If the amount of leaks are any indication, Microsoft is really running a tight ship to ensure that its so-called Project Scorpio generates as much surprise and buzz upon its debut, possibly during this year's E3 event. Enterprising sources, however, are undeterred as demonstrated by the leaked white paper that finally hinted at the device's power.
The document was obtained by Digital Foundry, which posted a YouTube video detailing a number of juicy bits.
What Is Project Scorpio?
For the uninitiated, Project Scorpio was announced by Microsoft last year and is considered to be a leveled-up version of the Xbox One. The device seems to be primarily built to support 4K display and the VR platform. When it is finally unleashed next holiday season, it will purportedly become the most powerful console ever, leaving the PlayStation 4 Pro in the dust.
That is quite a formidable task for Microsoft to fulfill but the leaked document seems to be validating this claim.
Processing Power
According to the white paper, Project Scorpio will be rocking a RAM architecture different from the technology one finds in the Xbox One. In addition, its innards will feature four times the L2 cache with its eight CPU cores and the possibility of a 6-teraflop graphics processing unit.
Of course, there is also the rumored PlayStation 5, which could ship with an 8-teraflop GPU.
You may be sure that the white paper also cited true 4K and VR support. There is also the 320 GB memory bandwidth and the absence of the ESRAM. This last is particularly notable with the way it was highlighted by Microsoft.
"ESRAM remains essential to achieving high performance on both Xbox One and Xbox One S," the document stated. "However, Project Scorpio and PC are not provided with ESRAM. Because developers are not allowed to ship a Project Scorpio-only SKU, optimizing for ESRAM remains critical to performance on Microsoft platforms."
One key information that should delight fans is that Project Scorpio will support all Xbox One games.
White Paper Validity
While the latest intel still qualifies as a rumor, there is the claim that the quality of the data is solid. Digital Foundry did not reveal the identity of its source but it is widely believed that the document came from a developer.
With a year-end release, it makes sense for Microsoft to be circulating such white paper so creators can produce content when the console is released.
This can be highlighted how the document detailed Microsoft's suggestion for hitting the 4K sweet spot, along with other practices that can increase efficiency.
Some of you are probably breathless with anticipation but also concerned about the rise of such a storied device. IGN is quite helpful in this respect, directing us to a previous statement released by Phil Spencer. The Xbox top honcho said that Project Scorpio will feel premium but "not more than that."
