Renowned industry insider Moore’s Law Is Dead has shed light on the potential technical specifications for Microsoft’s next-generation hardware, currently referred to as Project Helix. The leak details how the upcoming console stacks up against the Xbox Series X and its future rival, the PlayStation 6.
The report suggests that the new “Magnus” APU from AMD will boast approximately 30% more Compute Units (CU) than the current Xbox flagship. Thanks to the shift to the RDNA 5 architecture, each individual CU is expected to be roughly 65% faster than those found in the Series X. Microsoft is reportedly setting its sights on high-fidelity performance, aiming for frame rates consistently exceeding 120 FPS.
However, this level of power may result in a significant price hike. Microsoft has already characterized the upcoming hardware as a “premium” offering. Given the manufacturing costs of the Magnus silicon and high-end components, the console’s production cost alone could reach $900. Should the company opt for a standard retail margin, consumers might see a price tag ranging from $999 to as high as $1,200.
The leak also draws a comparison with the PlayStation 6. Sony’s “Orion” APU is rumored to be considerably smaller, with a die size of about 280 mm² compared to the 408 mm² of the Magnus chip. This suggests that Microsoft’s silicon will be substantially more expensive to produce than Sony’s next-gen heart.
On the processing side, Magnus is expected to utilize full-performance Zen 6 cores, while the PS6 may lean toward the more efficient Zen 6c “compact” cores. Despite this theoretical advantage for Microsoft, the real-world performance gap might be mitigated by software complexity, as Project Helix is rumored to be a hybrid platform bridging the gap between a traditional console and a Windows-based gaming PC.
Deep-diving into the specs, the Magnus GPU is slated to feature 68 RDNA 5 Compute Units and at least 24 MB of L2 cache. The system will likely utilize a 192-bit memory bus paired with up to 48 GB of high-speed GDDR7 memory. Additionally, the chip is expected to house a dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU) delivering up to 110 TOPS for AI-enhanced tasks and upscaling.
Source: iXBT.games