Project Scorpio now has 9GB GDDR5 RAM for games

Microsoft's high-end 4K-ready Project Scorpio console is ready to be unveiled in less than a week, and the Xbox division is busily optimizing the hardware and fully unlocking its potential. Microsoft has now confirmed that developers now have access to 9GB of Project Scorpio's total 12GB GDDR5 RAM, adding an extra GB to use for games.

2

Xbox & Windows gaming platform Vice President Mike Ybarra today confirmed that Project Scorpio will lend 75% of its total 12GB of GDDR5 RAM to developers, up 1GB from the previous 8GB DDR5 RAM allocation. Microsoft was able to make this jump days before the console's release, and developers now have a closer parity between Project Scorpio's powerful devkit, which features 24GB of GDDR5 RAM, and the retail unit.

Microsoft's Project Scorpio console will indeed hit native 4K resolution in-game, with full 4K textures with games that feature them. It'll be up to developers to add in 4K textures, and developers have full discretion on how to utilize the hardware. Project Scorpio features a highly customized 16nm FinFET SoC with an onboard AMD Polaris GPU with 40 Compute Units at 1172MHz and 6TFLOPs of compute performance, and an 8-core Jaguar Evolved CPU at 2.73GHz.

The company will reveal Project Scorpio's full name, pricing, and launch games lineup at E3 2017. As we've reported before, Project Scorpio will play all existing Xbox One games, and is compatible with all existing Xbox One hardware.

Project Scorpio will release Holiday 2017, and check below for everything we know about the console so far.

2

Project Scorpio confirmed specs

• SoC: Highly customized 360mm² AMD System-on-Chip built on 16nm FinFET
• GPU: Polaris-derived GPU with 40 Compute Units at 1172MHz, 6TFLOPs of Compute Performance
• CPU: Custom x86 "Jaguar Evolved" 8-core CPU at 2.73GHz, 4MB L2 cache
• Memory: 12GB GDDR5 memory with 326GB/s bandwidth (12x 6.8GHz modules on a 384-bit bus)
• Storage: 1TB 2.5-inch HDD
• Media: 4K UHD Blu-ray player

Project Scorpio coverage index

• Microsoft reveals why Ryzen isn't in Project Scorpio
• Project Scorpio's tuned power efficiency reduces heat
• Project Scorpio has Vega GPU architecture in its design
• Microsoft confirms Project Scorpio reveal for E3 2017
• Microsoft already planning beyond Project Scorpio
• Project Scorpio specs revealed in full
• Project Scorpio supports FreeSync, FreeSync 2, HDMI 2.1
• Project Scorpio devkit revealed
• Project Scorpio runs Forza 6 at native 4K60FPS Ultra at 88% GPU usage
• Project Scorpio has the power, now it needs games
• Project Scorpio only takes 1% perf hit with 4K assets
• Project Scorpio shouldn't cost $700, nor $399
• Can Project Scorpio's custom hard drive be swapped out?
• Project Scorpio has custom hard disk to load 4K textures
• DirectX 12 games will have advantage in Project Scorpio
• Project Scorpio could be a sleek compact powerhouse
• Project Scorpio devs have access to 8GB GDDR5 RAM
• Xbox Scorpio: the best display of AMD technology yet
• Project Scorpio will play all Xbox One games better
• Project Scorpio could challenge GTX 1070 and Fury X GPUs
• Project Scorpio rocks high-end vapor chamber cooler
• Project Scorpio hits 4K 60FPS in Forza 6
• Project Scorpio: 6 TFLOP Polaris GPU at 1173MHz, 2.73GHz Jaguar CPU, 12GB GDDR5 memory