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Up until a recent SDK update for the PlayStation 4, the team at Sony decided that the system needed at least two CPU cores to run the operating system and other associated tasks. Well, that was changed a few weeks back when an SDK update for the platform rolled out where Sony unlocked a seventh core that could be used for gaming purposes.Yes, Sony removed a dedicated operating system core and is allowing developers to make use of it for whatever they need it for in their games. The news "broke" in a changelog from the FMOD team. FMOD being a fairly well known middleware solution for audio effects in games.
Firelight Technologies FMOD Studio API
Detailed Revision History
17/11/15 1.07.03 - Studio API patch release (build 69975)
Features:
LowLevel API - When using System::recordStart the provided FMOD::Sound can now be any channel count, up/down mixing will be performed as necessary.
LowLevel API - Improved performance of convolution reverb effect when wet is 0 or input goes idle.
LowLevel API - PS4 - Added FMOD_THREAD_CORE6 to allow access to the newly unlocked 7th core.
Detailed Revision History
17/11/15 1.07.03 - Studio API patch release (build 69975)
Features:
LowLevel API - When using System::recordStart the provided FMOD::Sound can now be any channel count, up/down mixing will be performed as necessary.
LowLevel API - Improved performance of convolution reverb effect when wet is 0 or input goes idle.
LowLevel API - PS4 - Added FMOD_THREAD_CORE6 to allow access to the newly unlocked 7th core.
This update has been around for weeks now but was not given any fanfare from Sony or those that knew about it. On the flip side, Microsoft was quite vocal when they revealed they unlocked part of a CPU core some months ago for the Xbox One.
How will this additional core impact gaming performance going forward? It's not yet clear. However, any additional CPU headroom can be nothing but a good thing once developers start to use it to full effect.
