Sony PlayStation 3 Super Slim GPU vs Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 Benchmarks, Specs, Performance Comparison and Differences
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Sony PlayStation 3 Super Slim GPU vs Nvidia GeForce GTX 960
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Specification comparison:
| Graphics card | Sony PlayStation 3 Super Slim GPU | Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 | ||||||
| Market (main) | Console | Desktop | ||||||
| Release date | Q4 2012 | Q1 2015 | ||||||
| Model number | RSX-CXD5302, PS3 Super Slim GPU | GM206-300-A1 | ||||||
| GPU name | RSX-40nm | GM206 | ||||||
| Architecture | Curie | Maxwell 2. 0 |
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| Generation | Sony Console GPU | GeForce 900 | ||||||
| Lithography | 40 nm | 28 nm | ||||||
| Transistors | 302.000.000 | 2.940.000.000 | ||||||
| Bus interface | SoC | PCIe 3.0 x16 | ||||||
| GPU base clock | 550 MHz | 1.127 MHz | ||||||
| GPU boost clock | 550 MHz | 1.178 MHz | ||||||
| Memory frequency | 650 MHz | 1.753 MHz | ||||||
| Effective memory speed | 1,3 Gbps | 7 Gbps | ||||||
| Memory size | 256 MB | 2 GB | ||||||
| Memory type | GDDR3 | GDDR5 | ||||||
| Memory bus | 128 Bit | 128 Bit | ||||||
| Memory bandwidth | 20,8 GB/s | 112,2 GB/s | ||||||
| TDP | 35 W | 120 W | ||||||
| Cores (compute units, SM, SMX) | — | 8 | ||||||
| Execution units | 8 | — | ||||||
| Shading units (cuda cores) | 24 | 1. 024 |
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| TMUs | 24 | 64 | ||||||
| ROPs | 8 | 32 | ||||||
| Cache memory | — | 1 MB | ||||||
| Pixel fillrate | 4,4 GP/s | 37,7 GP/s | ||||||
| Texture fillrate | 13,2 GT/s | 75,4 GT/s | ||||||
| Performance FP32 (float) | 192 GFLOPS | 2,4 TFLOPS | ||||||
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We can better compare what are the technical differences between the two graphics cards.
Performance comparison with the benchmarks:
Performance comparison between the two processors, for this we consider the results generated on benchmark software such as Geekbench.
| FP32 Performance in GFLOPS | |
|---|---|
| Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 |
2.413 |
| Sony PlayStation 3 Super Slim GPU |
192 |
The difference is 1157%.
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average of the performances got with these graphics cards, you may get different results.
See also:
Nvidia GeForce GTX 960 (OEM)Nvidia GeForce GTX 960MNvidia GeForce GTX 965M
Equivalence:
Sony PlayStation 3 Super Slim GPU Nvidia equivalentSony PlayStation 3 Super Slim GPU AMD equivalentNvidia GeForce GTX 960 AMD equivalent
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Information:
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What GPU is equivalent to the PS3?
If you’re reminiscing over the older console then we look at what ran its graphics
Updated: Feb 17, 2023 3:44 pm
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What GPU is equivalent to the PS3?
ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3050 OC
ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 6500 XT OC
The Playstation 3 came out in November 2006, and 2007 in PAL regions. With many years of service and iterations, we look at what GPU is equivalent to the PS3.
With an 11-year lifespan, there have been different models of the console released. Each tends to slim down its size. But the GPUs core specs stay the same, with the process size decreasing.
This means the die size and TDP of the chip decreased, leading to less cooling required. And this made the console a great choice for a range of users. So we look at what packed the punch.
The PS3 is packed in with an Nvidia Curie CPU made in Sony’s Foundry. It was the RSX GPU ranging from 90nm to 28nm process.
Even with that, the GPU core specifications stayed the same. With a GPU clock of 550 MHz and a memory clock of 1300 Mbps for its 256 MB memory size. Which is a GDDR3 type with a 128-bit bus that gives a bandwidth of 20.8 GB/s.
