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Is that true? The prospect of emulating a console on similar-gen PC hardware is super appetizing, but this is the first I've heard of the possibility.

izacus 10y ago
While the CPU is indeed x86-64, the architecture of the SoC and the device is rather different so emulation still won't be all that easy. This 33c3 talk gives a lot of fascinating information on how PS4 differs from your run-of-the-mill PC and what kind of issues they hit when trying to run Linux on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMiubC6LdTA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMiubC6LdTA
Sanddancer 10y ago
Yep. Both the PS4 and XBox One are using semi-custom AMD chips with 8-core CPUs and 1152 shader GPUs. So managably beefy.
- throwawayish 10y ago
  The CPU isn't actually very powerful, they use low-power Jaguar cores at 1.6 GHz or so.
- masklinn 10y ago
  The XB1 has only 768 GCN cores (12 compute units of 64 cores, versus 18 for the PS4), but both CPU and GPU cores are clocked slightly higher than the PS4 (1.75GHz v 1.6 for the CPU, 853MHz v 800 for the GPU). The PS4P increases everything except the CPU cores count: CPU clock to 2.1GHz, compute units to 36 (hence 2304 cores) and GCN frequency to 911MHz.
grumbel 10y ago
It's really hard to predict that stuff. People thought original Xbox emulation would be easy, since it was "essentially a PC", but it's the only console of that generation that still doesn't have a good emulator. Meanwhile WiiU emulation is already advanced enough that it can almost play the just released Zelda:BotW. Technology aside, it's also a matter of interest. Many XboxOne and PS4 games already have PC ports, so there is less need and interest to create emulators. Nintendo consoles on the other side have many exclusives, so interest in emulating them seems to be higher. Only time will tell.
- ashark 10y ago
  > It's really hard to predict that stuff. People thought original Xbox emulation would be easy, since it was "essentially a PC", but it's the only console of that generation that still doesn't have a good emulator. Probably a matter of demand, too, since it's got very few decent games that aren't 1) available on another console, or 2) available as an (often superior) PC port

izacus 10y ago

While the CPU is indeed x86-64, the architecture of the SoC and the device is rather different so emulation still won't be all that easy. This 33c3 talk gives a lot of fascinating information on how PS4 differs from your run-of-the-mill PC and what kind of issues they hit when trying to run Linux on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMiubC6LdTA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMiubC6LdTA

Sanddancer 10y ago

Yep. Both the PS4 and XBox One are using semi-custom AMD chips with 8-core CPUs and 1152 shader GPUs. So managably beefy.

throwawayish 10y ago
The CPU isn't actually very powerful, they use low-power Jaguar cores at 1.6 GHz or so.
masklinn 10y ago
The XB1 has only 768 GCN cores (12 compute units of 64 cores, versus 18 for the PS4), but both CPU and GPU cores are clocked slightly higher than the PS4 (1.75GHz v 1.6 for the CPU, 853MHz v 800 for the GPU). The PS4P increases everything except the CPU cores count: CPU clock to 2.1GHz, compute units to 36 (hence 2304 cores) and GCN frequency to 911MHz.

grumbel 10y ago

It's really hard to predict that stuff. People thought original Xbox emulation would be easy, since it was "essentially a PC", but it's the only console of that generation that still doesn't have a good emulator. Meanwhile WiiU emulation is already advanced enough that it can almost play the just released Zelda:BotW. Technology aside, it's also a matter of interest. Many XboxOne and PS4 games already have PC ports, so there is less need and interest to create emulators. Nintendo consoles on the other side have many exclusives, so interest in emulating them seems to be higher. Only time will tell.

ashark 10y ago
> It's really hard to predict that stuff. People thought original Xbox emulation would be easy, since it was "essentially a PC", but it's the only console of that generation that still doesn't have a good emulator. Probably a matter of demand, too, since it's got very few decent games that aren't 1) available on another console, or 2) available as an (often superior) PC port