PS3 Technical Architecure.

J

JayList

Guest
Thought I'd start a post for those in interested in the nuts and bolts of the PS3.

Fanboys, nerds and ramblers welcome.

Anyone with any news of actual peroformance test of PS3 hardware especially welcome as they appear. Note most of the manufacturer figurs have lots of fudge factors in and are only a guide...

Sony wanted a roadmap to get them to 1000 times the performance of PS2. They designed the Cell to try and get them the first step which was 100 times more powerful. Will they suceeed...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_(microprocessor)#endnote_slashdot20050211

Capabilities

* A next generation gaming console capable of rendering games with high definition up to 1080p.
* Ability to run as a general-purpose personal computer through the use of Linux its operating system and a removable HDD.
* The ability for the PlayStation Portable to connect to the PlayStation 3 as a video-enabled controller.
* Twelve simultaneous High-definition television streams for use on a title screen for a HD Blu-ray Movie.
* High-definition IP video chat.
* EyeToy interactive reality game.
* EyeToy voice command recognition.
* EyeToy virtual object manipulation.
* Digital photograph display (JPEG).
* MP3 and ATRAC download and playback.
* Simultaneous World Wide Web access and gameplay.
* Hub/Home Ethernet Gaming Network. - Removed

Central processing unit

The following figures reflect estimates of performance of the only current implementation of Cell, designed for the PlayStation 3 game console:

* 256 GFLOPS in single-precision operations @4Ghz. [8]
* 25-30 GFLOPS in double-precision operations @4Ghz. [9] (probably 26 [10])
* 234 million transistors [11]
* 1 PPE with 32 KiB instruction and data L1 cache, and 512 KiB data L2 cache [12]
* 8 SPEs with 256 KiB local memory each [13]
* 0.9 - 1.3 V nominal supply voltage [14]
* 10 digital thermal sensors [15]
* 5 power management states (Dynamic Power Management) [16]
* 221 mm² die (90 nm process) [17]
* Power consumption is unknown yet, MacWorld suggests 30 W, [18] other sources speculate 50-80 W or more. [19] Electronic Design notes that each SPE consumes about 2 W at 3 GHz, and 4 W at 4 GHz. Combining the eight SPEs, the PPE, and other logic, the CELL processor will dissipate close to 30 W at 3 GHz, and perhaps double that at 4 GHz. [20]

Estimated floating point performance. 2.18 Terraflops (raw figures only).

1080p (yes, that’s a p) graphics support.


UPDATED ------

STORAGE
--HDD Detachable 2.5" HDD slot x 1
--I/O--USB Front x 4, Rear x 2 (USB2.0)
--Memory Stickstandard/Duo, PRO x 1
--SD standard/mini x 1
--CompactFlash(Type I, II) x 1

COMMUNICATION
--Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T) x 3 (input x 1 + output x 2)
--Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g
--Bluetooth--Bluetooth 2.0 (EDR)
--ControllerBluetooth (up to 7)
--USB 2.0 (wired)
--Wi-Fi (PSP)
--Network (over IP)

AV OUTPUT
Screen size 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
HDMI out x 2
AV multi out x 1
Digital out (optical) x 1

DISC MEDIA
CD
PlayStation CD-ROM
PlayStation2 CD-ROM
CD-DA
CD-DA (ROM),
CD-R,
CD-RW
SACD Hybrid (CD layer),
SACD HD
DualDisc (audio side)
DualDisc (DVD side)
PlayStation 2 DVD-ROM
PlayStation 3 DVD-ROM
DVD-ROM
DVD-R
DVD-RW
DVD+R,
DVD+RW
Blu-ray Disc
PlayStation 3 BD-ROM
BD-ROM
BD

http://img.engadget.com/common/images/8784671701491003.JPG?0.268018245833802
-----



Did a google search. First time I've even seen this message. Too many fanboys.

"Google
Search within results

There were about 7,230,000 Google results for xbox 360 vs ps3.
Use the search box below to search within these results."
 
The Network hub feature (cat5 ports at least) has been removed to reduce costs
 
CrispyXUK said:
The Network hub feature (cat5 ports at least) has been removed to reduce costs

I thought the Hub feature was intact - but the router function was dropped?

Just found the specs thing again (from E3):

Communication
Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T) x 3 (input x 1 + output x 2)


Is this still the case?
 
CrispyXUK said:
The Network hub feature (cat5 ports at least) has been removed to reduce costs

I've put removed next to it in the list.

I'll update it if when ommisions or other changes occur.
 
http://www-306.ibm.com/chips/techlib/techlib.nsf/techdocs/E815CC047A60914687256FC000734156/$file/ISSCC-07.4-Cell_SPU.PDF

From IBM's research paper.

The Synergistic Processor Element (SPE) is the first implementation
of a new processor architecture designed to accelerate
media and streaming workloads. Area and power efficiency are
important enablers for multi-core designs that take advantage of
parallelism in applications [2]. The architecture reduces area and
power by solving scheduling problems such as data fetch and
branch prediction in software. SPE provides an isolated execution
mode that restricts access to certain resources to validated programs.

