PS3 achitecture details [Archive]

tarakan69

01-07-2003, 12:31 PM

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=7078

"SOURCES SAID that the architecture of the Sony Playstation3 is patently clear when you've found the US patent that it filed September 26th last year.
A reliable source close to Sony's plans explained the way the Playstation3 works to the INQUIRER.

He said that the computers are made of cells, each one containing a CPU, which will probably be a PowerPC, and eight APUs (vectorial processors) each with 128K of memory.

It will run at 4GHz, producing a not inconsiderable 256Gflops, with the cells connected to the central 64MB memory through a switched 1024 bit bus.

It's still not clear how many of these "cells" will be used in the Playstation3, but Sony reckoned some time ago it could be as many as one teraflops, probably making it a four cell architecture.

Optical links – perhaps even FireWire optical links – could be used to share computing power.

The Playstation3 architecture is similar to the Playstation 2 but with some improvements, such as a larger number of VPUs, each with more memory. The operating system, too, is much improved.

But Playstations will still be very complex to program well, although its just as well that Sony doesn't want to take the Microsoft DirectX route."

I'm no tech genious but it looks like the PS3 WILL be harder to program for opposed to the Xbox.

The key element is that manufacturing costs in the long run will be a lot less for the custom chip to be found in the PS3. So maybe Sony is looking into beating Microsoft price wise if they ever "catch up" with PS3 in terms of sales.

Also looks like the philoshophy of the console remains the same... huge bandwidths to lessen the need for the amount of memory. Although I have my doubts about the effeciasy, but let's not ofret that ALL of the gaming market is concentrating on the PS2... and as we see bandwiths don't really save the console.

tarakan69

01-07-2003, 01:02 PM

What I'm worried about is the first flow of games. I think second gen games will be fine... but first gen is going to look terrible. OOhh and the launch titles that will have to be rushed... ouch.

I don't want to be buying "The Bouncer" quality games for my PS3....

Edit:

so more new although old... some people probably missed it.

http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=1999356

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rambus Inc. RMBS.O , a designer of high-speed computer memory chips, on Monday said it had signed much-anticipated licensing deals with Sony Corp. 6758.T , Sony's computer game unit, and Toshiba Corp. 6502.T .

Rambus said Sony and Toshiba plan to use its memory boosting technology in unspecified new products due out in three years and that royalty payments could then become a significant contributor to Rambus profits and sales.

Terms of the deals were not disclosed, Rambus said.

Shares jumped 17 percent on speculation Sony and Toshiba planned to use Rambus high-speed memory chip technology to speed a new microprocessor that Sony, Toshiba and partner IBM are planning for Sony's next generation PlayStation 3 game system.

Analysts said the timeline coincides with plans by Sony, Toshiba and IBM to develop a ultra high-speed processor for use in the PlayStation 3, the successor to its popular PlayStation 2 (PS2) gaming system that is due out in 2005.

"The big speculation is that Yellowstone ... would be front-runner to the successor of PS2," Mike Crawford, an analyst with B. Riley and Co. of Los Angeles, said of investor anticipation of news of the deals with Sony and Toshiba.

Rambus has been looking to make headway with new products to follow the success of its maturing line of double data-rate memory acceleration products used in PlayStation 2, high-end personal computers and some high-definition televisions.

Officials of the Los Altos, California-based chip designer said in a conference call that royalties resulting from the new deals could generate an unspecified, but "significant," chunk of the company's future financial results.

The impact on Rambus earnings will be "neutral to slightly favorable for the next three years," with significant royalties only beginning to accrue once Sony and Toshiba begin shipping their own products, Chief Financial Officer Bob Eulau said.

The jump in revenues that will result from the deal during the next three years will be mitigated by the costs of developing the new memory technology, Eulau said during a conference call for investors that followed the news.

"We expect cash receipts of around $28 million over the next 18 months," Eulau said of the upfront payments Rambus expects to receive in the near term, which the company plans to recognize using "percentage of completion" accounting.

"Our ability to generate royalties are dependent on these products coming to market," Eulau cautioned. "Our expectation on these royalties (is that they) will be a significant contributor to Rambus's future financial results."

Rambus shares traded 13 percent higher on the Nasdaq in anticipation of news of the deals, then added another 4 percent, to trade at $8.20, up $1.19 on the day, in after-hours trading that followed news of the deals.

Trading was sparked by a news release issued earlier in the day that said Rambus planned to announce "customer-related news" after the close of trading on the Nasdaq. News of the deals with Sony and Toshiba came after the close of trading. START OF NEW PRODUCT CYCLE FOR RAMBUS?

While many details remain secret, Sony has said it is working with partners Toshiba and IBM on a powerful new processor, code-named "cell" and due out in 2005 for home electronics with ultra-fast Internet connections that could, for example, transmit high-resolution moving pictures.

Sony officials endorsed two Rambus memory technologies -- code-named "Yellowstone" and "Redwood" -- and said they could be used in a variety of future Sony products, building on Sony's existing use of Rambus technology in its PlayStation 2.

"The use of Direct Rambus technology in PlayStation 2 was essential for its performance," Ken Kutaragi, president and chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., Sony's gaming systems unit, said in the Rambus-issued statement.

"Rambus is and will be the key player in the ultra high-speed interface technology," Kutaragi said.

Sony and Toshiba licensed Rambus's "Yellowstone" memory technology, which can be used to pipe data through electronics at 10 to 100 gigahertz rates per second, or far faster. In November, Toshiba struck a separate licensing deal with Rambus on Yellowstone technology to be used on future dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips used to speed computer programs.

In addition, Rambus unveiled its new "Redwood" memory bus, or internal computer chassis, designed to handle data rates 10 times faster than the latest processors and said Sony and Toshiba would license this as well. More technical details on Redwood will be released in coming months, officials said.

Laura Stark, vice president in charge of Rambus memory chip development, said in response to an investor question that IBM IBM.N will be able to gain access to Rambus memory technology through its development partnership with Sony and Toshiba.

The latest deals with Sony and Toshiba are nonexclusive, Rambus officials said, leaving open the door to licensing agreements with Microsoft Corp. MSFT.O , Nintendo 7974.OS and other makers of high-speed game or computer systems.

Crawford, the sole remaining analyst listed on First Call to track the once high-flying maker of computer memory technology, said investor hopes center on the potential for Rambus to be part of Sony's PlayStation 3 gaming system.

Crawford personally holds shares of Rambus, but his firm has no other ties to the company. He initiated coverage of Rambus 11 months ago, rating it a buy when the stock was at $6.