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CONSOLE REVIEWS
 Playstation
3 Review
At the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles
California, new tidbits of information on PlayStation
3, as well as prototypes, were showcased by Sony Computer
Entertainment Inc.
Launching in Spring 2006, PlayStation 3 will engage in
a console war against Microsoft's Xbox 360, and is powered
by the Cell processor which is jointly developed by IBM,
Toshiba, and Sony.
Similar to the processor found in Microsoft's Xbox 360
and Apple's G5 line of computers, Playstation 3 features
a powerful 3.2 Ghz PowerPC core. Sony is claiming to have
created the most powerful graphics system ever built on
any platform. Nvidia's custom GPU handles the console's
graphics (RSX Reality Synthesizer). The nearly photo-realistic
graphics at high-definition are truly impressive as Sony
claims that the RSX is able to support a resolution of
2000x1000 - or 2 million total pixels. As with the Xbox
360, the PS3 supports multiple wireless controllers, though
it can handle up to seven simultaneous players via Bluetooth
where Microsoft's console supports only four.
There is no clear indication of how much the PS3 will
cost but we reckon it might be around $300-400. You might
also have to upgrade to an HDTV in order to enjoy the
full capabilities of the PS3 platform. As fancier graphics
may necessitate longer development time and cost, you
may also want to look out also for more expensive than
usual prices for PS3 games.
| Playstation 3 System Performance
Specifications |
| CPU |
Cell Processor
PowerPC-base Core @3.2GHz
1 VMX vector unit per core
512KB L2 cache
7 x SPE @3.2GHz
7 x 128b 128 SIMD GPRs
7 x 256KB SRAM for SPE
* 1 of 8 SPEs reserved for redundancy
total floating point performance
: 218
GFLOPS |
| GPU |
RSX @550MHz
1.8 TFLOPS floating point performance
Full HD (up to 1080p) x 2 channels
Multi-way programmable parallel
floating
point shader pipelines |
| Sound |
Dolby 5.1ch, DTS, LPCM, etc. (Cell-base
processing) |
| Memory |
256MB XDR Main RAM @3.2GHz
256MB GDDR3 VRAM @700MHz |
| System Bandwidth |
Main RAM 25.6GB/s
VRAM 22.4GB/s
RSX 20GB/s (write) + 15GB/s (read)
SB 2.5GB/s (write) + 2.5GB/s (read)
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| System Floating Point Performance |
2 TFLOPS |
| Storage |
HDD |
Detachable 2.5" HDD slot x 1 |
| I/O |
USB |
Front x 4, Rear x 2 (USB2.0) |
| Memory Stick |
standard/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) |
| Controller |
Bluetooth (up to 7)
USB2.0 (wired)
Wi-Fi (PSP®)
Network (over IP) |
| AV Output |
Screen size |
480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p |
| HDMI |
HDMI out x 2 |
| Analog |
AV MULTI OUT x 1 |
| Digital audio |
DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL) x 1 |
Disc media
* read only |
CD |
PlayStation® |
CD-ROM |
| PlayStation®2 |
CD-ROM |
| CD-DA |
CD-DA (ROM), CD-R, CD-RW |
| SACD |
SACD Hybrid (CD layer), SACD HD |
| DualDisc |
DualDisc (audio side), DualDisc (DVD side) |
| DVD |
PlayStation®2 |
DVD-ROM |
| PLAYSTATION®3 |
DVD-ROM |
| DVD-Video |
DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW |
| Blu-ray Disc |
PLAYSTATION®3 |
BD-ROM |
| BD-Video |
BD-ROM, BD-R, BD-RE |
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