Sony Introduces Playstation 3, to launch in 2006
by Anand Lal Shimpi on May 16, 2005 9:12 PM EST- Posted in
- Trade Shows
Playstation 3's GPU - The NVIDIA RSX Reality Synthesizer
NVIDIA's contribution to the PS3 is their RSX GPU.
The RSX GPU offers dual screen output, with each output offering a resolution of up to 1080p resolution (1920 x 1080). The GPU runs at 550MHz and is connected to 256MB of local GDDR3 memory running at 700MHz.
The GPU itself can process 136 shader operations per cycle, compared to 53 shader ops per cycle of the current GeForce 6 GPU. In terms of shader performance, the RSX is clearly more powerful than even two GeForce 6 GPUs.
The RSX GPU features over 300 million transistors built on an eight layer 90nm process; note that the combination of the RSX GPU and the Cell CPU in PS3 is close to 600 million transistors.
NVIDIA also mentioned that the RSX offers performance stronger than two GeForce 6800 Ultra SLI GPUs and is based on their next-generation GF70 architecture.
The architecture itself is a bit different than what we've seen from previous NVIDIA GPUs:
The RSX GPU is connected to the Cell by a 35GB/s link (20GB/s write, 15GB/s read), that's much more bandwidth than any present day CPU-GPU link on the PC side.
The RSX can render pixels to any part of memory, giving it access to the full 512MB of memory of the PS3. We'd expect the technology used here to be similar to NVIDIA's TurboCache that we've seen on the desktop.
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milomnderbnder21 - Monday, May 16, 2005 - link
I can't help but laugh at all the titles announced though: "title" 4, "title" 4, "title" 6...5,4,4, etc. Come on, let's get some new franchises!I like the comparison to a George Foreman grill. The hardware sounds awfully impressive though, and the screens are really good looking. I want to see this and a 360 side by side, for size comparisons, just for kicks.
The X360 controller looks a LOT nicer. I'll almost certainly go X360, though. I like the games, I like the controller, it comes out sooner. The big thing for me though is the games, the sequels of sequels of sequels bothers me, though microsoft might be headed in that dangerous direction. Then I might have to get a Nintendo. I kind of don't like sony. Don't know why, entirely. I think the PS2 bothered me for getting perhaps more than it deserved. And I hate those contollers...
knitecrow - Monday, May 16, 2005 - link
About the GPU, nvidia have provided fluff... plain and simple.I can't say the ATI and microsoft have done a better job with the R500
but I still don't see how a 300 million transistor card can do 1.8Tflops of processing
Your 6800 ULTRA is about 222 million transsistors and does ... well i have no idea how much GFlops of processing it does.
Flops is used by marketing folks to fool the general public.
erwos - Monday, May 16, 2005 - link
If they remade FFVII for PS3, I'd pre-order the damn console and game right now. Seriously.-Erwos
coldpower27 - Monday, May 16, 2005 - link
Wow, that is amazing can't wait till the Geforce 7 is released now or as it's code name G70:)Cygni - Monday, May 16, 2005 - link
Deffinitly looks pretty impressive today... but by the time it actually ships, its going to hit TOUGH competition on the PC front. The transistor count thing is pretty funny as well... wonder what an Athlon X2 (200mil) + a pair of 6800 Ultras total as far as transistor count! haha.Looks good, but the Cell is still iffy... the issue with 1 disabled unit shows that the yields are probably fairly low, like many assumed. Hard to say which one (PS3 vs 360) which one will get more market share, but the PS3 does seem to pack a little more power, if the Cell can come through.
GhandiInstinct - Monday, May 16, 2005 - link
THIS IS THE FUTURE OMFG, ITS A STAR SHIP, XBOX GATES WHO? OMFG THIS IS IT THIS IS IT DID YOU SEE THOSE SCREEN SHOTS? I DONT EVEN NEED TO PLAY THE GAMES THOSE SS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES. MOST AMAZING EVER EXCEPT FOR GPU, BUT 2 TERAFLOPS COMPARED TO ONE? PS3 = SUPER COMPUTER CONSOLE MEGA GENESIS OMFG AMAZING.Sorry for caps. Hope it doesnt hurt your ears...
finbarqs - Monday, May 16, 2005 - link
still looks ugly... uglier than the x360, and that's not all that pretty either...Son of a N00b - Monday, May 16, 2005 - link
looks more impressive than the Xbox IMO, especially in the SS's ive seen with both...darn cannot wait for nvidia's g70 next gen cards...wish i could be a beta tester for SLI for em to be the first on the block...
knitecrow - Monday, May 16, 2005 - link
"Design and specifications are subject to change without notice."anyone any still remember how they cut PS2 final specs from the one they unveiled?
segagenesis - Monday, May 16, 2005 - link
Impressive screens, unimpressive controllers. Are they supposed to double as boomerangs?