Research Report - Current Hardware Technologies

CURRENT HARDWARE TECHNOLOGIES

Processor – all machines use a processor which can be likened to the brain of the machine. Processors come in many different sizes, speeds and prices with some of them costing thousands of pounds ( £ ). They started off with the Intel 8080 many years ago, running machine code and assembler and progressed through 80286, 80386 and Pentium before moving on to the current Intel i5, i7 and i9 architecture.

Each new generation of microprocessors packs more into the same sized chip as its predecessor and this has been predicted by a well-known scientist Gordon Moore, the co-founder of Intel stating that the number of components per integrated circuit will double every year.

Each new line of processors is more powerful than the last allowing such features as multi-threading, which is the ability for the processor to do more tasks at the same time dependent upon the number of cores available. For instance my computer is a Core 2 Quad which is a 64 bit four core processor and means that four instructions can be carried out at the same time by the processor, thus increasing the speed of any program running on the machine.

The latest processors are the Intel core i9 series with 18 cores, allowing 18 instructions to be executed at the same time running at a speed of up to 4.5 GHz ( GHz = 1 x 10 to the power of 9 cycles per second), meaning that this chip can perform 81 billion instructions per second ( 4.5 times 18 = 81).

Memory – the memory of a computer is where the processor retrieves and stores information whilst running any program (game) and thus the larger the game and more complicated the graphics, the more memory that is required.

When computers were first designed in the 1970’s, most had 2k, 4k or 8k of memory, but as time has moved on we now use far more memory and standard memory sizes are 4Gb, 8Gb, 16Gb, etc.

Graphics processor (GPU) – as games and graphical processing have increased dramatically over the last 20 years, so processors have been unable to keep pace with the demands of the graphical rendering without slowing down the computer. Thus the graphics processor was introduced and takes over most if not all of the graphics processing from the main processor, allowing the main processor simply send basic data to the GPU which will then render the screen.

Initially, graphics processors were integrated into the motherboard, but as time went on specialist companies provided much more powerful add-on graphics cards and it is possible to have more than one graphics card in a machine running multiple monitors.

The graphics processor will also use its own memory which is situated on the graphics card. Graphics cards come with a range of memories normally around the 8GB mark and they use this to manipulate the data which travels along a series of predefined steps known as the Graphics Pipeline.

Display – these were initially simple black and white or green on black text displays when PCs were first introduced, but full colour soon quickly became the norm.

At first there were not many colours, starting only with 16 colours, but again this quickly increased and with the advent of graphics processors increased to 16.7 million colours. Displays went through several stages of development from glass CRT but moving quickly to LCD (Liquid crystal display) and now newer monitors are using LED technology (light emitting diode).

Displays are in order of size and the latest 4k resolution refers to a horizontal screen display to around 4 thousand and ninety six pixels.

Peripherals – allow interaction between the processor and the user, but also include hard disks and DVDs used for storing data.

The major peripherals are

1.      Display

2.      Keyboard

3.      Mouse

4.      Joystick

5.      Wheel and pedals

6.      Sound/audio devices including headphones and loudspeakers

7.      Webcam

8.      Virtual reality headset

Audio – sound cards can enhance the gaming experience and the sound chip was initially included on the motherboard to provide basic sounds. This generally would be single channel sound using 8bit software, but as with graphics cards, other manufacturers quickly started providing more powerful and better sound cards which would provide 16, 32 and 64bit sound.

Sound comes in 3 or 4 basic types, mono-sound which is one channel, stereo sound which is where can hear different things in each ear and surround sound which has several variants, but mostly allows side to side and front to back sounds. 

Internet and connectivity – most PCs started using internet cards to enable computers to be connected together even before the internet was widely accepted and these cards enabled either token ring or Ethernet local network to be created.

When the internet became widely accepted Ethernet took over from Token ring and has become the standard used by most PCs. In addition to internet/LAN connections PCs can have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity.

 

FUTURE OF GAMING

Gaming has advanced rapidly over the past few years leading to the current stage of development where virtual reality and augmented reality are the next big things, which many developers and companies are trying to make headway. Virtual reality headsets which have only been around for a short while are now available on the market, giving gamers much more immersive experiences and with these headsets, augmented reality can become achievable, that of placing game object in the real world, not just interacting with a game world. Thus humans can have their own virtual game object in the real world and interact with it.

Many sensors are available in different guises including embedded in clothes and can be used to again enhance augmented reality.

One new development has been a 360 degree treadmill which allows the gamer to stand on a small platform and walk in any direction without going anywhere and thus sensors on the individual can measure the steps taken, the speed and give a better gaming experience. Indeed a company is attempting to create an Arcade where many of these 360 degree treadmills will be placed, allowing a group of gamers to take part in shooting and killing their own zombie horde together.

 

ANALYSIS OF GAME PLATFORMS

WII – seventh generation console, wii remote controller which is a hand held pointing device and which detects movements in three dimensions.

The remote’s design uses accelerometers and infrared detection to enable the game to recognise gestures in addition to button presses.

The Wii remote design also allows the use of many different accessories to enable the user to interact physically with the game, starting with simple accessories such as a steering wheel, fishing rod, table tennis bat, gold club and moving on to skiing and surfing platforms. These accessories mean that the user can get physical exercise in addition to enjoying a game at the same time. For instance the table tennis bat will sense how fast the remote has moved in 3D space and in which direction and the ball in the game will reflect the speed and direction of the player’s movement of the remote. Thus faster and more vigorous movement will produce exercise and make the ball travel faster.

The Wii therefore is a fairly unique platform with many peripherals and controllers, however the games are relatively limited compared to the PC market due to the fact that games are provided on cartridges and can only be marketed through Nintendo.

PC – Less portable than the Wii, but potentially much more powerful and could accept a range of controllers comparable to the Wii should anyone have the inclination to manufacture these. However as Nintendo seems to have effectively cornered most of the market in the remote exercising capacity, it is unlikely that a lot will be done with the PC in this respect.

The PCs are supremely good in the virtual reality arena and their ability to utilise many different programs from both large corporations and indie programmers makes the PC an interesting choice for most people who do not need portability.

Obviously with additional graphics processors and cards, the PC has the best graphics and the most ability to use virtual reality and augmented reality at this stage.

Xbox/PlayStation – these consoles are the basic style of console, similar to a Wii, but not using the Wii’s style remote. They use a small hand held controller with double joysticks and many buttons, which does not use motion sensing. They are like the Wii, more portable than a PC and require less specialised knowledge of configuration and operating system that a PC needs. With the Wii, PlayStation and Xbox it is simply a matter of plug it in, switch it on, attach it to a display, and plug in your game/cartridge and play.

Although these consoles are much more advanced and with better graphics than they started out initially, they still lag behind a good PC.

Iphone – it is a smartphone created by Apple and it runs on iOS operating system. The Iphone as with many other mobile devices has very little in terms of display, peripherals, controllers, etc. The only thing available is a touch screen which is used for everything, not just entry of numbers and letters, but also movement and gestures to control the phone and any associated games. Thus there are some restrictions on how games can be played, a lot of people think that the restrictive input and display is not conducive to a good gaming experience, however it is one of the preferred platforms of choice for young teenagers who can carry this in their back pocket and play anytime and anywhere.