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Microsoft Reveals More Details, Images Of Scorpio Dev Kit
After revealing the technical specs for its Scorpio console upgrade for the Xbox One, Microsoft today spoke at length with Gamasutra about the ins and outs of the console's development kit and gave us some idea about how the final console may look like.
The dev kit (pictured above) is slightly more powerful than the final unit will be, running 44 compute units at 6.6 teraflops over the retail's 40 CUs at 6.0 teraflops, and having twice the RAM (24 GB versus 12). The reasoning behind the difference is that, according to Microsoft's Kevin Gammill, "it's much easier for a game developer to come in higher and tune down, than come in lower and tune up. Or nail it. That just rarely happens.”
The unit also comes with some interesting ease-of-use features for developers, including a screen on the console itself that presents real-time performance information, additional USB slots, and side vents that make it easier for developers to stack multiple consoles on top of each other.
The console is also allegedly easy to work with, letting developers get their game up and running at a 4K resolution in about day or so. For a more in-depth look at the dev console and interview with the people behind it, head over to Gamasutra to read the full interview.
Our Take
I, the consumer, look forward to being able to one day stack 10 consoles on top of each other in my very own home. Let's hope those side vents make it to retail.
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