In one hell of an exclusive scoop, Eurogamer and Digital Foundry have been given a deep inside look at Microsoft’s upcoming Project Scorpio, answering an awful lot of questions now, as opposed to waiting until E3. Of course, there’s an awful lot still to find out about the console, such as its name, price, the games that will be the first to take advantage of it, but one thing is clear: Sony won’t be able to claim to have the most powerful games console for much longer.
The heart of the new console is being dubbed the Scorpio Engine, the combined CPU and GPU system on a chip. This has been greatly improved on both fronts. The CPU is still derived from the same “Jaguar” CPU cores as the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 is, but it’s been customised further to perform certain tasks better and clocked higher to 2.3Ghz, versus the Xbox One’s 1.75Ghz and PS4 Pro’s 2.1Ghz.
The GPU is a custom AMD design as well, and while it’s still not clear what GPU architecture it’s most closely related to, it will feature 40 compute units to the Xbox One’s 12 and PS4 Pro’s 36, and it’s clocked 250Mhz higher than its closest rivals at 1172Mhz. All told, the CPU is a good step up over the Xbox One, while the GPU is huge leap and easily 4.6 times as powerful. With that ratio, it should be more than enough to reach native 4K on a more consistent level than the PlayStation 4 Pro.
| Project Scorpio | PS4 Pro | Xbox One | |
| CPU | Eight custom x86 cores @ 2.3GHz | Eight Jaguar cores @ 2.1GHz | Eight Jaguar cores @ 1.75GHz |
| GPU | 40 Cus at 1172MHz | 36 Cus @ 911MHz | 12 Cus @ 853MHz |
| Memory | 12GB GDDR5 | 8GB GDDR5 | 8GB DDR3/32MB ESRAM |
| Memory Bandwidth | 326GB/s | 218GB/s | DDR3 @ 68GB/s, ESRAM @ 204GB/s |
| Hard Drive | 1TB 2.5” | 1TB 2.5” | 500GB 2.5” and up |
| Optical Drive | 4K UHD Blu-ray | Blu-ray | Blu-ray / 4K UHD |
Here’s Digital Foundry’s typically excellent analysis and explanation in video form:
Much like the recent addition to the PlayStation 4 Pro system software, Scorpio will be able to leverage its greater power to improve the way that older games run that don’t have dedicated support for the system, this relates to both Xbox One and Xbox 360 backward compatibility games. The equivalent to Boost Mode on PS4 Pro, those games will be more likely to be able to hold and maintain their target frame rate, dynamic resolution scaling will kick in less frequently and so on. Going beyond that, the extra RAM capacity can be used to pre-fetch data from the HDD and use the beefier CPU to process it, leading to speedier loading times, and Microsoft are pulling a neat trick by overriding the game’s texture filtering calls and replacing bilinear and trilinear filtering with 16x anisotropic filtering. Put simply, older games will run better and they’ll look better.
And if you love to capture and share gameplay footage, one major benefit of the new GPU is that it will be able to capture at 4K and 60 frames per second, making use of the latest HEVC codec to keep data sizes in check. The PS4 Pro only upped this to 1080p capture.
Avenger
It’s a beast. I knew it would be impressive, but I wasn’t sure if it would have the extra bonus I might want from an upgrade, but it does.
I like how a lot of current titles will be bolstered in quality, and not through development patches but through proprietary engineering.
Apparently form factor is impressive too, should make for a hassle free upgrade. The addition of improved sound chips, codecs is great too.
MrYd
Current titles might be improved by Scorpio Magic, same as with the PS4Pro. But they’re going to need updates to get the most out of it.
Is that going to happen? The PS4 has had some surprisingly old games patched, but then it’s still selling silly amounts. A market for older games that developers obviously think is worth the effort to go after. Is that as true for the XBone?
On the other hand, MS probably have enough money they can chuck around to get some games updated.
I think Sony might just be far enough ahead that it won’t harm PS4 sales too much, but it’s going to kill XBone sales until it’s released. And then what are the chances of the next E3 after Scorpio is released featuring an announcement from Sony for new hardware later that year? Or a PS5 the next year?
