Thread: Sony PS3

Sony PS3 The newest addition to the games console arena is a no-nonsense piece of hardware: big, black and looking like it means business. The PS3 weighs in at a whopping 5kg - substantially heavier than either the Xbox 360 or the Wii, which respectively register 3.5kg and 3.1kg on the scales. The rounded edges and polished surfaces give it a sleek and stylish appearance - a world away from the look of the ageing, angular PS2.

The new machine feels sturdy and well-built, yet at the same time like it deserves to be treated with the upmost care. Maybe it's the luxurious-looking shiny black casing with the silver highlights. Or maybe it's the thought of having just spent £425 on the thing. Either way, the PS3 is a product you immediately want to treasure.



PS3 combines state-of-the-art technologies featuring Cell, a processor jointly developed by IBM, Sony Group and Toshiba Corporation, graphics processor (RSX) co-developed by NVIDIA Corporation and SCEI, and XDR memory developed by Rambus Inc. It also adopts BD-ROM (Blu-ray Disc ROM) with maximum storage capacity of 54 GB (dual layer) , enabling delivery of entertainment content in full high-definition (HD) quality, under a secure environment made possible through the most advanced copyright protection technology. To match the accelerating convergence of digital consumer electronics and computer technology, PS3 supports high quality display in resolution of 1080p(*) as standard, which is far superior to 720p/1080i.

Specs: Sony PlayStation 3

General Graphics Processor and Memory Product Identification Video Output Expansion and Connectivity Processor Integrated Devices System Memory Storage Audio
Controller Bluetooth Wireless
Form Factor Console
Embedded Video Memory 0MB
Graphics Processor RSX "Reality Synthesizer"
Graphics Core Clock Speed 550MHz
System Memory 256MB XDR
Vector Units 1 VMX vector unit per core
System Memory Bandwith 22.4GB/s, RSX 20GB/s (write)/15GB/s (read), SB 2.5GB/s (write)/ 2.5GB/s (read)
Shaders 100 Billion Shader Operations/s
Video Memory 256MB
Manufacturer Sony
Product Line Sony PlayStation 3
Resolution 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
Digital Media Formats Compatible with CR-ROM, CDR+W, DVD, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD+R
Game Media Format Blu-ray BD-ROM
Other I/O Connectors Ethernet (RJ45), 6 USB 2.0, CF Slot (Type I, II), SD Slot (Regular, Compact), Memory Stick, Memory Stick Duo, 1 x Optical Audio
Controller Ports Supports up to 7 Bluetooth Controllers
Plug and Play Storage 2.5in Removable Hard Drive
Standard AV Output Connectors 2 x HDMI, 1 x AV
Integrated Communications 802.11 B/G Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0

Processor Core Spec 1 Core, 7 x SPE 3.2GHz (256KB SRAM per SPE), 7 x 128b 128 SIMD GPRs
Marketing Performance Measurement 2.18 TFLOPs
Processor Clock Speed 3.2GHz
L2 Cache 512KB L2 cache, 256KB per SPE
Processor Cell processor
Built-in Features Backward Compatible with PlayStation 2, Stands Vertically or Horizontally
Memory Bandwidth 25.6GB/s main memory bandwidth, 22.4GB/s video memory bandwidth
Media Drive Blue-Ray BD-ROM
Surround Sound Multichannel Output (software driven)
Storage 60GB Hard Drive