Console performance

[Sanshin77]

I think some of the younger gamers (including me) sometimes wonder if console A can pull off better graphics(/is more powerful) than console B, anyone seen a list(preferrably with all consoles from the NES up until today) like this? I think this would be both useful and interesting, in a way. Please don't misunderstand, I don't want to start a PS3 vs 360 flame war. And I don't want to make a "Top game consoles" list, I just often wonder if the DS can pull off more than the N64 etc.

I know there are many aspects to "good graphics", and that graphics isn't everything, but the PS3 can pull off better graphics than the 360, just as the PSP can have better 3D graphics than the DS.(I'm not a sony fanboy, I prefer 360 over PS3 and NDS over PSP)

Im gonna start with a list, could you guys please correct me and add more consoles?

1. PS3
2. X360
3. Wii
4. Xbox
5. Gamecube
6. Sega Dreamcast
7. PS2
8. PSP
9. N64
10. Nintendo DS
11. Playstation (1)
12. GameBoy Advance
13. Sega CD
14. 3DO
15. Atari Jaguar
16. Super NES
17. Sega Genesis
18. GameBoy Color
19. TurboGrafx-16
20. Sega Master System
21. Nintendo Entertainment System ( NES )
22. GameBoy

Edit: Original list updated 28/09 - 2009
Consoles added: Sega CD, 3DO, Atari Jaguar, Sega Genesis, TurboGrafx-16, Sega Master system

Please correct it if I misplaced a console

[davidthefat]

I think some of the younger gamers (including me) sometimes wonder if console A can pull off better graphics(/is more powerful) than console B, anyone seen a list(preferrably with all consoles from the NES up until today) like this? I think this would be both useful and interesting, in a way. Please don't misunderstand, I don't want to start a PS3 vs 360 flame war. And I don't want to make a "Top game consoles" list, I just often wonder if the DS can pull off more than the N64 etc.

I know there are many aspects to "good graphics", and that graphics isn't everything, but the PS3 can pull off better graphics than the 360, just as the PSP can have better 3D graphics than the DS.(I'm not a sony fanboy, I prefer 360 over PS3 and NDS over PSP)

Im gonna start with a list, could you guys please correct me and add more consoles?



1. PS3
2. X360
3. Xbox
4. PS2
5. Sega Dreamcast
6. Wii
7. Gamecube
8. PSP
9. N64
10. Nintendo DS
11. Playstation (1)
12. Super NES
13. GameBoy Advance
14. Nintendo Entertainment System ( NES )
15. GameBoy Color
16. GameBoy



I didn't know where to put the Sega consoles so please tell.
An example:

Put Sega Genesis over the GameBoy Color

Did you pull that out of your ass? Honestly to be able to measure performance, you have to program almost exact same program for all platforms and test it

[Sanshin77]

Did you pull that out of your ass? Honestly to be able to measure performance, you have to program almost exact same program for all platforms and test it

Or use common sense and compare the best looking games on each platform? Do you think its necessary to do a test to find out if a PS2 can do better graphics than a GameBoy Advance? Kind, constructive and polite reply btw...

That kind of test would only be needed for consoles that are very similar (graphics-wise), and in many cases tests like that have already been done.

[K-Bal]

davidthefat ist right, you have to do this in a uniform way.

[Sanshin77]

davidthefat ist right, you have to do this in a uniform way.

Why is that?

If A > B and B > C, then that meens A > C aswell...(?)

[K-Bal]

Yes, but consider that these consoles are extremely different in certain fields of computer graphics. Thus A could be > B and < B at the same time. This whole topic is just pointless guesswork without a proper benchmark.

[dandymcgee]

Add Atari at the bottom.

Oscilloscope under that.

[avansc]

1. PS3
2. X360
3. Xbox
4. PS2
5. Sega Dreamcast
6. Wii
7. Gamecube
8. PSP
9. N64
10. Nintendo DS
11. Playstation (1)
12. Super NES
13. GameBoy Advance
14. Nintendo Entertainment System ( NES )
15. GameBoy Color
16. GameBoy

dream cast is rated way to high.

as for doing a comparison, you can look at mips and mips per Mhz. also polygon rate and jazz like that. its a fruitless test really.

[Pickzell]

1. PS3
2. X360
3. Xbox
4. PS2
5. PSP
5. Sega Dreamcast
6. Wii
7. Gamecube
8. NDS
9. PS1
10. N64
11. GBA
12. Super NES
13. GameBoy Color
14. Nintendo Entertainment System ( NES )
15. GameBoy

This is based off of my knowledge. No, I didn't test every possible aspect of them either.

[Falco Girgis]

Goddamn, you guys are really far off. Seriously. PS2 more powerful than a Wii? PSP above the Wii? PS1 more powerful than an N64? Are you guys kidding me?

I respect and understand that to benchmark something, you have to run something standardized. But you should also be intelligent enough to see from the software or read developer blogs talking about the REAL numbers (polygons, calculations per second) and ignore the bullshit. I can't stand by and watch such misinformation not be corrected. I also notice a blatant lack of any Sega console (other than Dreamcast) from you kiddies.