TrumpyMx
Microsoft’s problem is 1/3 of the PS4 install base, games aren’t optimised for Xbox as there is no need. It’s a 2nd class citizen compared to PS4 and Pro as far as both specs and development resources allocated to it. Any scorpio marginal hardware improvement over a PS4 pro will be lost in production.
Ultimately however friends buy the system their friends have, and that’s not Xbox in the vast majority of cases anymore.
TrumpyMx
Xbox also needs some decent exclusives too, looking at the current forthcoming lineup, it’s embarrassing..
Starman
You must be doing overtime damage con-trolling this news Mr Blight! Are you that fool who posts as XbotMk1 on disqus? You’re just as unhinged and hateful of everything Microsoft do as he is.
TrumpyMx
But could be £700 ($700) according to industry estimates on component costs.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2017/04/07/analysts-microsofts-xbox-scorpio-could-cost-more-than-700/#1f0083be1aeb
What will a PS4 Pro and PS4 pricetags be at Scorpio launch 1/3 and 1/4 of that?
Instantly DOA. A console with no games, and 2-3x the price of mainstream 4k console. Scorpio is the new NeoGeo….
MrYd
That’s 700 dollarpounds according to one single “analyst”, with everyone else saying 400-600.
£700 would be a disastrous price. £400 would be quite reasonable, but I can’t see that happening.
£449 or £499 seems most likely. Dropping in price after a year or 2 so it can completely replace the current models and eventually leave room for a newer, faster version at that expensive price.
There’s no way £700 will happen. The internet wouldn’t be able to stop laughing for about a year.
TrumpyMx
IDC are pretty big company, so i wouldn’t be too much in a rush to write it off, especially when the component cost is $650….
MrYd
Those are some pretty impressive numbers. By my calculations, 2.3 times as powerful as the PS4Pro, although that’s just multiplying all the numbers and dividing by the PS4 equivalents. Actual performance will probably be not quite as good.
Is it going to help MS though? Will a PS5 appear 2 years after Scorpio? Or another improved PS4 next year, which would presumably push the PS4’s power ahead again? Perhaps the best outcome is that MS and Sony get out of sync with their hardware releases and not both release consoles the same year? That might lead to rapidly escalating hardware specs, which could be good, or expensive.
How did Eurogamer/DF end up with the job of revealing it though? Were large sums of money involved? Have they just completely given up on even pretending to not be stupidly biased towards MS over Sony? I can’t wait for them to test it and provide pictures of games looking better on Scorpio, or “exactly the same” as everyone else would describe the pictures.
Avenger
Even on the best of days, you and logic don’t see eye to eye.
So much talk about Sony, sales, and money in your comments though, I’m thoroughly chuffed you’re so miffed about this news.
MrYd
Miffed? No, I think it’s good news. It might be too little, too late, but it might work out for them.
Personally, it’s not for me. The games just aren’t there compared to the PS4. You might feel differently, depending on what games you like.
Competition is always good, and it’s a pretty impressive offering from MS. The huge lead Sony have this generation is only really good for Sony in the long run. Hopefully Sony will come back with an even better machine a year or 2 after Scorpio, and MS will manage to reply to that with something better.
It might just take a while for MS to catch up, but then how long did it take for the PS3 to beat the 360 sales? Does it even make sense to think about how many one company sold this generation now?
Starman
The hope for a PS5 from Yd is kinda comical. “don’t buy this because there might be a new system from a different platform holder in 2 years?” Yeah right. Wouldn’t a PS5 be a kick in the teeth of people who just got a PS4 Pro? That’s the kind of attitude that swiftly put Sega out of the console business.
MrYd
Surely in this case, MS is Sega? Struggling after some poor hardware decisions, launch a new console (Scorpio, or Dreamcast in Sega’s case), and then run into trouble because of an announcement from Sony of something that was coming later.
