IMO opinion, they may go with different manufactures for GPU and CPU, if that i what it takes to get the best performance at the lowest thermal level.
The makers know they always lose on consoles to start, but make up for it on the games, so don't worry too much about cost to start.
What they really need to concentrate on is what will it take to compete with PCs for the next 5-10 years, and may factor in a mid-cycle refresh with backwards compatibility.
If I was buying a console to game on, I would need it to do everything as good as or better then my PC.
With all those thoughts in mind, here is what I would want.
1)Intel CPU for best performance at lowest thermal cost. ( i.e. Ivy Bridge 4 or more cores, or the next gen)
(With a Intel Chipset like Z68/77, they can use both SSD AND Mechanical Storage and get a lot of fast performing storage)
2) Nvidia or AMD GPU, but it needs to have the ability to run at a lot higher rez this time around, since I want it will need to support 1080P or 4K in 3D, and/or 2-4 displays at once.
(the days of split screen should be over, unless of course that use that to make people buy a 2nd console)
Multi screen and 3D gaming at 120Hz plus should be mandatory
3)As much ram as they think they need, then double it.
4)Motion control + VR GLasses
5)Thx Sound / Imax type sound support
6)Better then Bluray optical drive, AND Better then "N" Wifi. (These should be upgradable options)
My main point is, they need to be forward thinking since who knows when the following refresh will be, so they need to really beef up the machine, with the best visuals; upcoming specs will need them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4K_resolutionQFHD (3840x2160)
Quad Full High Definition (QFHD), at 3840 x 2160 (8.3 megapixels), doubles the 1080p high-definition television standard in both the vertical and horizontal dimensions.
Digital cinema 4K 3996 × 2160 1.85:1 8,631,360
Or even more
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_High ... Television ( 7680 × 4320)
The link also show you what cameras and camcorders can already capture at these resolutions.