Microsoft's Xbox Chief Envisions Killing Non-Upgradable Consoles Making Us All Part Of The PC Master Race

its a cool read /idea i for one would be happy if this happen would love to be able to push my xbox power and graphic if i choice to upgrade for it
http://hothardware.com/news/future-xbox-consoles-could-feature-upgradeable-components

Hmm... I'm okay with the idea - but it'll be pretty expensive I'm sure.
It's very doubtful they'd let you just plug any RAM, GPU, etc in. I'd still like to see a module console design where you could flip a lid to push-button release a card and slot in a new GPU/RAM.
Designing that sounds like a massive pain though. Creating optimal airflow in a small case while still having accessible components - IDK how they'll do it xD

i am sure if they did go the route they would also have MS branded cases and such to help improve airflow


it would be cool to slap in some kingston ram or a evga gpu
but i am with you the upgrades themselves would also be MS branded only kind of like how they did with the 360 hard drive

just but the xb1 one OS on my pc and problem solved lol

Prob just be ram,hardrive and grapic cards only

S7 Sticky wrote:i am sure  if they  did go  the route   they would also  have MS branded  cases and such to help improve airflow

I was getting at the current issues consoles have - they all tend to run hot. Add in the ability to pop in a more powerful GPU, faster RAM, etc.
It's going to create more heat.

So if they hope to keep the consoles even close to the same size, they'll have to get pretty crafty in their new console designs and plan for things like additional power draw, component quality decay (become less energy efficient over-time), and other misc. factors.

I imagine RRoD will make a return lol

Doesn't this sort of defeat the point of a console? I mean the reason to buy a console is to not have to upgrade it. You buy one knowing that games published will be optimized for said console for several years. For that convenience you give up cutting edge power and graphics. It's sort of the whole point of a console. Otherwise this is just a PC or Steambox. And once you start changing the components it would be near impossible to optimize.

the base model   would be  for the people who cant afford it/dont want to upgrade  and it will still run the game

now for  people who want more and are willing to pay for  this will be their pick  and i will always  pick being able to upgrade over time VS being stuck with 7 year old tech
even if its only  upgraded internal hard drive for fast load times and more space at the very least.

as it is right now i am running a 6tb external  which is faster running on usb 3.0 then the sata internal one inside the xbox which is sad


what i think would be cool as active cooling  of ram ,vram  and  the option to water cool the cpu  i think that would be freakin\' epic.
and with an upgraded console  you could  improve the life of said console   by countless years and would not worry about it ever becoming out of date.  then  when a new  system years comes up really you could just  clear what you have install the new systems OS and BOOM  new console done. even if they sold the new console OS  for say 200 bucks  that will still be cheaper then a 4 or 5 hundred dollar new console

S7 DROOPY wrote:Prob just be ram,hardrive and grapic cards only

+1

Atrum is right though. a good gpu gets real fkn hot. that case is way too small and enclosed.

I wouldn't mind the opportunity to upgrade as long as I didn't have to spend another 1000 on another console... which is the only way I see this happening. A dif case.

<---- spent 900 to upgrade his pc and loved every sec of it =)

Only way this works for Microsoft is if the sell proprietary parts and that's all that will work.

well both console are AMD based so really they could run with anything AMD

I would be really interested if they used the hardware for a console that runs a local VM or virtual machine. As long as the interchangeable hardware is compatible I wouldn't see a huge issue as it would make the platform more flexible while minimizing the risk related to software compatibility issues with different x86 chips and GPUs. I do think they would have to figure out which GPU vendor to go with though as Nvidia has CUDA based programming and AMD doesn't. Either way this could be another big win for AMD if they can secure the CPU and GPU in a single adjustable platform.

I also think Atrum hit the nail on the head with console having a huge heat issue. Either they will have to increase the consoles size allowing for natural airflow or dampen that immersion with some better, possible louder cooling. If Microsoft does go in this direction I am even more interested to see what Sony will do. Will they also include upgrade ability and how will they combat Microsoft's ability to incorporate PC and console operating systems into one environment.

I agree with this decision because technology is simply advancing to fast for the consoles. They simply can't last long enough before a new hardware upgrade is really needed. I would hate to see the alternative of having consoles released like a yearly roster update to the new EA Madden game.

One thing that came to mind is the Thermaltake level 10 case that's all modular. If they had an enclosed main board and all the replaceable components as modular additions it would make sense.

I agree with Zak that the reason I buy and play on a console is because the system will have games designed for it for probably 8-10 years and the only thing I might have to invest in is a HDD. I don't like that you pretty much need to upgrade your rig every 6-12 months I order to play PC games and I wouldn't be too pleased with having to do rust for a console.

Yes it something they can do and yes by the time a console hits the market the components are out of date, but I'm ok with that if I don't have to keep upgrading then 1-2 times a year to play the best games for the system.

DeadSockPuppet wrote:I agree with Zak that the reason I buy and play on a console is because the system will have games designed for it for probably 8-10 years and the only thing I might have to invest in is a HDD.  I don't like that you pretty much need to upgrade your rig every 6-12 months I order to play PC games and I wouldn't be too pleased with having to do rust for a console.  

Yes it something they can do and yes by the time a console hits the market the components are out of date, but I'm ok with that if I don't have to keep upgrading then 1-2 times a year to play the best games for the system.  

To be fair, I built my PC about 4 years ago and still have no problem running new games. Total cost for the PC itself was just over $1000.

I do generally agree though, I don't want to have to buy upgrades for my xbox to play the latest games on the best graphics.
As has been said, the whole purpose of console gaming is simplicity.