PLAYSTATION 3 Hardware

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

The PLATSTATION 3's 3.2-GHz Cell processor, developed jointly by Sony, Toshiba and IBM (STI), is an implementation to assign physical processor cores dynamically in order to carry out different types of work independently. The CPU has a PowerPC-based Power Processing Element (PPE) and 6 accessible 3.2-GHz Synergistic Processing Elements (SPEs). A 7th element runs in a special mode and is dedicated to aspects of the OS and security, and an 8th is disabled to improve production yields.

The PPE, SPEs and other elements (units) are connected via an Element Interconnect Bus which serves to connect all of the units in a ring-style bus. The PPE has a 512-KB level 2 cache and one VMX vector unit. Each SPE is a RISC processor with 128-bit SIMD GPRs and superscalar functions, and contains 256 KB of non-cached memory (local storage or LS) that is shared by work data and program code. SPEs may access more data in the main memory using DMA.

The floating point performance of the whole system (CPU + GPU) is reported to be 2 TFLOPS. PlayStation 3's Cell CPU achieves 204 GFLOPS single precision float and 15 GFLOPS double precision. The console also has 256 MB of Rambus XDR DRAM, clocked at CPU die speed.

The Cell microprocessor allows programmers to assign SPEs different work by running individual programs on them. Programmers may also arrange data flow in different ways, for example using pipelined, parallel or streamed processing data flow models. As an example for parallel processing performance gains, one core may perform computations on realistic projectiles ballistics, another core might govern the activities of the main character, while another could work on decoding and multiplexing audio. The programmer has another three more cores not yet assigned but the only remaining tasks are to collect the work performed and display the results on the screen. Since the program code on each SPE core is executed from its local store memory, much more Element Interconnect Bus bandwidth is available to transfers of work data. An obvious downside to this is that there is a 256-KB size restriction on SPE programs, which may present a challenge for certain programming tasks.

Although the original PS3 units were shipped with 90 nm CELL processor, new PS3 units will have 60 nm CELL processor built into them, not only making them cheaper for Sony to produce, but also to reduce the amount of heat generated by the console.

Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)

The Graphics Processing Unit is based on the NVIDIA G70 (previously known as NV47) architecture, which focuses on maximizing per-pixel computation in favour of raw pixel output. The GPU will make use of 256-MB GDDR3 VRAM clocked at 550 MHz and the XDR main memory via the CPU.

Connectivity

The PS3 supports a number of HDTV and SDTV resolutions (from 480i to 1080p) and connectivity options (such as HDMI 1.3 and component video). The console also supports a number of audio formats, including 7.1 digital audio and Dolby TrueHD. Audio output is possible over stereo RCA cables (analogue), optical digital cables or HDMI. For communication, the PS3 has one Gigabit Ethernet port, four USB 2.0 ports, and supports Bluetooth 2.0 EDR.

Media Formats

A wide variety of DVD and CD formats are supported for the optical drive, in addition to Blu-ray Discs. A 20 GB or 60 GB 2.5" SATA 150 hard disk is pre-installed. In the 60 GB configuration, flash memory can also be used - either Memory Stick, CompactFlash or SD/MMC.

Physical Factors

The PS3 includes a number of ventilation holes, heat pipes and a single large fan, and is reported to run as quietly as the later models of the PlayStation 2.

The console itself is approximately 5 kg (11 lb), 9.8 cm × 32.5 cm × 27.4 cm (3.9 in. × 12.8 in. × 10.8 in.), with the power supply built into the unit. All current PS3 power supplies are Universal 100V-240V/50-60 Hz and will work worldwide, with the power consumption ranging from 150-200 watts during normal use.

Backward Compatibility for Accessories

The PlayStation 3 does not include interfaces for legacy PlayStation peripherals, although it is thought that some legacy controllers may be connected using a PS2-to-USB adapter. USB devices for PlayStation 2 may be compatible with PlayStation 3, such as the USB EyeToy camera/webcam and SOCOM Headset for video and voice chat.