When Scorpio appears, the PS4 will be 4 years old, and the Pro 1 year old. Fairly safe to assume something from Sony will be 1 or 2 years away, isn’t it? It could be called a PS5, or something else. But it seems fairly inevitable. And not anything like the jump from PS3 to PS4. More like the PS4 to Pro.
I’m fairly happy with the more frequent updates. In fact, it’s probably a good thing. I suspect MS might be going for “look! Big numbers!” which comes with a suitably big price. How did the higher price work out for MS against the lower priced PS4? How did the PS3 and it’s silly launch price work out?
And really, we need MS to have some success. The PS4 is selling too many. Some games seem to be selling far too many copies to all those new PS4 owners, keeping the prices higher than they would have been last generation.
Also, doesn’t your “PS5 = kick in the teeth to PS4Pro owners” also apply to Scorpio and XBone owners? Or anyone who bought a PS4 only to find the Pro coming along 3 years later? Something better is always just around the corner. Just not necessarily a good thing if you’re behind the competition and you’ve both got something new around the corner.
Starman
@MrYd you obviously don’t know your gaming history too well. Sega kept releasing new systems thinking everyone would keep buying them, just as Sony would in your hopeful scenario. Ps4, Pro 3 yrs later, Ps5 2 yrs after that versus xboxone, xbox Scorpio 4 yrs later. Big difference. Surely you understand this?!
With all your pessimistic scenarios and counter arguments to everything Microsoft do they may as well just give up and leave gaming altogether. I know you’d love that!
Stefan L
Why jump through hoops to make this some kind of conspiracy?
MrYd
About Eurogamer/DF? They’re currently just running a massive advert for MS that looks a bit like 5 separate articles all saying good things about Scorpio. Maybe it’s just that they really like it. It certainly sounds impressive.
But it’s their past articles comparing different versions of the same game. How many times have they said the XBox version is better and then produced screenshots showing exactly the opposite?
It might not be some conspiracy. It could just be incompetence, I guess. Or maybe a dirty pair of glasses.
Stefan L
Bias or not, if you get a worldwide exclusive like this, then of course you make the very most of it. I’d have been more surprised if they’d done anything less than this, and there’s not really too much overlap between the different articles.
But really, this is just Microsoft reaching out to one site and using their technical analysis to get one particular conversation out of the way in a controlled environment. Do this at E3 and you’d see half a dozen Xbox execs having words twisted, micro-analysed and taken out of context… you know, just like happened last year.
JR.
The truth is out there. man.
sparkyscrum
DF (not Eurogamer, they are sister sites but separate focuses) was given the chance as one of the strongest critics of the Xbox One. Its seen as a sign that Microsoft is that confident on its new hardware that it can win over a group that have proven time and time again that Xbox One is inferior to its rivals.
TrumpyMx
Or they have deep pockets for “advertising”. In no way bribery , just good old, why don’t you preview our new console, and turn we can talk about future advertising spend….
TrumpyMx
More like 1.5x in real world, but at what RRP? Given Microsoft contract out manufacturing, Sony don’t, like for like, it’s cheaper for sony to build something than Microsoft.
By the time scorpio launches, how will a PS4 pro cost? My bet 1/3 of the price of a Scorpio.
Scorpio is DOA, unless Microsoft want to release a loss leader
colmshan1990
I wasn’t interested in the PS4 Pro, and I won’t be interested in Scorpio.
My PS4 already plays all the current gen games. I don’t care about slightly better versions (or I’d already have that super PC).
Give me innovation. Something new. That will get me excited.
I bought (and am still very happy with) both the PS VR and the Nintendo Switch on day one. One gives me a new experience, one more exciting than anything I’ve ever had with Playstation (or Sega before that), the other gives me true portability of console level games.
I don’t care about slightly shinier games. Give me something new.
MrYd
Yes, why would anyone with a PS4 want a Pro? Or to go from XBone to Scorpio? It’s the one after that which might get your interest.
Who upgrades their phone every year when the new models appear? If you’ve got a 2 year contract, you skip a generation and get something even better later.
