 1
  
• Digital audio: DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL) x 1
  

CD Disc media (read only):

• PlayStation CD-ROM
  
• PlayStation 2 CD-ROM
  
• CD-DA (ROM), CD-R, CD-RW
  
• SACD Hybrid (CD layer), SACD HD
  
• DualDisc (audio side), DualDisc (DVD side)
  

DVD Disc media (read only):

• PlayStation 2 DVD-ROM
  
• PLAYSTATION 3 DVD-ROM
  
• DVD-Video: DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW
  

Blu-ray Disc media (read only):

• PLAYSTATION 3 BD-ROM
  
• BD-Video: BD-ROM, BD-R, BD-RE
  

Source: http://playstation.about.com/od/ps3/a/PS3SpecsDetails_3.htm

Xbox 360 Specifications and Details

Custom IBM Power-PC Based CPU

• Three symmetrical cores running at 3.2 GHz each
  
• Two hardware threads per core; six hardware threads total
  
• VMX-128 vector unit per core; three total
  
• 128 VMX-128 registers per hardware thread
  
• 1 MB L2 cache
  

CPU Game Math Performance

• 9 billion dot product operations per second
  

Custom ATI Graphics Processor

• 500MHz processor
  
• 10 MB of embedded DRAM
  
• 48-way parallel floating-point dynamically scheduled shader pipelines
  
• Unified shader architecture
  

Polygon Performance

• 500 million triangles per second
  

Pixel Fill Rate

• 16 gigasamples per second fill rate using 4x MSAA
  

Shader Performance

• 48 billion shader operations per second
  

Memory

• 512 MB of GDDR3 RAM
  
• 700 MHz of DDR
  
• Unified memory architecture
  

Memory Bandwidth

• 22.4 GB/s memory interface bus bandwidth
  
• 256 GB/s memory bandwidth to EDRAM
  
• 21.6 GB/s front-side bus
  

Overall System Floating Point Performance

• 1 teraflop
  

Storage

• Detachable and upgradeable 20GB hard drive
  
• 12x dual-layer DVD-ROM
  
• Memory Unit support starting at 64 MB
  

I/O

• Support for up to four wireless game controllers
  
• Three USB 2.0 ports
  
• Two memory unit slots
  

Optimized for Online

• Instant, out-of-the-box access to Xbox Live features with broadband service, including Xbox Live Marketplace for downloadable content, gamer profile for digital identity, and voice chat to talk to friends while playing games, watching movies, or listening to music
  
• Built-in Ethernet port
  
• Wi-Fi ready: 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g
  
• Video camera ready
  

Digital Media Support

• Support for DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, WMA CD, MP3 CD, JPEG Photo CD
  
• Ability to stream media from portable music devices, digital cameras and Windows XP-based PCs
  
• Ability to rip music to the Xbox 360 hard drive
  
• Custom playlists in every game
  
• Built-in Media Center Extender for Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
  
• Interactive, full-screen 3-D visualizers
  

High-Definition Game Support

• All games supported at 16:9, 720p, and 1080i, anti-aliasing
  
• Standard-definition and high-definition video output supported
  

Audio

• Multi-channel surround sound output
  
• Supports 48KHz 16-bit audio
  
• 320 independent decompression channels
  
• 32-bit audio processing
  
• Over 256 audio channels
  

Source: http://xbox.about.com/od/xbox2/a/xbox360specs.htm

[idl12]

Ahh thank you, that's exactly what I was looking for.

[ragnawind]

Those specs that Koby posted were decent comparisons, but it would be better iff they used the same types of terminology and connections to each other when compared, rather than different terminology and organization. While looking at the stats, it seems like one of the X360 specs were off by one decimal place. It also looks like the X360 is better in somethings than the PS3, but actually isn't and vice-versa, but they actually aren't since the data is split into more than one category for the X360 than the PS3, etc.

[DrumRoll]

but the PS3 controller won't fit properly in my man hands. If the controller was better and I could transfer achievements and the friends from my friends list then I would buy a PS3.

Also Halo is nothing special in my opinion. My little brother loves them (I guess it is more his age group) and buys everyone that comes out, and I must say that THEY ARE ALL THE SAME!

Oh and Microsoft are a bunch of arse's.

