Playstation 3 Specs

[sonu27]

I'll proberly buy it when they make a "slim" version of it.

Seeing as I just bought a PS2 Slim few months back.

[XtremeMaC]

i could be a happy reader of this thread if it contained less arguing!

this thread shouldn't be about who knows more about psx/xbox/etc.

[squip]

Hi there i am a newbie so go easy on me...

Can some one please explain to me the 7 special purpose 3.2Ghz processors? You have to be kidding right? Its impossible. From that statement I am under the impression it has *counts* 8 prosessors...

[un4given1]

Please keep this thread on track... I will delete any posts that take it off track. Thank you.

[JasonGW]

Please keep this thread on track...  I will delete any posts that take it off track.  Thank you.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

<removed>

Jason

[JasonGW]

Hi there i am a newbie so go easy on me...

Can some one please explain to me the 7 special purpose 3.2Ghz processors? You have to be kidding right? Its impossible. From that statement I am under the impression it has *counts* 8 prosessors...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No, there are *not* 8 processors in PS3. There is *ONE* 3.2Ghz processor and 7 SPE's. SPE's are for carrying out simple instructions such as streaming video or continuous floating point operations. It's accurate to say the SPE's run at 3.2Ghz only in the sense that the main processor, of which they are a subcomponent, runs at 3.2Ghz. The SPE's themselves are *not* full function processors, nor do they even understand the general instruction set of the CPU's core. They are, again, *Simple purpose* units. They have no access to a cache, nor any direct access to memory, nor any ability to perform common game programming functions such as multiple branch prediction, fetches or anything else that involves interaction with the memory subsystem.

While CELL itself is an interesting and potentially very useful microarchitecture, it is NOT well suited to gaming, and its inclusion in the PS3 is for marketing purposes *only*.

Bear in mind, too, that the primary core of the CELL processor is based off the PowerPC design from IBM, the same chip that powers Macintosh computers and another variant, the XBox 360 CPU (which has three full-purpose cores, each with multiple thread support enabled for a total of 6 concurrent processing threads).

Jason

[TheBlackMan]

I personally like the PS3. Both the XBox360 and PS3 are so advanced that the game creators can practically make anything they want. This in turn will allow the gamers to have a more enjoyable experience considering more games will be coming out because the possibilites are practically infinite when it comes to the games! Now, taking a look at the marketing strategy, I think Microsoft has the edge. Take a look at this. Here is another source for your reading pleasure.

[JasonGW]

I personally like the PS3. Both the XBox360 and PS3 are so advanced that the game creators can practically make anything they want. This in turn will allow the gamers to have a more enjoyable experience considering more games will be coming out because the possibilites are practically infinite when it comes to the games! Now, taking a look at the marketing strategy, I think Microsoft has the edge. Take a look at this. Here is another source for your reading pleasure.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'd like the PS3 better if it actually *existed*, but I'm afraid that pre-rendered videos and empty plastic shells under glass aren't all that impressive to me. I DO like the *design* of the PS3 better than the XBox 360, but I do NOT like Sony's hype, misinformation and blatant dishonesty to the audience that makes them anything other than the trash manufacturer that they really are.

Jason

[un4given1]

Well, it will be a beautiful battle, don't you think?

Bill Gates is quoted as saying that he will be releasing Halo 3 on the day that the PS3 comes out.

Now, from the PS2 we know that Sony sometimes backs down from their original specs... but it's nice to dream, right? And it's possible that Microsoft might pull together and push to get some other technologies into their system since they now can speculate what their competition is going to be offering.

It will be cool to see what the end result is... I can't wait.

[sonu27]

What does SPE stand for?

I need to know.

[TheBlackMan]

IGN.com talks about the meaning behind the specs of the PS3 here. SPE stands for Synergistic Processing Elements. The article explains in detail.

[sonu27]

Synergistic Processing Units

But where does SPE come from then?

Should be SPU

[JasonGW]

Well, it will be a beautiful battle, don't you think?

Bill Gates is quoted as saying that he will be releasing Halo 3 on the day that the PS3 comes out.

Now, from the PS2 we know that Sony sometimes backs down from their original specs...  but it's nice to dream, right?  And it's possible that Microsoft might pull together and push to get some other technologies into their system since they now can speculate what their competition is going to be offering. 

It will be cool to see what the end result is...  I can't wait.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well I agree for sure that it should be an interesting battle. What worries me far more than the power of the systems (both are absurdly powerful) is that game developers may get so mired in the "it's gotta be gorgeous" mentality that they skimp on gameplay, storytelling, etc. To some degree it even happened with the *current* generation early on, and we're only now starting to see games that are really special. In a way, it's sad that this generation is coming to an end, because it means a "reset" to the developers, who now have to start a new learning curve and see what level of graphics they can get from the hardware.

Jason

[JasonGW]

IGN.com talks about the meaning behind the specs of the PS3 here. SPE stands for Synergistic Processing Elements. The article explains in detail.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Note that the above article is based on old and incomplete information. For starters, PS3's CELL runs at 3.2Ghz, not ">4Ghz", indicating that they aren't able to manufacture the faster variant in quantity. Note also that the processor they discussed has 8 SPE's, PS3 has 7. Note also that they don't mention a critical fact: The SPE's aren't capable of running general computing instructions as the main PowerPC based core is. The SPE's are highly specialized and use a *different* instruction set from the Cell's primary core.

Again, this is *not* synonymous with an "8 core" processor, and a direct comparison to such a beast is inaccurate and, at best, very sloppy reporting.

Jason

[TheBlackMan]

Very true Jason! The developers are going to have to learn the capabilities of the new generation of gaming machines, but I'm sure everyone is willing to wait. Look how far we have come since the Atari 2600! That was some 22 years ago and look how far we have come! Yes, at first the games are more about the capabilities, but the gameplay does get better.

@ sonu27 : If you read below the picture it says :

The Cell processor that was discussed at the press conference is made up of nine separate cores. There is a single 64-bit Power Processing Element (or Power Architecture Core) and eight Synergistic Processing Elements (SPEs). The Power Processor Element (PPE) can best be thought of as a variation of a Power PC processor, though it's an entirely new design, intending on "overseeing" the work of the whole Cell processor. The PPE sends off various instructions to the 8 SPEs, which can then work autonomously.

@ JasonGW : I was only posting the article because it explained what SPE stood for and how it was involved in the whole process. By no means was I posting this as accurate specs, just an informative article on SPE for sonu27. I just noticed something...you and me joined on the same day and have relatively the same number of posts!

Edited May 24, 2005 by TheBlackMan