News: Nintendo Wii U System Update Offers 40-50% Boost in Speed and Performance Page 1

Mandown 26.04.2013#1

Still sluggish, how much so will only become apparent once the PS4 and XBOX are out. Waiting 7 seconds for a game to boot will seem like a snails pace, when games boot instantly on other platforms, and when you can run multiple features without any slowdown.

LKR000 26.04.2013#2

Makes you realise how bad it was before O.O

( Edited 26.04.2013 13:24 by LKR000 )

Nintendo Network ID: LKR000 PSN: LKR000
3DS: 1246-8696-120 GT: LKR101

RudyC3 26.04.2013#3

I tested it myself with Need For Speed and get the same results. 15 seconds or so from when I tap the icon on the gamepad until the EA logo appears (actually the game is launched already a couple seconds before the EA log appears, but for all intent and purposes, then yeah, this is correct.

Going from the system settings back to the Wii U menu, I suppose will always take some time for the news settings to take effect.

Cubed3 Limited Staff :: Review and Feature Writer

GiftedGimp 26.04.2013#4

The system is indeed much faster, especially exiting apps and games.
But isn't that what Nintendo said this update was for?
As for loading into the games, this confirms what I felt was the case, the initial splash screens are here n gone in a couple of seconds, rather than the minute (it felt that long sometimes) and the load time, wven on LCU has a slight improvment, but nothing majorly noticible.
But I think Nintendo said, part 2 of this system improvment update, aka the summer update, was to improve game/app load times, they certainly put that impression out anyway.
Based on this spring update, I'm really looking forward to the Summer update.

CrystalMushroom 26.04.2013#5

Linkyshinks said:
Still sluggish, how much so will only become apparent once the PS4 and XBOX are out. Waiting 7 seconds for a game to boot will seem like a snails pace, when games boot instantly on other platforms, and when you can run multiple features without any slowdown.

OH COME ON LS!

They aren't even out yet. Are you still pissy about Iwata becoming NoA president? We don't even know if they will boot instantly, and 7 seconds, WOW, such a long time! I think you need to take a break from PC games.

( Edited 26.04.2013 16:08 by CrystalMushroom )

Phoenom 26.04.2013#6

Honestly LS, is there any thread or news story you won't come into and take a crap on the floor on? Ugh.

On topic thankfully, much, much better. The summer update should be good. Smilie

Sonic_13 26.04.2013#7

Phoenom said:
Honestly LS, is there any thread or news story you won't come into and take a crap on the floor on? Ugh.

I often wonder why LS is even on this site since I've never seen him post anything positive about Nintendo.

Usually it's heavy criticism or out-of-context quotes pulled from articles that make Nintendo look bad.

Bucky (guest) 26.04.2013#8

Sonic_13 said:
Phoenom said:
Honestly LS, is there any thread or news story you won't come into and take a crap on the floor on? Ugh.
I often wonder why LS is even on this site since I've never seen him post anything positive about Nintendo.
Usually it's heavy criticism or out-of-context quotes pulled from articles that make Nintendo look bad.

Nothing wrong with a little pessimism to help keep things in perspective.

Phoenom 26.04.2013#9

There's constructive pessimism, then there's flat-out whining. I see the latter and not the former. Pity, he used to be awesome.

jres80 26.04.2013#10

I have a fast PC rig, an i5 2550k and a 6950 and 8gb ram, as well as a hybrid SSD/HD.

My games don't load instantly, at all. Some of them take quite awhile. I just did a quick test and it took 15 seconds for L4D2 to load up, Civilization 5 took well over 30 seconds, and even a humble game like Legend of Grimrock took 10 seconds.

So no, what Wii U is doing now is not terrible. It's standard.

Also remember that the summer update should bring further speed and stability improvements, as well as other fixes and changes to the OS.

Mandown 26.04.2013#11

jres80 said:
I have a fast PC rig, an i5 2550k and a 6950 and 8gb ram, as well as a hybrid SSD/HD.
My games don't load instantly, at all. Some of them take quite awhile. I just did a quick test and it took 15 seconds for L4D2 to load up, Civilization 5 took well over 30 seconds, and even a humble game like Legend of Grimrock took 10 seconds.
So no, what Wii U is doing now is not terrible. It's standard.
Also remember that the summer update should bring further speed and stability improvements, as well as other fixes and changes to the OS.

