GB:PlayStation 3
Contents[Hide]
1 What it Looks Like
2 How it Feels
3 Cool Features
4 Straight Dope -- Specifications Provided by Sony
    4.1 CPU
    4.2 GPU
    4.3 Sound
    4.4 Memory
    4.5 System Bandwidth
    4.6 Storage
    4.7 Communication
    4.8 Controller
    4.9 AV Output

Playstation 3

With its cutting edge processing ability and sci-fi-quality Blu-Ray disc drive, the PS3 is undeniably be the most technically powerful of its generation, surpassing the Xbox 360  and Wii.  The PS3 will cost £341 for a system with a 20 GB hard drive and an estimated 425 for a 60 GB unit.

What it Looks Like

Unlike the bulky, awkward Xbox 360,  the PS3 is slim and short enough to blend in with your home entertainment equipment rather than look like it's holding it hostage.

How it Feels

The controller, a modified version of the PS2 Dual Shock,  is equipped with motion sensor technology and is WiFi and Bluetooth compatible, so you could potentially connect up to 7 controllers at once. Sony has also promised that the machine will be able to communicate with the hand-held PSP. 

Cool Features

  • The machine plays PS2 and PlayStation games. However, memory cards from the old system almost surely won't work on the PS3.
  • Features HDTV compatibility.
  • The RSX GPU which will roughly equal the quality (resolution-wise) of two top of the line Nvidia GeForce cards. Plus, it will be up to 30% faster than Nvidia 7800 GTX. Translation for non-geeks: The graphics will blow you away.
  • Plays DVDs, Blu-Ray discs and CDs. Memory wise, it supports a variety of formats: CompactFlash, SD/MMC chips and Memory Sticks.
  • Sony has promised an online community, akin to the lauded Xbox Live. 

Straight Dope -- Specifications Provided by Sony

CPU

  • Power PC-base Core Cell CPU @ 3.2GHz
  • 1 VMX vector unit per core
  • 512KB L2 cache
  • 7 x SPE @ 3.2GHz
  • 7 x 128b 128 SIMD GPRs
  • 7 x 256KB SRAM for SPE
  • 1 of 8 SPEs reserved for redundancy
  • total floating point performance: 218 GFLOPS

GPU

  • RSX @550MHz
  • 1.8 TFLOPS floating point performance
  • Full HD (up to 1080p) x 2 channels
  • Multi-way programmable parallel floating point shader pipelines

Sound

  • Dolby 5.1ch, DTS, LPCM, etc. (Cell- base processing

Memory

  • 256MB XDR Main RAM
  • 3.2GHz 256MB GDDR3 VRAM
  • 700MHz

System Bandwidth

  • Main RAM 25.6GB
  • VRAM 22.4GB
  • RSX 20G (write) + 15GB/s (read)
  • SB< 2.5GB/s (write) + 2.5GB/s (read)

Storage

  • Detachable 63.5mm I/O
  • USB Front x 4, Rear x 2 (USB2.0)
  • Memory Stick standard/Duo, PRO x 1
  • SD standard/mini x 1
  • CompactFlash (Type I, II) x 1

Communication

  • Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T) x 3 (input x 1 + output x 2)
  • Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g
  • Bluetooth 2.0 (EDR)

Controller

  • Bluetooth (up to 7)
  • USB 2.0 (wired)
  • Wi-Fi (PSP)
  • Network (over IP)

AV Output

  • Screen size: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
  • HDMI: HDMI out x 2
  • Analog: AV MULTI OUT x 1
  • Digital audio: DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL) x 1

External Links