Some interesting next-gen gossip has been sent my way by a reliable source. As we approach E3, the specs for both the Xbox 360 and PS3 are becoming more known among the developers, spurring some major chest thumping and "My CPU is bigger than your CPU" talk.

The consensus among these learned types is that the two systems have comparable GPUs despite using different companies (ATI and NVidia), but that the CPUs are a completely different story.

Word from the geek is that the PS3's CPU is about three times faster than the Xbox 360's CPU. While this seems like a clear cut victory for Sony, it does little to end the constant debate about which system will be able to provide better games. The problem with Sony's super-fast CPU is that not all of its power may actually be usable in games. Bottom line: There could be a lot of extraneous horsepower under the PS3's hood that's mainly for show, not actual gaming.