Your PC has a labour intensive OS to run

Super charged PC architecture with no labour intensive OS's to handle.... DDR5 and a clever memory caching system that will turn processes into butter, these systems will be able to run multiple features simultaneously with little to no visible impact on UI performance. Wii U will be made to look as sluggish as the Wii was, in comparison to PS3 and 360.

CrystalMushroom 26.04.2013#12

Linkyshinks said:
jres80 said:
I have a fast PC rig, an i5 2550k and a 6950 and 8gb ram, as well as a hybrid SSD/HD.
My games don't load instantly, at all. Some of them take quite awhile. I just did a quick test and it took 15 seconds for L4D2 to load up, Civilization 5 took well over 30 seconds, and even a humble game like Legend of Grimrock took 10 seconds.
So no, what Wii U is doing now is not terrible. It's standard.
Also remember that the summer update should bring further speed and stability improvements, as well as other fixes and changes to the OS.

Your PC has a labour intensive OS to run
Super charged PC architecture with no labour intensive OS's to handle.... DDR5 and a clever memory caching system that will turn processes into butter, these systems will be able to run multiple features simultaneously with little to no visible impact on UI performance. Wii U will be made to look as sluggish as the Wii was, in comparison to PS3 and 360.

I just wanna know what these "multiple features" are. All we know about the PS4 is that it uses some architecture similar to a PC, and its easy to develop for. We don't even know anything about the next Xbox, because it hasn't been announced yet. Everybody and their mother expects its architecture to be similar to the PS4, just because the PS4 uses it. LS, I think you are expecting WAY too much out of these systems. I think the Wii U is a little more powerful than you give it credit for.

jres80 26.04.2013#13

First of all, the Windows OS takes up very little of the CPU and only about 1-2gb of the RAM. You can monitor exactly how much of a load the OS puts on the system via a monitoring program.

The load times are solely due to transferring data from the hard drive to active memory. FYI, DDR3 actually has lower latency than DDR5, which is good for CPU type operations. DDR5 is geared to GPU operations (lots of sets of data manipulation, such as when transforming a polygon or mapping a texture) and is not hampered by bus speed between the GPU and the CPU, rather it is by the connection between the GPU and the RAM.

That is to say... 1. PC load times are not hampered by a mythical "bandwidth problem" nor by lack of "DDR5 ram" as system memory (in fact, you wouldn't want DDR5 as system memory) and... 2. Don't expect application loading on PS4 to be instant. It abides by the laws of physics and will continue to require the transfer of 100s of megabytes or gigabytes of data from a hard drive or optical disc to the RAM, and that will take time.

It is nice to see someone is buying into Sony's marketing, though. Happened with PS3's super computer Cell processor and with PS2's nebulous "emotion engine". I guess it was inevitable that the "supercharged PC" would resonate with someone out there.

( Edited 26.04.2013 19:34 by jres80 )

Shiggy (guest) 26.04.2013#14

Linkyshinks said:
jres80 said:
I have a fast PC rig, an i5 2550k and a 6950 and 8gb ram, as well as a hybrid SSD/HD.
My games don't load instantly, at all. Some of them take quite awhile. I just did a quick test and it took 15 seconds for L4D2 to load up, Civilization 5 took well over 30 seconds, and even a humble game like Legend of Grimrock took 10 seconds.
So no, what Wii U is doing now is not terrible. It's standard.
Also remember that the summer update should bring further speed and stability improvements, as well as other fixes and changes to the OS.

Your PC has a labour intensive OS to run
Super charged PC architecture with no labour intensive OS's to handle.... DDR5 and a clever memory caching system that will turn processes into butter, these systems will be able to run multiple features simultaneously with little to no visible impact on UI performance. Wii U will be made to look as sluggish as the Wii was, in comparison to PS3 and 360.

