Phil Spencer, Head of Microsoft’s Xbox division, has recently changed his Twitter profile picture to what is clearly the processor Microsoft will be using in its upcoming Xbox console. This processor is expected to have 8 Zen 2 cores and an RDNA2 GPU. Jim recently took a look at the PS5 and new Xbox in his latest video, so this teaser comes in at a convenient time. Based on recent leaks saying that the Xbox Series X processor would come with 56 CUs (compute units), Jim estimated that the die size could around 420 mm2.
Unfortunately, Spencer took this picture at an angle and without anything to give us a clue to the scale, so it’s hard to say exactly how big it is. The processor in the Xbox One X, for example, is on the 16nm node and features Jaguar CPU cores and a 40 CU Polaris GPU. That die is about 360 mm2. It actually has a very similar looking package so it would be the best thing to compare it against. Thankfully, Twitter use rogame (a hardware enthusiast and leaker) has come up with a good estimate for how large the new Xbox processor is. Assuming that the packages (the metallic square around these processors) of the Xbox One X processor and the new Xbox processor are the same size, he actually estimated that the new Xbox processor is smaller than the old one found in the Xbox One X, at around 340 mm2.
Right: Xbox One X processor
Source: rogame
That would be surprising since we have come to expect that the Series X would provide much more GPU horsepower than consoles normally do. However, there is a chance this is not the Series X, but a lower end Xbox that is rumored to launch alongside the Series X. Microsoft has long been rumored to be developing two processors this generation that would be launched at the same time, the larger Anaconda and the smaller Lockhart. Lockhart was rumored to have been canceled, but perhaps it wasn’t.
On the other hand, Wccftech estimates the die size is actually larger than the Xbox One X processor at around 400 mm2, more in line with what we’d expect of the rumored 56 CU die. The much larger estimation comes from an assumption that the package for the new processor is much bigger than the package on the Xbox One X processor. Unfortunately, since Phil Spencer didn’t give us anything to reference in terms of size, assumptions do have to be made and that has predictably lead to different conclusions on how big this processor is.
Though we still don’t know hard specs for the upcoming Xbox(es), it’s nice to get a picture of the processor so that we can get an idea of how powerful it could be. At about 340 mm2, there might be enough room for a GPU with as many CUs as a 5700XT, though we might be able to expect a few more than the 40 CUs the 5700XT features. If the die size is closer to 400 mm2, however, it’s more likely to have a much bigger GPU, perhaps 56 CUs as recent leaks have suggested. Ultimately, it’s hard to draw firm conclusions from this teaser, which is probably what Phil Spencer wanted in the first place.
