http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-why-xbox-one-is-cool-and-quiet
- A highly placed source says that the console has been designed with a ten-year lifecycle in mind and that it is designed to be switched on for that entire period. What's more, during that time it needs to operate almost silently in order to earn its place in the living room.
- Our sources say that Xbox One is expected to remain almost entirely silent in standby and during its media functions, with fan noise only noticeable during gaming when the AMD processor is really being put through its paces.
- Indeed, we're told by one development source that prototype versions of the hardware - which use the same chassis as the final retail unit - didn't have working power lights, and that it was
almost impossible to tell whether the console was in operation or not unless it was hooked up to a display.
- Our understanding is that final development hardware - which is a
complete match for retail silicon - started rolling out to developers early in July and remains extremely quiet.
- Our sources suggest that internally there is a great deal of frustration within Microsoft that the message about instant access never got across, and that
the focus now is on Gamescom in August to get it right.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-can-xbox-one-multi-platform-games-compete-with-ps4
- In summary, the PS4 enjoys two key strengths over the Xbox One in terms of its rendering prowess: raw GPU power and masses of bandwidth. On the face of it, the specs look like a wash, but it seems clear that one of those advantages - the 50 per cent increase in compute power - doesn't result in the stratospheric boost to performance you might imagine
- That being the case, as unlikely as this may sound bearing in mind the computational deficit in its graphics hardware,
theoretically Xbox One multi-platform games have a pretty good shout in getting close to their PS4 equivalents, with only minor compromises