> -----Original Message----- > From: Angel Stewart [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2003 9:13 AM > To: CF-Community > Subject: DISCover PC Console > > So...they take a PC and stick it in a nice box...and then write software > to 'recognise' and install games. > However...since most games come with an Autorun feature anyway how much > software did they really have to write? > > Basic specs are fairly anemic for PC games: 1Ghz 'Pentium Class' > processor with 256MB of Ram.And an Integrated video card.
This is still respectable - it really depends on what kind of graphics card we're talking about. Remember that the current performance king of consoles, the Xbox only has a 700 MHz processor. The relatively slow processor is offset by an advanced graphics subsystem. > Thing is...most games aren't written for 'low end' console specs.Half > Life 2..Deus Ex 2..Doom III..all of these aren't going to truly shine > unless you got that Hyperthreaded P4 with the 512MB of Ram and a new DX > 9 graphics card. Most games ARE written for exactly those kinds of consoles. Although the system you describe is schweet it's overkill for pretty much all modern games - they'll play just fine on last year's hardware. Also remember that GHz aren't everything - architecture makes a huge difference. A 1Ghz P3 is performance competitive with a 2GHz P4 due to changes in the architecture. All told it sounds to me like they're hitting the sweet spot: cheap enough to be attractive but fast enough to please. > The unit is going to cost about 400US apparently....the same price as > that DELL (with better specs than this) after rebates. It's a shame, but a big part of that price is Windows XP. A third party just can't take the price cut MS is suffering (remember that MS still hasn't made a profit on any Xbox hardware - it's still sold at a loss). > So....who the hell is going to BUY this crap? Probably nobody. But it isn't a horrible idea. If they succeed nominally (if the software works and so forth) I could see it being picked up by a Dell or HP for inclusion on future models (a full PC that offered this kind of direct-to-TV gaming out of the box could be nice). As processors improve I could even see such a thing being done in a gaming-dedicated VM. > Basically they are dropping a neat software shell atop Windows XP to > 'simplify' installing and patching games. > > Alienware and Voodoo PC are supposed to be 'licensing' the DISCover > virtual desktop for their machines as a choice to consumers. Didn't read this far. ;^) But it proves my point: I think that the hardware will fail utterly (although I'll still happily pick up one eBay a year or two from now) but that the idea (if not this particular implementation) has some definite merit. > Me? I think selling the software desktop is a good idea. Selling a > 'complete' gaming PC package and calling it a DISCover console..isn't. Well it won't be the first time. 3DO had similar ideas as did several Linux console makers. Nobody's done it yet, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be tried. Jim Davis ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?forumid=5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?method=subscribe&forumid=5 This list and all House of Fusion resources hosted by CFHosting.com. The place for dependable ColdFusion Hosting. http://www.cfhosting.com Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
