{"id":3667,"date":"2013-10-04T10:00:39","date_gmt":"2013-10-04T14:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.nccomputertech.com\/?p=3667"},"modified":"2013-10-04T10:00:39","modified_gmt":"2013-10-04T14:00:39","slug":"microsoft-system-processing-takes-up-10-percent-of-xbox-one-gpu-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2013\/10\/04\/microsoft-system-processing-takes-up-10-percent-of-xbox-one-gpu-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft: \u201cSystem processing\u201d takes up 10 percent of Xbox One GPU time"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align:center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/arstechnica.com\/gaming\/2013\/10\/microsoft-system-processing-takes-up-10-percent-of-xbox-one-gpu-time\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" height=\"426\" width=\"640\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/xbox-one-inside-the-console-640x426.jpg?resize=640%2C426\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Xbox One&#8217;s ability to run up to four apps in the background (or on the side via Snap mode) during gameplay and to switch from a game to those apps almost instantaneously obviously comes at some cost to the system&#8217;s maximum theoretical gaming performance. Now, thanks to an interview with Xbox technical fellow Andrew Goossen over at Digital Foundry we have some idea of the scale of that performance cost.<br \/>\n&#8220;Xbox One has a conservative 10 percent time-sliced reservation on the GPU for system processing,&#8221; Goossen told the site. &#8220;This is used both for the GPGPU processing for Kinect and for the rendering of concurrent system content such as snap mode.&#8221;<br \/>\nIt&#8217;s important to note that additional processing time for the next-generation Kinect sensor is included in that 10 percent number. Still, setting aside nearly a tenth of the GPU&#8217;s processing time to support background execution of non-gaming apps is a bit surprising.<br \/>\nDuring a recent demonstration of the Xbox One interface, Microsoft Director of Product Planning Albert Penello showed me how running multiple apps on the side or behind a concurrent game didn&#8217;t lead to any noticeable degradation in gaming performance. Indeed, setting aside a good chunk of GPU processing to explicitly handle nongaming apps ensures that gaming performance doesn&#8217;t bounce up and down depending on what may or may not be running in the background.<br \/>\nThe downside, of course, is that developers are unable to use that reserved chunk of processing power. Not to worry, though; Goossen says that Microsoft plans to open up this power to developers in the future in a way that doesn&#8217;t impact the system&#8217;s background functions.<br \/>\n&#8220;The GPU hardware scheduler is designed to maximize throughput and automatically fills &#8216;holes&#8217; in the high-priority processing,&#8221; Goossen said. &#8220;This can allow the system rendering to make use of the ROPs for fill, for example, while the title is simultaneously doing synchronous compute operations on the compute units.&#8221;<br \/>\nSony&#8217;s PlayStation 4 also allows for non-gaming apps to run in the background while games are playing and for instant switching between these apps, but the company has not gone into detail about what kind of impact this functionality has on the system&#8217;s processing load.<br \/>\nDigital Foundry also has more from a wide-ranging interview with Goossen and Xbox hardware architect Nick Baker, touching on everything from RAM bandwidth and pixel shading to compute units and clock speed. It&#8217;s well worth a read for anyone looking for a deep dive into the raw hardware power of Microsoft&#8217;s next system.<br \/>\nvia <a href=\"http:\/\/arstechnica.com\/gaming\/2013\/10\/microsoft-system-processing-takes-up-10-percent-of-xbox-one-gpu-time\/\" target=\"_blank\">Microsoft: \u201cSystem processing\u201d takes up 10 percent of Xbox One GPU time | Ars Technica<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Xbox One&#8217;s ability to run up to four apps in the background (or on the side via Snap mode) [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[437,1259],"class_list":["post-3667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hardware","category-technology","tag-gpu","tag-xbox-one"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/papNkV-X9","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5538,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/05\/15\/microsoft-stops-holding-netflix-hulu-hostage-behind-xbox-live-gold-paywall\/","url_meta":{"origin":3667,"position":0},"title":"Microsoft stops holding Netflix, Hulu hostage behind Xbox Live Gold paywall","author":"NCCT","date":"May 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"UPDATE (08:51AM Pacific): Well, looks like Microsoft couldn't wait until E3. They've gone and gotten rid of the Xbox Live Gold requirement and announced a Kinect-free Xbox One. ORIGINAL STORY Talk about funny timing: Just last week our very own Mark Hachman was complaining that Microsoft still holds services like\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Microsoft&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Microsoft","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/microsoft\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7428,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2015\/01\/13\/gamestop-has-been-repairing-reselling-red-ringed-xbox-360s-since-2009\/","url_meta":{"origin":3667,"position":1},"title":"GameStop has been repairing, reselling red-ringed Xbox 360s since 2009","author":"NCCT","date":"January 13, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The Xbox 360 remains a favorite among millions of gamers even nearly 10 years after its November 2005 debut. Unfortunately for Microsoft and buyers alike, the console was plagued by a high failure rate over an issue that became known as the Red Ring of Death. While the company has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Hardware&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Hardware","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/hardware\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6557,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/10\/10\/meet-linux-kernel-3-17s-best-new-features-xbox-one-controller-support-laptop-free-fall-protection-and-more\/","url_meta":{"origin":3667,"position":2},"title":"Meet Linux kernel 3.17&#8217;s best new features: Xbox One controller support, laptop &#8216;free fall&#8217; protection, and more","author":"NCCT","date":"October 10, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Linux kernel 3.17\u2014part of the series codenamed \u201cShuffling Zombie Juror\u201d (yes, really!)\u2014is now out. This means great new features are coming to a Linux distribution near you, though the 3.17 kernel's changes mostly consist of new and improved hardware support. New versions of the Linux kernel will eventually make their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Linux&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Linux","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/linux\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5662,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2014\/06\/03\/dailytech-microsoft-moonshot-windows-9-will-unify-pc-xbox-phone-and-tablet-oses\/","url_meta":{"origin":3667,"position":3},"title":"DailyTech &#8211; Microsoft Moonshot: Windows 9 Will Unify PC, Xbox, Phone, and Tablet OSes","author":"NCCT","date":"June 3, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"New cross-platform OS project is unprecedented, arguably largest software project in history A new report in The Seattle Times interviews some of Microsoft Corp.'s MSFT top executives who describe the company's inspired new design direction. With Windows 9, Microsoft is plotting quite literally the largest software project in history; combining\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Microsoft&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Microsoft","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/microsoft\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9269,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2017\/11\/11\/the-new-screen-savers-130-the-new-xbox-one-x\/","url_meta":{"origin":3667,"position":4},"title":"The New Screen Savers 130: The New Xbox One X","author":"NCCT","date":"November 11, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/1ikGToSFkuc -Leo Laporte and Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ check out the new Xbox One X. Samit Sarkar, Senior Reporter from Polygon joins us to talk about the new games, 4k with HDR gaming, and if it's worth it without a 4K monitor. - The holidays are approaching quickly and we've\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Microsoft&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Microsoft","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/category\/microsoft\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/1ikGToSFkuc\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8530,"url":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2015\/08\/06\/why-windows-10-isnt-really-free-the-subtle-new-world-of-built-in-costs\/","url_meta":{"origin":3667,"position":5},"title":"Why Windows 10 isn&#8217;t really free: The subtle new world of built-in costs","author":"NCCT","date":"August 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Windows 10 isn\u2019t really free. 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