WP-Final 27.04.2013#15

The Wii was a pain to load apps like the shop channel, but the actual games loaded much faster than my 360/PS3 games.

Just sayin...

Am amazed how much Nintendo have been able to improve the load times. Smilie

GiftedGimp 27.04.2013#16

Finally Someone else who remembers the BS Sony spews prior to launching a new system.
Personally can't wait for the forum posts across all the Sony forums screaming about how the ps4 doesn't deliver what Sony has been Bullsh... err hyping about.

It will benifit WiiU too, the press will have something new to wail on, and much like Vita is more or less unmentioned now, the WiiU wailing will stop.

Mandown 27.04.2013#17

jres80 said:
First of all, the Windows OS takes up very little of the CPU and only about 1-2gb of the RAM. You can monitor exactly how much of a load the OS puts on the system via a monitoring program.
The load times are solely due to transferring data from the hard drive to active memory. FYI, DDR3 actually has lower latency than DDR5, which is good for CPU type operations. DDR5 is geared to GPU operations (lots of sets of data manipulation, such as when transforming a polygon or mapping a texture) and is not hampered by bus speed between the GPU and the CPU, rather it is by the connection between the GPU and the RAM.
That is to say... 1. PC load times are not hampered by a mythical "bandwidth problem" nor by lack of "DDR5 ram" as system memory (in fact, you wouldn't want DDR5 as system memory) and... 2. Don't expect application loading on PS4 to be instant. It abides by the laws of physics and will continue to require the transfer of 100s of megabytes or gigabytes of data from a hard drive or optical disc to the RAM, and that will take time.
It is nice to see someone is buying into Sony's marketing, though. Happened with PS3's super computer Cell processor and with PS2's nebulous "emotion engine". I guess it was inevitable that the "supercharged PC" would resonate with someone out there.

Your PC doesn't have an Octo-core CPU with DDDR5 RAM feeding it huge packets of data, this data can be preloaded onto these modules so they boot up with the system. Two of these RAM modules will be dedicated to the individual cores meant solely for a streamlined OS, one designed perfectly for their respective architectures. Consoles are streamlined, your decent PC cannot compare to architecture designed with these aims. The PS4 doesn't play any games off optical disc. Within seconds of install games are ready to play, recently played games will be ready to boot at an instant. Just wait and see, this is the seamless interaction both Sony and Microsoft are aiming for. We'll all see evidence of this in the coming weeks,

Edit this post:

[quote][b]jres80 said:[/b] First of all, the Windows OS takes up very little of the CPU and only about 1-2gb of the RAM. You can monitor exactly how much of a load the OS puts on the system via a monitoring program.

The load times are solely due to transferring data from the hard drive to active memory. FYI, DDR3 actually has lower latency than DDR5, which is good for CPU type operations. DDR5 is geared to GPU operations (lots of sets of data manipulation, such as when transforming a polygon or mapping a texture) and is not hampered by bus speed between the GPU and the CPU, rather it is by the connection between the GPU and the RAM.

That is to say... 1. PC load times are not hampered by a mythical "bandwidth problem" nor by lack of "DDR5 ram" as system memory (in fact, you wouldn't want DDR5 as system memory) and... 2. Don't expect application loading on PS4 to be instant. It abides by the laws of physics and will continue to require the transfer of 100s of megabytes or gigabytes of data from a hard drive or optical disc to the RAM, and that will take time.

It is nice to see someone is buying into Sony's marketing, though. Happened with PS3's super computer Cell processor and with PS2's nebulous "emotion engine". I guess it was inevitable that the "supercharged PC" would resonate with someone out there.[/quote]

Your PC doesn't have an Octo-core CPU with DDDR5 RAM feeding it huge packets of data, this data can be preloaded onto these modules so they boot up with the system. Two of these RAM modules will be dedicated to the individual cores meant solely for a streamlined OS, one designed perfectly for their respective architectures. Consoles are streamlined, your decent PC cannot compare to architecture designed with these aims. The PS4 doesn't play any games off optical disc. Within seconds of install games are ready to play, recently played games will be ready to boot at an instant. Just wait and see, this is the seamless interaction both Sony and Microsoft are aiming for. We'll all see evidence of this in the coming weeks,

Save Changes Cancel Full Edit

jb 27.04.2013#18

Well I for one am definitely happy with the improved Wii U performance. It can get better, I think they are aiming to improve it further come summer. For now the change in everyday functions like going from game --> Miiverse --> post a pic --> back to a game is definitely much better. Booting up and using Miiverse, also great.