Which might just work for consoles. Instead of waiting 5 or 6 years for a huge jump in power, we get something twice as fast every 2 or 3 years. And then you skip that and wait for the next one. Four times as powerful every 4 or 5 years? Then skip the next one. Or pick up the current one cheap when the next one appears.
The next 2 or 3 years could be more interesting than the surprising start the PS4 had.
Starman
Just remember though how you said the xbox slim announcement was made obsolete by the Scorpio announcement, and the slim went on to sell very well and even outsell the ps4 in the npd’s. Seems many gamers are not as tight, patient and pessimistic as you.
TrumpyMx
There were 2 months in low season where nobody buys consoles, Xbox one in a few American trailer parks.
Still why let facts get in the way of a Microsoft employees spin.
If anyone’s watching homeland, then you will know i mean when i saw Microsoft have armies of paid social media guardians…..
bunimomike
Great stuff. Competition is good. I’ll be interested to see how it sells and what price-point it comes in at.
I’m still not convinced about the whole mid-cycle “upgrade” to the hardware so it’ll be interesting next generation (i.e. PS5, etc.) as to whether it was all worth it or not for Sony and MS to undertake such a thing.
TSBonyman
I feel the same about these mid-cycle upgrades, if i’m going to invest in new hardware it’s going to be for new gaming experiences that i can’t already experience.
That said, i have no problem with Microsoft trying to even the playing field or even swing things in their favour for a change. Sounds like they’ve done a great job with the hardware and they deserve to do well with it.
bunimomike
What changed things for me – and keep in mind I was quite keen to move up to a Pro – was Horizon Zero Dawn. It looks so eye-wateringly gorgeous on the stock PS4 I really didn’t see much of a point in upgrading. I wish half my PC games looked that good!
camdaz
I think the biggest question is the price. Dedicated xbox users will lap it up but it may well be above what average gamers will pay. The price may stop a lot of PS4 owners to switch.
bunimomike
Spot on, fella. Both the Pro and the Scorpio will surely produce some lovely looking games (going forward) but is it all worth it? Perhaps this mid-gen bump-up is surprisingly cheap to do from a manufacturing process. If not, I can’t see it being repeated next generation unless the sales are particularly impressive.
camdaz
The main reason I bought a Pro was for the PSVR. The better visuals etc are good but I was quite happy with the original PS4’s on screen visuals.
beeje13
After reading the article, what impresses me most is not the headline specs, any clown can wire expensive parts together and brute force performance, but the way it has been designed and the custom improvements that have been made to increase efficiency and reduce bottlenecks (particularly CPU side).
This is what consoles should be about. The ‘Semi-custom’ designs are looking less off-the-shelf and more… custom.
Awayze
I’m happy with my launch day PS4, I don’t think its necessary to release hardware upgrades for the current gen console. Better left to the next gen consoles for a major upgrade.
Kris Lipscombe
Hurray, numbers!
Tuffcub
But not the most important one – price.
ron_mcphatty
They’re so big! Biiiig nuuumbeeers. 4K drive is good.
leeroye
No mention of games, which is what we buy these things for is not. I have not bought a game for my Xbox in over six months the exclusives just are not there and i get all the multiplatform games for PS4. Im still not seeing any reason to buy this as MS have not addressed its main issue, a serious lack of exclusive games.
Hell even if they do i can buy them for PC so whats the point. This console is going to tank harder than the Wii-u or Vita.
JR.
I have no interest in this but I’m sure it will sell just fine for MS.
They really need to invest in some exclusive games. I can’t remember the last time we had a decent exclusive game for the Xbox One. Hopefully they’re saving them all up for Scorpio like Nintendo did with the Wii U/Switch.
Stefan L
That’s what E3 will be about. Now that they’ve got the spec sheet out of the way, they can reveal the name, the price, reaffirm its 4K credentials and then just announce a bunch of games that’ll be out and support it on day one.
JR.
Yeah, I hope so. Sony need some competition to keep them in check. As long as MS don’t buy another Tomb Raider game, I’ll be fine :D
Jake Durasamy
All that power and no new exclusives to play. *Sigh*