“The Seventh Core” may sound like a sci-fi mystery adventure coming to PlayStation 4, but it’s not. Cast you mind back a few months when Microsoft made a song and dance about unlocking some gubbins on the Xbox One so it gained a small boost in performance. That’s just happened, very quietly, on PlayStation 4.
Out of the eight cores on both systems, two were reserved for use with the operating system. Microsoft freed up some power by dropping Kinect functionality, it is unclear what Sony have done to allow 7th core access, although they probably over-estimated OS resources on launch just to be on the safe side.
Proof of 7th core access was found in the changelog for audio middleware FMOD.
Firelight Technologies FMOD Studio API
Detailed Revision History17/11/15 1.07.03 – Studio API patch release (build 69975)
Features:
LowLevel API – When using System::recordStart the provided FMOD::Sound can now be any channel count, up/down mixing will be performed as necessary.
LowLevel API – Improved performance of convolution reverb effect when wet is 0 or input goes idle.
LowLevel API – PS4 – Added FMOD_THREAD_CORE6 to allow access to the newly unlocked 7th core.
It is not known how much of a performance boost the PS4 has been given and it will take a while before developers get to grips with the extra processing.
Source: NeoGAF
Kennykazey
Considering there used to be six cores available, this means an additional 16,6 percent CPU power.
On the Xbox, it was up to 80% of the seventh core, not 100% as it is now on PS4. This because of Kinect voice commands which would use up to 50% of the seventh core. But with the new OS and continually reduced Kinect functionality, that may no longer be the case.
camdaz
In an ideal world the increase in performance should be 16.67%, but in the real world it doesn’t always work like that.
TSBonyman
So, as i understand it, up to now it’s been 6 cores for gaming and 2 cores for the OS. Now Sony have unlocked access to one of the OS cores for gaming, which means only one core will be used for the OS. You would expect something to be sacrificed but hopefully the OS will remain as slick as ever.
Kennykazey
The core has most likely not been used until now. It’s common practice to hold back CPU and RAM incase the OS needs it for future features. Sony has now decided they don’t need it, and that it’s better off given to developers.
Both the Xbone and PS4 are holding about 3GB of RAM for OS purposes, but some of that’ll likely be freed up eventually as well. It’s kinda crazy considering the last-gen systems used just 50MB or less. So hopefully a lot of it’ll be given to developers.
plutoniumdragon
Some PC gamers will gladly pay out a small fortune for 10% increase in speed, so it’s a good thing.:) Let’s not get overly carried away though, we are talking about one core on what is effectively a tablet-class CPU :);p
Avenger
PC gamers don’t really have to pay out much out at all when they’re cruising on an 8-core 4.0GHz CPU, far beyond the CPU power of current gen consoles.
Still, it’s sophisticated equipment in a PS4. It’s a shame that all indications are that the extra core won’t contribute massively to overall performance, but then there’s very little expectation of that with consoles anyway.
Andrewww
PC users pay a lot more upfront, a) in terms of time figuring out what setup works, b) in money. And afterwards c) for ports that don’t work on their specific setup, and d) in time constantly fiddling with their setup.
Yes,they get higher performance with some games, not all, in return.
If you got a lot of spare time, become a PC gamer. If you got a life besides gaming, don’t.
plutoniumdragon
I realise this discussion has been done to boredom, but I wonder just how much the Jaguar was oversold on it’s capabilities during the design phase for both the consoles? It just seems to me that the chip was hyped to be far more powerful than it turned out to be.
Avenger
I was only talking about those who already have a gaming PC. Anyone with a PC at the spec I mentioned wouldn’t really need an extra 10% with so much CPU power in hand.
No need to decimate PC gamers :)
Avenger
@plutoniumdragon The GPU part of the APU was the most impressive for me, fitting quite a lot on with an 8-core CPU. The CPU part is relatively low-key though. I also found it impressive because APUs are a perfect fit for small consoles, with lower power consumption, less heat, and less space, all on top of being affordable and easy to develop for. Plus with GDDR5 memory, the flexibility in budgeting resources is amazing. Next to PC it’s definitely nothing special, but within the constraints of console development, I found it very neat.
plutoniumdragon
@Avenger no arguments there, and the APU idea clearly works well for Apple as their latest offering attests. I’m just left feeling that the overall performance of both consoles is already quite CPU-limited. Or maybe it’s just the type of games I like playing :)
gazzagb
Does anyone know how PlayStation VR will work? Will it run off the ‘OS core’ or will it share it with the ‘games’ cores? Because performance wise, it’s going to be critical.
Kennykazey
It’s got a separate processor in an external box.
NotSmartEnough
I assume you’re joking.
The PSVR breakout box processes the image that the PS4 sends it, splitting the image into one stream for the headset and one for the TV.
All game logic and rendering will be done on the PS4 (using the 7 available CPU cores, in answer to the original question).
The PSVR box adds box adds no extra horsepower to the system.
Avenger
*scratches head*
Isn’t that what he said?
NotSmartEnough
Question: “Will it run off the ‘OS core’ or will it share it with the ‘games’ cores?”
Answer: “It’s got a separate processor in an external box.”
That’s misleading; whatever hardware is in the breakout box doesn’t contribute to the processing of game code at all.
Any clearer or is your head still itchy?
three_leg_jake
But the VR is just a clever 3D display, there is no extra game processing, just input and output really which is handled by the external box I believe.
As ever, I am prepared to be corrected. :)
three_leg_jake
What I was trying to say is the 3D output for vr is the same as for an existing 3D telly I think.
Kennykazey
That’s correct Jake.
I read Gazzabs question as: “Is the OS core handling the input and output of the VR?” which would put further stress on it, possibly with a negative effect on the user experience.
We’re talking about the motion-sensor input and video output. And we can probably add the audio output to that aswell.
This is all handled by the external processor, not the core set off for OS. With the exception of audio, which I’m making a safe assumption is still handled by the dedicated audio-chip in the console, like usual.
And as NotSmartEnough so kindly pointed out, the game itself is still rendered by the main system itself.
alistair6969
I think it make sense for the seventh core unlocked as its needs to for the PS2 emo with possibly trophies.
Could GTA San be one of them?.