I will be surprised if the PS4/720 can be instant, really would.

Cubed3 Admin/Founder & Designer

Slydevil 27.04.2013#19

Phoenom said:
There's constructive pessimism, then there's flat-out whining. I see the latter and not the former. Pity, he used to be awesome.

Irony.

IANC said:
Dude yuor totally awesome. And i won't be killing you anytime soon.

Flynnie 27.04.2013#20

Linkyshinks said:
Still sluggish, how much so will only become apparent once the PS4 and XBOX are out. Waiting 7 seconds for a game to boot will seem like a snails pace, when games boot instantly on other platforms, and when you can run multiple features without any slowdown.

Agreed, I think we are all used to such fast boot up times from Nintendo, every single console used to boot up very quickly back in the 'cart' days. I never really found the Wii all to slow, but the 3DS and Wii U i think are noticeably slower and the latter is frustratingly slower.

With that said it shows how impatient we really have all become if we can't even wait a minute or two...

CrystalMushroom 27.04.2013#21

Linkyshinks said:
jres80 said:
First of all, the Windows OS takes up very little of the CPU and only about 1-2gb of the RAM. You can monitor exactly how much of a load the OS puts on the system via a monitoring program.
The load times are solely due to transferring data from the hard drive to active memory. FYI, DDR3 actually has lower latency than DDR5, which is good for CPU type operations. DDR5 is geared to GPU operations (lots of sets of data manipulation, such as when transforming a polygon or mapping a texture) and is not hampered by bus speed between the GPU and the CPU, rather it is by the connection between the GPU and the RAM.
That is to say... 1. PC load times are not hampered by a mythical "bandwidth problem" nor by lack of "DDR5 ram" as system memory (in fact, you wouldn't want DDR5 as system memory) and... 2. Don't expect application loading on PS4 to be instant. It abides by the laws of physics and will continue to require the transfer of 100s of megabytes or gigabytes of data from a hard drive or optical disc to the RAM, and that will take time.
It is nice to see someone is buying into Sony's marketing, though. Happened with PS3's super computer Cell processor and with PS2's nebulous "emotion engine". I guess it was inevitable that the "supercharged PC" would resonate with someone out there.
Your PC doesn't have an Octo-core CPU with DDDR5 RAM feeding it huge packets of data, this data can be preloaded onto these modules so they boot up with the system. Two of these RAM modules will be dedicated to the individual cores meant solely for a streamlined OS, one designed perfectly for their respective architectures. Consoles are streamlined, your decent PC cannot compare to architecture designed with these aims. The PS4 doesn't play any games off optical disc. Within seconds of install games are ready to play, recently played games will be ready to boot at an instant. Just wait and see, this is the seamless interaction both Sony and Microsoft are aiming for. We'll all see evidence of this in the coming weeks,

Like I said LS, you are expecting WAY too much out of these systems. Also, isn't this kind of off-topic posting?

Edit this post:

[quote][b]Linkyshinks said:[/b] [quote][b]jres80 said:[/b] First of all, the Windows OS takes up very little of the CPU and only about 1-2gb of the RAM. You can monitor exactly how much of a load the OS puts on the system via a monitoring program.

The load times are solely due to transferring data from the hard drive to active memory. FYI, DDR3 actually has lower latency than DDR5, which is good for CPU type operations. DDR5 is geared to GPU operations (lots of sets of data manipulation, such as when transforming a polygon or mapping a texture) and is not hampered by bus speed between the GPU and the CPU, rather it is by the connection between the GPU and the RAM.

