Jump to content

Could a OSXBox360 happen?


15 posts in this topic

Recommended Posts

Hypothetically given that OSX runs on ibm chips and the xbox360 has a processor that is not too much different to a Power 5 chip, and the gpu is an 'r500' ati chip, so im thinking radeon X1 somthing.

Hacks are out to boot copied cd's and more illigal stuff. So...

 

What would be the hurldes in hypothetically installing osx on my hypothetical 360?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If it can happen, then I imagine at some point that it will. I'd have reservations about it myself though, I surely wouldn't bank on it...but there have always been a serious amount of intelligent people twisting the innards of the original xbox (thanks and glory be to them all for xbmc!), so you never know!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What would be the hurldes in hypothetically installing osx on my hypothetical 360?

 

PPC OS X should pretty much run as is on the XBox 360 Xenon CPU.

 

There are two barriers:

 

1) Unlike the Playstation 3 (which should also run PPC OS X as is), the XBox 360 is locked down so it will need some hack to run anything other than games.

 

2) The XBox 360's ATI Xenos will likely require special drivers (but the Playstation 3's GPU is more normal so it may work with PPC OS X drivers for NVidia cards).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1) Unlike the Playstation 3 (which should also run PPC OS X as is), the XBox 360 is locked down so it will need some hack to run anything other than games.

 

Why is the PS3 less 'locked down' then the 360. I would have thought it would have been easier getting PPC OSX to run on the 360 architecture then PS3 Cell.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

well the first gen 360 dev kits were powermac g5s so if you cant get your 360 to run OS X, there is a *chance* you might be able to get your powermac g5 to play 360 games

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why is the PS3 less 'locked down' then the 360. I would have thought it would have been easier getting PPC OSX to run on the 360 architecture then PS3 Cell.

 

The PS3 will run Linux, Sony is trying to promote it as being a computer as well as game console. Therefore, it is less "locked down" than the XBox 360.

 

In terms of CPU architecture, the compatibility situation is the same. The XBox 360 has 3 PPE cores while the Cell has one, OS X should run on any combination of PPE cores. However, the OS X would use the Cell's 7 (or 8) SPE cores, so it would be some three times faster on the XBox 360 than the PS3.

 

We covered this topic is some detail last year: http://forum.osx86project.org/index.php?showtopic=127

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why is the PS3 less 'locked down' then the 360. I would have thought it would have been easier getting PPC OSX to run on the 360 architecture then PS3 Cell.

 

I could be wrong, but I believe Sony keeps their systems a lot more open for developers. They released a Linux kit for the Playstation 2 a few years ago so Linux enthusiasts wouldn't have to try to hack it on the system themselves. Microsoft tries their best to make sure hobbyists can't get their own software and hacks to work. Why would Microsoft want any operating system to run on their hardware, other than their own? Sony doesn't care because they are a hardware company. The PS3 cell processor (I believe) is still a PowerPC chip so it's possible OS X may be able to be ran on it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What would be required for each system would be a custom bootloader - the PPC Mac's have openfirmware and use this to start the bootloader. The consoles dont.

 

This is kinda like the OS X on Amiga talk from a few years back - nothing really came of it even though the Amiga was/is a G3 with all standard hardware - nobody got a custom bootloader to fly...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well there was a big discusson on this just befor the 360 was released...It was determined that the Cell processor has a very weak FPU/Altivec/SSE Engine and even if it were possible anything that requires Altivec would be as slow or even slower than rosetta!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So by way of actualy getting mac os to run we would be talking about replacing the rom chip (pretty safe bet that's what it boots from)

and telling it to point to some place on the disk where we put the chainloader for our mac os, right?

lets hope there are not too many great (read; crazy) Microsoft Inovations TM (read; copy protection)

Thanks for all the replies a beleave you all have valid points but the power 5 processor and the ati gpu seemed the perfect fit, just with someone would try and post a report or some thing...

 

C'mon a $700 G5.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Would be cool, but it wont happen. The xenon cpu lacks certain features the desktop G5 has. Some of which are verymuch needed for something such as os x.

 

However, if you get linux running, you could maybe pearpc it... but that would require a ton of cpu power, and a proper pearpc compile....

 

I've seen pearpc run os x on a regular xbox though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...