Who’s going to Power the Next Microsoft Console?

Nothing credible is known about future consoles from Microsoft or Sony. Only very recently did news break that next-gen consoles are indeed being worked on by both companies. Therefore, we can only speculate about the kind of CPU that Microsoft will be seeking for the “Xbox 720”, as its being called by media outlets. Currently, the writers over at Wired see two potential CPUs for the console. So we’ll examine these chips a little more in-depth.

The x86

Rumors swirl that Microsoft is hoping that AMD will supply at least the GPU part of the unit, and with the way things are timing out, there are other rumors that AMD has been awarded the CPU part of the contract as well. The processor could either be AMD’s “Krishna” processor, or the “Bobcat”.

Intel is another possible contender for the CPU portion of the new system, but there has been no word indicating this. Of course there is always the chance that the chipmaker could be in the running, but it seems that AMD’s “Bobcat” would be a better fit for the console than anything Intel could muster up.

Now, there is another good CPU option for Microsoft’s newest system and it has around the same performance as the “Bobcat”: ARM’s A15.

The ARM

ARM could be an attractive option for the next console because the company will then have a unified architecture across its console, mobile phones, and desktop offerings. Having the same hardware behind multiple devices could give Microsoft a level of cross-platform integration rivaling Apple’s empire.

If Microsoft does decide to go with ARM, some predict that they will use the A15 core, which will be coming to market in 2013. As the Bobcat does, the A15 features a pretty simple core design which is a bit similar to Intel’s Atom processor. A quad-core A15 chip would be a relatively low-cost, low-power CPU that would dish out a lot more performance than the current Xbox 360 CPU.

Making the Choice

In the end, we don’t really know which chip Microsoft will go with. Wired thinks that Microsoft will choose the ARM A15 because of its impressive specs and pretty modest cost. Its power limits aren’t the best in the world, but they’ll probably due for the kind of console power that Microsoft wants. Plus, the A15 would give Microsoft the cross-platform integration mentioned above.

But the rumors in the tech realm suggest that AMD will win the bid. Of course, everyone knows that you can’t always count on tech rumors, however credible they may be. Only time will tell what kind of specs Microsoft will be looking for, and what kind of chip they’ll be looking for. Most likely, the console will be released somewhere between 3 and 5 years, leading to the possibility that everyone could be wrong and a new chip could arise to take the cake. Like I said, there’s no telling who’s right in the tech realm.

Photo by : Shaun Greiner