That is to say... 1. PC load times are not hampered by a mythical "bandwidth problem" nor by lack of "DDR5 ram" as system memory (in fact, you wouldn't want DDR5 as system memory) and... 2. Don't expect application loading on PS4 to be instant. It abides by the laws of physics and will continue to require the transfer of 100s of megabytes or gigabytes of data from a hard drive or optical disc to the RAM, and that will take time.

It is nice to see someone is buying into Sony's marketing, though. Happened with PS3's super computer Cell processor and with PS2's nebulous "emotion engine". I guess it was inevitable that the "supercharged PC" would resonate with someone out there.[/quote]

Your PC doesn't have an Octo-core CPU with DDDR5 RAM feeding it huge packets of data, this data can be preloaded onto these modules so they boot up with the system. Two of these RAM modules will be dedicated to the individual cores meant solely for a streamlined OS, one designed perfectly for their respective architectures. Consoles are streamlined, your decent PC cannot compare to architecture designed with these aims. The PS4 doesn't play any games off optical disc. Within seconds of install games are ready to play, recently played games will be ready to boot at an instant. Just wait and see, this is the seamless interaction both Sony and Microsoft are aiming for. We'll all see evidence of this in the coming weeks, [/quote]

Like I said LS, you are expecting WAY too much out of these systems. Also, isn't this kind of off-topic posting?

Save Changes Cancel Full Edit

Phoenom 27.04.2013#22

Slydevil said:
Phoenom said:
There's constructive pessimism, then there's flat-out whining. I see the latter and not the former. Pity, he used to be awesome.
Irony.

Heh, yup, eye for an eye I guess. Smilie

'HEY GUIZ! PS3's been shown off!!1! Comes with a boomerang controller and loads of USB ports and 4D and full backwards compatibility and everything!1! Sony announced it so it must be true!1!'

jres80 27.04.2013#23

Linkyshinks said:
Your PC doesn't have an Octo-core CPU with DDDR5 RAM feeding it huge packets of data, this data can be preloaded onto these modules so they boot up with the system. Two of these RAM modules will be dedicated to the individual cores meant solely for a streamlined OS, one designed perfectly for their respective architectures. Consoles are streamlined, your decent PC cannot compare to architecture designed with these aims. The PS4 doesn't play any games off optical disc. Within seconds of install games are ready to play, recently played games will be ready to boot at an instant. Just wait and see, this is the seamless interaction both Sony and Microsoft are aiming for. We'll all see evidence of this in the coming weeks,

Am I being trolled? I think I'm being trolled. It's the only way to explain how someone thinks gigabytes of data can be loaded instantly, violating the laws of physics, or how they can think a lowly A10 mobile APU can outperform an i5 2550k.

( Edited 27.04.2013 18:29 by jres80 )

Mandown 27.04.2013#24

Flynnie said:
Linkyshinks said:
Still sluggish, how much so will only become apparent once the PS4 and XBOX are out. Waiting 7 seconds for a game to boot will seem like a snails pace, when games boot instantly on other platforms, and when you can run multiple features without any slowdown.

Agreed, I think we are all used to such fast boot up times from Nintendo, every single console used to boot up very quickly back in the 'cart' days. I never really found the Wii all to slow, but the 3DS and Wii U i think are noticeably slower and the latter is frustratingly slower.
With that said it shows how impatient we really have all become if we can't even wait a minute or two...

Those days are quickly heading out the door, consumers are becoming increasingly demanding, in respect to the speeds of all our electrical devices, you only have to look at the fact that it's thee core selling point of many nowadays. Ultimately, a balance of good speed and functionally is what they want, so manufactures naturally follow suit.

I don't think the cart thing has much to do with, even if it's a subliminal expectation some oldschool gamers may have. I think the increasing speeds of our mobile devices are fueling this.

I just expected better from this update, 5 seconds tops across the board would have been more encouraging. This issue doesn't hamper gameplay, but it does hamper the overall experience of the console, and the impression the console gives to potential consumers down the line, especially at this delicate time when developers and fans are calling it underpowered. I've already seen many concerned that it's still chugging on simple tasks, like it cannot take advantage of the few positive resources it does have. It may be the case that it can only take advantage of these within videogame software with clever programming, The overall experience of the console is secondary to Nintendo, that's my worry on the evidence of this.