PS2 pulling off 66 million polygons/sec? Complete bullshit. You can't just go by specs

1. PS3 - First only because of raw horsepower. The 360 can do a lot of the things that PS3 has to do in software in hardware. Sure, the PS3 may have higher horsepower thanks to the cells doing everything in software.
2. X360 - Could totally be seen as "more powerful," because the hardware does things that the PS3 has to make the cells do in software.
3. Wii - Basically a beefed up GC. The GC was already an extremely powerful console from the previous generation (usually closer to Xbox rather than PS2 in performance). The RAM, VRAM, and processor have all been beefed up. It is definitely not far from the first Xbox, but it's definitely more capable.
4. Xbox - By far the most powerful previous gen console. All respects, CPU, RAM, VRAM, etc.
5. Gamecube - You guys are being so unfair to the GC. It has a fuckload of VRAM, a very nice CPU, and RAM sized between the PS2 and Xbox. Performance-wise, it puts the PS2 to absolute shame. Have you ever read the developer docs on porting Resident Evil 4 to PS2? They had to butcher the fuck out of the game just to get the PS2 to handle it. They had to drop some of the textures to 8-bit color palettes. GC blows the PS2 out of the water.
6. Sega Dreamcast - extremely powerful console for its time. Its lowest point in comparison to the Xbox, GC, PS2 was definitely polygons/second. It had more VRAM than a PS2 and could do things like bumpmapping in hardware that PS2 couldn't dream of.
7. PS2 - Second shittiest polygon performance, worst VRAM of DC, PS2, and GC. It does well in comparison because 1) it has a lot of high budget games and 2) because it can do some fancy things (like HDR) in software because of fast-as-shit framebuffer access. GC is considerably more powerful, but can't do things like that (Okami on Wii couldn't do the filtering, because of framebuffer access).
8. PSP - 2MB of VRAM, a 330mhz CPU. By polygons, it's below the PS2. By CPU, it's actually higher.
9. N64 - Shitty textures, shitty sound processor (texture and sound storage is shared? Wtf), but it also had a whopping 100mhz processor (that kicks the PS1's ass), and it had HARDWARE ANTI ALIASING. Even PS2 didn't do that.
10. NDS - pretty damn close to an N64. Actually not really sure which one is "more powerful."
11. PS1 - The PS1 had a slower processor (more VRAM) and a fuckload less hardware capabilities than the N64.
12. GBA - It has a much nicer processor than the SNES, but look at some of the games. Yoshi's island struggles to pull off some of the 3D effects that the SNES could do with the superFX chips.
13. Super NES
14. GameBoy Color - I agree.
15. Nintendo Entertainment System ( NES )
16. GameBoy - You guys realize the Gameboy has a faster processor than the NES?

[Bakkon]

This is based off of my knowledge.

A lack of knowledge isn't knowledge.

[Pickzell]

This is based off of my knowledge.

A lack of knowledge isn't knowledge.

Let's say I just started calculus 3 weeks ago and I have learned a bit about it. Granted, I have a lack of knowledge, but I still have knowledge nonetheless...

[trufun202]

What about the poor consoles that time forgot? Those systems still hold a special place in my heart...

- TurboGrafx-16 - This was a badass little system. 16-bit graphics and sound that blew away NES and SMS at the time. However, a few years passed, and it couldn't hold a candle to SNES and Genesis.

- 3DO - This console was ahead of it's time. The "Panasonic R.E.A.L. 3DO" was marketed as more than just a video game console, it was an "entertainment system". They released games, movies, and interactive videos. Capable of full-screen full motion video and 3D texture mapped graphics, this system ran circles around all other home consoles at the time. I'd put this above SNES / Sega CD and below PS1.

- Atari Jaguar - /sigh, the console with perhaps the worst rap in history. Yes, if you follow Atari's math, it was indeed a 64-bit machine, but it sure didn't look like it... Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my Jaguar - there are some absolute classic games only available on this console - but, the hardware is weak. It could handle 2D graphics at blazing speeds, but 3D games were on the rise, and applying a texture map to a polygon brought the Jaguar to it's knees. In terms of performance, I'd put this above the SNES and below 3DO.

[qpHalcy0n]

Oh man, chock this up to one of those "You might be getting old if...." ...."you remember someone actually OWNING a 3DO" threads :D Haha, but seriously, I think I was 12 when those things came out and they required a small loan to purchase. Of course then computers weren't any cheap affair either. However, they had this REALLY bad ass top down tank/war RTS that was REALLY fun to play. I can't for the life of me remember what in the heck it was called, but it was one of the debut titles. A beer to the man (or woman) that can remember what the HECK that game was called.... for the sake of reliving a portion of my youth :D ...so you see, its for a good cause (either for the beer or helping me out here) ;]

[trufun202]

However, they had this REALLY bad ass top down tank/war RTS that was REALLY fun to play. I can't for the life of me remember what in the heck it was called, but it was one of the debut titles. A beer to the man (or woman) that can remember what the HECK that game was called.... for the sake of reliving a portion of my youth :D ...so you see, its for a good cause (either for the beer or helping me out here) ;]

Return Fire. That game kicked ass. They eventually ported it to the PS1 and Saturn, but the 3DO was first. Same goes for Need for Speed!