Here's some crticism of the complexity for balance.

http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20050217.html

IF the PS3 is to achieve anyway near Sonys stated performance figures they are going to have to abstract out the complexity. I hope they do!
 
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/16/news_6124681.html?q=1

ony also unveiled the PS3's graphics chip, the RSX "Reality Synthesizer," which is based on Nvidia technology. The GPU will be capable of 128bit pixel precision and 1080p resolution--some of the highest HD resolution around. The RSX also has 512MB of graphics render memory and is capable of 100 billion shader operations and 51 billion dot products per second. It also has more than 300 million transistors, larger than any processor commercially available today. It will be manufactured using the 90nm process, with eight layers of metal. The RSX is more powerful than two GeForce 6800 Ultra video cards, which would cost roughly $1,000 total if purchased today.

Dual head HD support!!

he PlayStation 3 will also sport some hefty multimedia features, such as video chat, Internet access, digital photo viewing, and digital audio and video. Speaking of video, Sony Computer Entertainment's chief technical officer Masa Chatani was on hand to show off the PS3's panoramic video functions. Since the console has two HD outputs, it is can be hooked up to two side-by-side HDTVs to projecting video in a 32:9 extra-widescreen format (think Cinemascope in your living room). Like a gigantic version of the Nintendo DS, the dual digital outputs also allow for an extended game display, with the action on one screen and either game information or video chat on the second.

That would be cool, I need to save up for another RD65 then?

But seriously this is showing Sony is attempting to see ofthe MCE philosophy head on with it's wide multimedia capability. I could use this with Picture opposite picture?

Out of the box, the PS3 will have the capability to support seven Bluetooth controllers, which can be used for nearly 24 hours before they require charging. Later, pictures of the controllers themselves were released, showing their almost boomerang-like shape. It will also have six USB slots for peripherals: four up front and two in the back. As rumored, it will also have Wi-Fi connectivity to the PSP, which can be used as a remote screen and/or controller.

Dr. Richard Marx, the inventor of EyeToy, was on hand to show off the PS3's wireless HD IP Camera. The demo recalled rumors that the machine will have Minority Report-esque motion-sensing capabilities. Marx held two small cup-like objects in his hands, which moved the cups on the screen in real time.

Connectivity is good. Anyone got anyu bluetooth 2 devices?

Sony also emphasized that the PlayStation 3 would have similar online connectivity and services as the next generation of Xbox Live. Calling it "an always on, always connected device," Chatani said the PS3 would be constantly in touch with a "PlayStation World" network "fundamentally based on a on community, communication commerce, and content." He said that subscribers could "exchange unique characters and items through the network," much like Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace.
 
Well reading that has got me salivating!!!
 
http://hardware.gamespot.com/Story-ST-x-1985-x-x-x?tag=boxcar_all_features_image

The Xbox 360's ATI graphics core also throws a wrench into our graphics comparison since it uses a new-fangled Unified Shader Architecture that mixes up pixel- and vertex-pipelines and makes comparison to older video card technology very difficult. The Xbox 360 graphics core may have 48-pipelines, but we don't know how powerful they are compared to dedicated pixel and vertex pipelines.

The PlayStation 3 has a pretty strong Nvidia graphics processor, but you can see how Sony may be afraid of the specification sheet comparison by the pipeline number conveniently omitted from the PS3 graphics specifications. We're guessing that the RSX graphics processors has a traditional, non-unified shader engine, so it likely has a smaller total "pipeline" number than the ATI chip. Even if the RSX's normal pipelines are more powerful than the Xbox 360's pipes, Sony doesn't want to risk printing a lower "pipeline" number since people won't understand that it isn't an apples-to-apples comparison.

So how many traditional pipelines does the RSX have? Sony has revealed that the RSX GPU has a 550MHz core clock and has over 300 million transistors. Sony has also stated that the chip is more powerful than two GeForce 6800 Ultra cards put together. Your first guess might be that Nvidia simply doubled the pipeline number on the 6800 Ultra to make the RSX, but you also have to remember that the Ultra only clocked in at 400MHz. If the "double" performance measurement is based on fill-rate performance rather than hardware, the clock speed increase up to 550MHz is clear sign that the hardware improvement isn't from a pure doubling of pipelines. We're guessing that the actual pipeline count is going to be at 24, which is about right for 300 million transistors and, at 550MHz, has just a slightly larger fill-rate than two GeForce 6800 Ultras clocked at 400MHz. Since the GeForce Ultra had 6 vertex pipelines, the RSX likely has 6 more vertex pipes in addition to the 24 pixel pipelines.

Graphics quality is now about shaders rather than raw polygone count so it;s these differances which may end up setting relative performance.



Lionheart said:
Anyone got any cheats for paperboy on the Spectrum ZX ?