The others are attempting to do more with their consoles, they have more conviction in bringing a wide range of media to users within a silky smooth delivery system, so have invested far more into it than Nintendo has. Both Microsoft and Sony really want to make good on what they started earlier, but ultimately failed in doing with the 360 and PS3, turning them into media hubs, and who can blame them when there's a ton of money in that, going into the future, money which is greatly beneficial to their console wings if they prove to be viable channels. Users are not going to complain at all about them continuing with this direction, as along as the primary focus is having the very best software available on the consoles, which we already know are coming. Many know may think, "yea, cool, but I'm only really in it for the games", and sure enough, videogames are still the focus, but these other console makers know they can change that line of thought in time, if the delivery of content is smooth and offers new possibilities not possible earlier. When that begins to happens consumers will look to consoles as thee main delivery system for film and music. You can be absolutely sure Sony will be looking to do this considering the assets they own.

360 and PS3 simply didn't have the internal architecture to bring the level of quality I'm talking about to fruition, but that's changed now, all this is possible now. This generations "standard", has yet to arrive, that's clear when you see the PS4 UI demo.

Edit this post:

[quote][b]Flynnie said:[/b] [quote][b]Linkyshinks said:[/b] Still sluggish, how much so will only become apparent once the PS4 and XBOX are out. Waiting 7 seconds for a game to boot will seem like a snails pace, when games boot instantly on other platforms, and when you can run multiple features without any slowdown.

[/quote]

Agreed, I think we are all used to such fast boot up times from Nintendo, every single console used to boot up very quickly back in the 'cart' days. I never really found the Wii all to slow, but the 3DS and Wii U i think are noticeably slower and the latter is frustratingly slower.

[b]With that said it shows how impatient we really have all become if we can't even wait a minute or two...[/b][/quote]

Those days are quickly heading out the door, consumers are becoming increasingly demanding, in respect to the speeds of all our electrical devices, you only have to look at the fact that it's thee core selling point of many nowadays. Ultimately, a balance of good speed and functionally is what they want, so manufactures naturally follow suit.

I don't think the cart thing has much to do with, even if it's a subliminal expectation some oldschool gamers may have. I think the increasing speeds of our mobile devices are fueling this.

I just expected better from this update, 5 seconds tops across the board would have been more encouraging. This issue doesn't hamper gameplay, but it does hamper the overall experience of the console, and the impression the console gives to potential consumers down the line, especially at this delicate time when developers and fans are calling it underpowered. I've already seen many concerned that it's still chugging on simple tasks, like it cannot take advantage of the few positive resources it does have. It may be the case that it can only take advantage of these within videogame software with clever programming, The overall experience of the console is secondary to Nintendo, that's my worry on the evidence of this.

The others are attempting to do more with their consoles, they have more conviction in bringing a wide range of media to users within a silky smooth delivery system, so have invested far more into it than Nintendo has. Both Microsoft and Sony really want to make good on what they started earlier, but ultimately failed in doing with the 360 and PS3, turning them into media hubs, and who can blame them when there's a ton of money in that, going into the future, money which is greatly beneficial to their console wings if they prove to be viable channels. Users are not going to complain at all about them continuing with this direction, as along as the primary focus is having the very best software available on the consoles, which we already know are coming. Many know may think, "yea, cool, but I'm only really in it for the games", and sure enough, videogames are still the focus, but these other console makers know they can change that line of thought in time, if the delivery of content is smooth and offers new possibilities not possible earlier. When that begins to happens consumers will look to consoles as thee main delivery system for film and music. You can be absolutely sure Sony will be looking to do this considering the assets they own.

360 and PS3 simply didn't have the internal architecture to bring the level of quality I'm talking about to fruition, but that's changed now, all this is possible now. This generations "standard", has yet to arrive, that's clear when you see the PS4 UI demo.

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CrystalMushroom 27.04.2013#25

In the early years when I was skimming the website, I've seen LS blow this whole NEXT GENERATION stuff out of porportion. It looks like he still is.