Next Gen game PC hardware requirements... (Part 1 - looking at the past)

We are on the cusp of a new generation of consoles and alongside that we also have major hardware releases that tout generational* improvements in performance from AMD and NVidia. Other outlets have had a crack at trying to predict where the PC gaming space is going to go and I've pontificated before about the required hardware for a relatively future-proof gaming PC but I wanted to take a deeper, more data-driven look at the console/PC relationship so let's take a look into the past and see if that might inform us on future trends...

*Human generation, not technological generation

Microsoft's gamble with the (rumoured) Series S... (An argument against)

The rumours of the Xbox Series S just keep on keeping on... but there's still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the console. No, I'm not talking about the hardware makeup of this design, I'm speaking about the market proposition and the potential cost to Microsoft for releasing such a console.

Predictions for the Series S...

There are quite a few rumours beginning to circulate over Microsoft's July event. Some of them even apply to the fabled "Series S" console. I had tried to predict what the hardware makeup of SX and PS5 would be so I figured I may as well try my hat at predicting what will be the makeup of the SS. (Oh, and by the way, some of the things I had predicted for a "next gen console" may appear to be present in the PS5... if certain rumours are true.)

My take on the PS5 Reveal...

Last night we had the first consumer-focussed PS5 event. Games were shown and the physical console hardware was finally revealed as well. Now, there's many takes going around on the internet - a lot of hyperbole and very little grounded discussion. Maybe I can provide some of that? I don't know. I just know that my personal opinions are not being reflected by the media and personalities I usually follow.

So let's get into it...

How SSDs might really change gaming...

People keep saying that SSDs are going to change the way we play games now that they're on the next generation of consoles. Some people say that the PS5's increased bandwidth derived from the 12 channel PCIe Gen 4 SSD will lead to even better performance than the Series X's more traditional 8 channel PCIe Gen 3/4* SSD. However, we've had this sort** of performance available in the PC sphere for a number of years now. So what should we be expecting when developers haven't even been bothered to utilise the "awesome" power of the storage medium?

*I'm saying 3/4 because it's not clear from the actual performance numbers (2-3 GB/s is achievable by Gen 3 SSDs...)

**On the same order of magnitude, maybe not the same amount of IOPs 

Let's take a look...