You want the commodore 64 versions it's much better etc.

:D
[/quote]
 
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/16/news_6124681.html

Sony dropped two names that see as potential OS for PS3.

Linux (variant of( and MacOsX Tiger (less likely imho).

I'm guessing they are looking at the 360 os and seeing what can better it.

Would have thought that they had this decided already though? I'm sure they do .

------

Actually thinking about this some more, it wouldn't make sense for Apple given that they are moving away from PowerPC to Intel.

Perhaps that's why it's OsX Tiger rather than any later version? And IBM already has Linux working on the Cell. I remeber Sony always pitching as a possible media Os to compete against MS .

Either way they have there work cut out, as MS have made a great online gaming hub with Live, and the 360 version is going to be even better, and 360 links to MCE.
 
Is that 1080p at 60fps? people never seem to mention frame rate when talking about 1080p. :confused:
 
Rob20 said:
Is that 1080p at 60fps? people never seem to mention frame rate when talking about 1080p. :confused:

Good question? Anyone got an answer?

If it shows more resolution then it should take much more processing power.
Maybe 1080p will be like full scene anti aliasing was in the earley days of 3d cards. ~You could run it, but v e r y s l ow l y.

I rember trying to do fsaa on my voodoo 2, damn near killed my machine!
 
apparently has been clocked successfully up to 5.2 GHz....phew i bloody hope final fantasy is staying with sony. This consoles looking better and better everytime i read about it
 
wormvortex1337 said:
apparently has been clocked successfully up to 5.2 GHz....phew i bloody hope final fantasy is staying with sony. This consoles looking better and better everytime i read about it

Yeah, This and 360 might make me not upgrade pc in the future for games. Not for 3 + years anyway.

The PS3 has me very excited with it's potential. Hopefully Sony will start releasing some more info nearer Christmas. Actually I expect they will release some more info near the 360 release date to try and steal some thunder.
 
I just read an interesting interview with J Allard (360's daddy) and he made a good point about the PS3 not having propper air flow considering the power its supposed to have.

Any comments?
 
AML said:
I just read an interesting interview with J Allard (360's daddy) and he made a good point about the PS3 not having propper air flow considering the power its supposed to have.

Any comments?

Looks like he's scraping the barrel with criticism! Joking aside it's probably a good question. I am sure that Sony are fluffing some of the performance numbers. Saying that the Cell uses low power due to it dumping a lot of the branch prediction bumf that the normal CPU has.

I would guess it's a question of how much heat the gpu pumps out.
 
They've already confirmed it will perform at around one tflop of system-floating point performance, which is identical to the x360. I'd be surprised if it is even slightly more powerful on a lb for lb basis.
 
AML said:
I just read an interesting interview with J Allard (360's daddy) and he made a good point about the PS3 not having propper air flow considering the power its supposed to have.

Any comments?

How can he say things like this when he knows about as much as the next person about the PS3s internals
 
True, but by looking at the pics Sony released, we can see that it simply doesnt have any air flow. Its all closed up.

http://home.btconnect.com/hgi/ps3/ps3-closeup.html

Only one side of it seems to have a vent.

He also made a point about the "boomerang" and wether its going to be popular or not. He said he wants to see it being tested and to see people reaction to it.
 
AML said:
True, but by looking at the pics Sony released, we can see that it simply doesnt have any air flow. Its all closed up.

http://home.btconnect.com/hgi/ps3/ps3-closeup.html

Only one side of it seems to have a vent.

He also made a point about the "boomerang" and wether its going to be popular or not. He said he wants to see it being tested and to see people reaction to it.

It does have some vents.

If they have a good clean airflow along the inside then theres no reason why they couldn't get a low noise solution in place. Most PC's have loads of crap to disturb the airflow.

I think if that's the sort of speculation that they make then it shows they are worried. Saying that I get bored of manufacturers trying to bash each other. It portrays badly on whichever company makes the allegations. As we like to say at out software company, 'concentrate on where we shine, not were our competitors are dark'.

I bought the official xbox 360 mag and it was fully of silly sideswipes at ps3. Fine for 12 year old fanboys but tedious for the rest of us.

The boomerang controller looks a bit silly in my opinion , a bit bulky to leave lying around but hey ho. Maybe it looks better in the flesh.
 
How many more times...

The controller shown at E3 was a CONCEPT

Allard and Bach, of Xbox360, are clearly very worried about PS3 - they spend as much time sniping at it as they do hyping their own console. They seem to think they can goad Sony into releasing information on their console earlier than Sony plan to! Yeah, right!

If Spring 2006 is the launch time, then we are about 6 months away - how much did we know about Xbox360 6 months ago? Not much, so why are Allard et al stupid enough to think that Sony will release information that MS didn't? duuuuuuuuh.

Allard and Bach have done a great job of putting me right off Xbox360, I just couldn't be associated with a console fronted by these two muppets.
 

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