Think the world cannot get any weirder? You thought wrong. A criminal mastermind (or possibly a spotty 14 year old kid in a bedroom in Surrey) has managed to steal the source code for a load of AMD’s graphics chips including the one that is heavily rumoured to be in the Xbox Series X.
Here is a statement from AMD.
At AMD, data security and the protection of our intellectual property are a priority. In December 2019, we were contacted by someone who claimed to have test files related to a subset of our current and future graphics products, some of which were recently posted online, but have since been taken down.
While we are aware the perpetrator has additional files that have not been made public, we believe the stolen graphics IP is not core to the competitiveness or security of our graphics products. We are not aware of the perpetrator possessing any other AMD IP.
We are working closely with law enforcement officials and other experts as a part of an ongoing criminal investigation.
IGN report the thieving crim is demanding a ransom of $100 million and if this is not paid the source code will be posted online. Segments of the code have already been posted on Github but these have removed and replaced with a message explaining “This repository is currently disabled due to a DMCA takedown notice.”
Microsoft recently confirmed all of the technical specifications for the Xbox Series X. The console will have 8x Cores @ 3.8 GHz (3.66 GHz w/ SMT) Custom Zen 2 CPU and the GPU goes up to 12 TFLOPS thanks to a Custom RDNA 2 GPU. The systems internal memory is 16GB GDDR6 and the internal storage is a 1TB custom NVME SSD. That storage can be expanded externally with a 1TB expansion card. The systems target performance is 4K at 60fps though there is room for developers to hit 120fps. The latter is part of the HDMI 2.1 standard.
The full specs can be seen in the table below and they will allow the developers to take advantage of DirectX raytracing so lighting and sound reacts much more naturally.
| CPU | 8x Cores @ 3.8 GHz (3.66 GHz w/ SMT) Custom Zen 2 CPU |
| GPU | 12 TFLOPS, 52 CUs @ 1.825 GHz Custom RDNA 2 GPU |
| Die Size | 360.45 mm2 |
| Process | 7nm Enhanced |
| Memory | 16 GB GDDR6 w/ 320mb bus |
| Memory Bandwidth | 10GB @ 560 GB/s, 6GB @ 336 GB/s |
| Internal Storage | 1 TB Custom NVME SSD |
| I/O Throughput | 2.4 GB/s (Raw), 4.8 GB/s (Compressed, with custom hardware decompression block) |
| Expandable Storage | 1 TB Expansion Card (matches internal storage exactly) |
| External Storage | USB 3.2 External HDD Support |
| Optical Drive | 4K UHD Blu-Ray Drive |
| Performance Target | 4K @ 60 FPS, Up to 120 FPS |
In addition the specs, Microsoft has released two tech demo videos which show the Xbox Series X faster loading times as well as the quick resume feature that supports multiple games.
Source: IGN
Nate
Question for techy simpletons such as myself – what does that actually do? Would leaking it just be a case of the competition having access to it for comparisons/adaption?
camdaz
AMD say “we believe the stolen graphics IP is not core to the competitiveness or security” so they aren’t 100% sure, if the code stolen is part/all of the security code then in theory anyone with this code would be able to take control of the XSX’s cpu. For example they could lock you at of your brand new XSX console until you pay a ransom.