The Xbox 360 System Specifications

One of the things that excites me the most about the Xbox 360 is its advanced hardware specs. Yes, yes, I know, Microsoft says that “in the HD Era the platform is bigger than the processor” and I agree with that, but I can't help thinking about the things that this hardware will be able to pull off. 

The Xbox 360 represents a technological breakthrough only possible because of the hard work of hundreds of masterminds around the world who converged to create the ultimate gaming machine. Unreal Engine 3-powered games running at 1280x720 with full screen anti-aliasing? Not a problem for the Xbox 360. 

Хboх 360 System Performance - Draft
Custom IBM PowerPC-based CPU	3 symmetrical cores running at 3.2 GHz each 2 hardware threads per core; 6 hardware threads total 1 VMX-128 vector unit per core; 3 total 128 VMX-128 registers per hardware thread 1 MB L2 cache
CPU Game Math Performance	9 billion dot product operations per second
Custom ATI Graphics Processor	500 MHz 10 MB embedded DRAM 48-way parallel floating-point dynamically-scheduled shader pipelines Unified shader architecture
Polygon Performance	500 million triangles per second
Pixel Fill Rate	16 gigasamples per second fillrate using 4X MSAA
Shader Performance	48 billion shader operations per second
Memory	512 MB GDDR3 RAM 700 MHz DDR Unified memory architecture
Memory Bandwidth	22.4 GB/s memory interface bus bandwidth 256 GB/s memory bandwidth to EDRAM 21.6 GB/s front-side bus
Overall System Floating-Point Performance	1 TFLOP
Storage	Detachable and upgradeable 20 GB hard drive 12X dual-layer DVD-ROM Memory unit support starting at 64 MB
I/O	Support for up to 4 wireless game controllers 3 USB 2.0 ports 2 memory unit slots
Optimized for Online	Instant, out-of-the-box access to Xbox Live features, including Xbox Live Marketplace for downloadable content, Gamer Profile for digital identity and voice chat to talk to friends while playing games, watching movies or listening to music Built in Ethernet Port Wi-Fi Ready: 802.11 A, B and G Video Camera Ready
Digital Media Support	Support for DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-DA, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, WMA CD, MP3 CD, JPEG Photo CD Stream media from portable music devices, digital cameras, Windows XP PCs Rip music to Xbox 360 hard drive Custom playlists in every game Windows Media Center Extender built in Interactive, full screen 3D visualizers
HD Game Support	All games supported at 16:9, 720p and 1080i, anti-aliasing Standard definition and high definition video output supported
Audio	Multichannel surround sound output Supports 48 KHz 16-bit audio 320 independent decompression channels 32-bit audio processing Over 256 audio channels
System Orientation	Stands vertically or horizontally
Customizable Face Plates	Interchangeable to personalize the console

Key Highlights

Hardware, software, and services: Unveiled to the world on MTV on Thursday, May 12, 2005, Xbox 360 represents a dramatic leap forward in high-definition gaming and entertainment experiences.Fusing powerful hardware, software, and services, Xbox 360 fully engages you in a gaming experience that is more expansive, dramatic, and lifelike, where the possibilities are limitless and your imagination knows no boundaries. The next generation is here.


Xbox Live Marketplace: Keep your favorite games fresh with instant access to new content. Xbox Live Marketplace is a one-stop shop to download new game trailers, demos, and episodic content, plus new game levels, maps, weapons, vehicles, skins, and more. Accessible to everyone who establishes a broadband connection with their Xbox 360, Xbox Live Marketplace lets you personalize and extend your experience, on demand.

Games: Xbox 360 redefines what games look like, sound like, feel like, and play like to engage you like never before. With Xbox 360, epic worlds are alive with detail, from thunderous skies rumbling over a mountain range to tiny blades of grass rustling together in the breeze. Vibrant characters display depth of emotion to evoke more dramatic responses, immersing you in the experience like never before. You'll see all Xbox 360 titles at 720p and 1080i resolution in 16:9 widescreen, with anti-aliasing for smooth, movie-like graphics and multi-channel surround sound.

Digital entertainment: Amplify your music, photos, video, and TV. Watch progressive-scan DVD movies right out of the box. Rip music to the Xbox 360 hard drive and share your latest digital pictures with friends. Make the connection, and Xbox 360 instantly streams the digital media stored on your MP3 player, digital camera, Media Center PC, or any Microsoft Windows XP-based PC.