Learn About Game Console SoCs

What is it?

It stands for system on a chip (SoC). It is a chip that contains the CPU, GPU, memory, and many more crucial components needed for the operation of the system. Due to their compact all in one design, SoCs are used in game consoles to cut on costs and fit in a compact form factor.

How does it work?

SoCs work by doing the following (over simplified) steps:

1. Retrieve program from memory
2. Execute program
3. Store results in memory

Look for

• Performance

  Check out the resolution and FPS it can do in your games

• Platform

  Check out what games can you play on the platform

Avoid

• Spec Comparisons

  Do not compare game console SoCs based on their specs

  Every SoC is based on many architectures, and every architecture is designed differently. For example, a 2 Core SoC CPU can be twice as fast as a 4 Core SoC CPU, hence, it is pointless to say that the 4 is more than 2, so it must be better. Same thing with L2 cache size, and any other metrics. The best thing to do is check how it runs your games.