What Your Console Does in 16 Milliseconds

What you'll learn

• A game is a flipbook that draws itself: every picture is a frame. fps = frames per second (30 looks okay, 60 looks smooth).
• 1 second = 1,000 milliseconds. At 60 fps that's 1,000 ÷ 60 = 16.7 ms per frame (30 fps = 33.3 ms). A blink takes about 150 ms — the console draws about 9 pictures in it. GTA VI's frame rate isn't confirmed yet; the deadline idea is the same.
• Every frame runs the game loop: 1 read your controller · 2 the CPU moves the world (cars, people, traffic, crashes) · 3 the GPU draws it (millions of tiny triangles, then 3840 × 2160 ≈ 8.3 million pixels on a 4K TV) · 4 the picture goes to your TV — then back to step 1.
• A frame that misses its deadline: the TV shows the old picture again → a stutter (a dropped frame). More frames per second also means a shorter wait between your button and the screen.
• Inside a PS5 / Xbox Series X: one chip with the CPU (8 strong cores) and the GPU (thousands of tiny cores), 16 GB of fast shared memory, a fast SSD that loads the next part of the world before you get there, and ≈ 200 W of heat → a big fan.