Posted on Thursday, July 12 2012 @ 22:40 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
Eurogamer noticed Microsoft has filed a patent for a next-gen console that can be scaled up (or down) over time, full details
over here.
In the same way that PCs today are built around core components like motherboards, PSUs, RAM modules, and expansion cards, Microsoft is proposing its own "base architecture" for scalable console hardware going forward. Multiple models are considered (perhaps suggesting some level of customisation between OEMs) but all are based around principles we first saw in the 720 leak. For starters, this is a multi-CPU, multi-GPU system. One CPU/GPU combo is reserved for the "platform" and handles elements such as the dashboard and video encoding/decoding. The other element is the "application" aspect - which for a console would mostly cover games.