[GRIMSOUL]

As far as hardware, capabilities, power, and technology... honestly the PS3 has the 360 outclassed in every department. It's clear if you compare games that really took the consoles to the limit and were released on both.

Seeing how the PS3 uses Blu-ray and the 360 uses DVD, the graphics rendering is leagues different. For example Final Fantasy XIII. It took one disc on PS3 and multiple on the 360 and the overall graphics looked worse on the 360 because it was compressed more to fit for the console.

This isn't even mentioning the rate at which a 360 fails and breaks. The new version was thought to have fixed the problem but it hasn't. It's not as bad as it was but the problems still exist and it's still the worst of the three consoles of this generation for breaking. The lifetime of a PS3 will last longer if you compare both used in the same environment, used the same amount, and both taken care of.

soo TRUE!!! PS3 has way better graphics and it has free internet where as in the xbox u have to pay! :oh::oh: but i reckon the new kinect has for the first time overtaken the PS3's hardware!! its more responsive and easier to use and more active as well...but i still think the PS3 is the BEST! :dhh:

[DrumRoll]

Ah, so you must be the one person who actually bought the Kinect?

The Kinect is a farce in my opinion. The controller is much easier and I can use it to play games that don't just revolve around petting virtual creatures or various other wii rip-offs.

[G Bass]

even though the PS3 is more powrful, multiplatform games usually run smoother on the 360. for example Black Ops runs much better and is less buggy on the 360 (i've played both versions) and GTA IV loads faster on the 360 despite the PS3 requiring a 3gb+ install data on the HDD. don't know why this is though. also not hardware related, but people rarely use mics on the PS3.

[Diablo]

Kinect seems better than PS Move but Advanced Hardware of the PS3 is the future. And Its got more game support.

[mctricks]

PS3 has 8 Processors, Blu-Ray compatibility, and the GPU is slightly faster than the 360. The 360 does have more exclusives, but honestly none of them are worth my time.

360 has...

Halo, Gears of War, Alan Wake, a few more I can't think of off the top of my head

PS3 has..

inFAMOUS, LittleBigPlanet, Uncharted, etc.

All much better than any 360 exclusive, IMHO.

Also seeing as the PS3's games are all on Blu-Rays, the data doesn't have to be as compressed, if at all, so the loading times are usually faster.

They're both capable systems, but I prefer the PS3 far over the 360.

[OstegoAmigo]

Went through 3 360's. Sold my third because I knew it was about to die and used that money to buy a 60Gb BC PS3 for around $150 and a few games.

[Ang3r]

PS3's can fuck up just as bad as X360's. My 80gb ps3 got the yellow light of death (it exists!) after a shoddy firmware update from sony. Sony wanted $250 to look at it and they wouldn't gurantee they could even fix it or even get my own console back, to salvage movies from the harddrive. Microsoft is definitely over sony in customer service. It was almost as cheap just to replace the ps3

[AngelMayLaugh]

Kinect seems better than PS Move but Advanced Hardware of the PS3 is the future. And Its got more game support.

The advanced hardware of a five year old system is the future? I don't even see how someone could say that in the year 2011.

[Leviathan87]

Kinect seems better than PS Move but Advanced Hardware of the PS3 is the future. And Its got more game support.

The advanced hardware of a five year old system is the future? I don't even see how someone could say that in the year 2011.

no hard feelings but...... the only thing thats advanced is computers. 6 year old consoles are not even close to advanced. and future? consoles release once ever 4-6 years computers will still crush consoles in all aspects. but in the gaming market consoles win. in tell people see its cheaper in the long run to buy a $500 pc.

[Foie]

I have an Xbox, but I like that PS3 let's you compete online for free.

[Ulquiorra]

I know that the PS3 out runs the Xbox 360, why? well, I bought the Xbox 360 first and after only 1 month, I got the 3 red lights, also commonly known as the "Ring of Death" I then sold it after fixing it and bought me a PS3 slim and until then, I never had any problems what so ever. Remember this though: PS3 has more exclusive games than the 360 and more are coming out as we speak.

[drpepperdude]

I've been through 2 ps3s and 3 xbox 360s

---------- Post added at 10:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:16 PM ----------

Both systems have over heating issues.