It’s comprised of 24 pixel shaders, 8 vertex shaders, 24 TMUs, and 8 ROPs. And so looking at the equivalent best GPU is the Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX.
Also from the Curie architecture, it instead uses TSMCs 110nm process. Increasing the die size in general. But the discrete GPU has a lot more freedom than a console one.
This card in fact features 24 pixel shaders, 8 vertex, 24 TMUs, and 16 ROPs. With a 430 MHz clock and 1200 Mbps memory for the 256 MB GDDR3 memory.
It also ups the bus to 256-bit and increases the bandwidth of 38.4 GB/s. So that is the closest in terms of hardware. But in terms of optimizations console and discrete will always differ with no real one-to-one comparison available.
Plus those are quite outdated these days, and any modern GPU can outperform them. As such the RTX 3050 and RX 6500 XT are plenty powerful to outperform those choices. But that is to be expected over the 10 years of silicon improvements and optimizations.
ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3050 OC
Pros
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Great build quality and design
Solid performane and overclocking
Quiet thermal design
Cons
More expensive option
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ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 6500 XT OC
Pros
Quiet work even under heavy loads
Effective cooling solution keeps temps low
Quality build designed to last
Fastest overclock with plenty more headroom
Cons
Custom solution may raise the price significantly
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PlayStation 3 Architecture, Part 2: RSX / Sudo Null IT News
Released on 01/09/2009 in Europe and America, and on 03/09/2009 in Japan
→ Part 1: Cell
→ Part 2: RSX
→ Part 3: Three «OS»
→ Part 4: Wrestling with piracy
3. Graphics
If you thought that Cell with its features could cope with all the tasks of this console, then let me say something hysterical: Sony installed a separate chip for 3D graphics .
Examples of PS3 games (screenshots)
Most games are output by the console at 1280×720 pixels
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception (2011)The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)Killzone 3 (2011)One Piece: Pirate Warriors (2012)
It looks like even with a supercomputer chip, Sony still had to add a GPU to complete the PlayStation 3. It makes you wonder if IBM/Sony/Toshiba got stuck trying to scale Cell further, and so Sony had no choice but to how to ask for help from a graphic company.
This is just a guess, but I’m not sure I’ll ever know the answer.
But what I do know for sure is that the PS3 contains a GPU chip made by Nvidia and designed to offload part of the graphics pipeline. The chip is called Reality Synthesizer or RSX and it is clocked at 500 MHz [23] . Its clock speed seems unsettling compared to the Cell’s 3.2 GHz, although you’ll soon see that the GPU is better at handling large numbers of operations in parallel. Therefore, when it comes to building a graphics pipeline, you need to find a balance between Cell and RSX (although I must admit that it sounds easier on paper than in practice).
Now I’ll do the same level of analysis I did with Cell earlier, this time focusing on RSX and its graphical capabilities.
3.1. General Information
It has been five years since Nvidia introduced the GeForce3 (NV30) line in 2001. By that time, such strong players as 3dfx, S3, ArtX and ATI fought in the arena.
However, in the years that followed, the number of companies gradually dwindled to the point that by 2006, only ATI and Nvidia remained the leading video card vendors in the PC market.
The RSX chip next to the Cell
RSX chip inherits Nvidia’s existing technology, which is reportedly based on the 7800 GTX PC model. The model implements the architecture GeForce 7 (NV47) [24] codenamed «Curie».
In my previous analysis of the first Xbox, I talked about the GeForce 3 chip and its debut pixel shaders. So what has changed since then? There were ups and downs, but basically the changes happened gradually, there is nothing revolutionary compared to Geforce3 pixel shaders.
On the other hand, while the 7800 GTX uses the PCI-Express protocol to communicate with the CPU, the RSX has been redesigned to work with the proprietary Flex I/O protocol [25] , a separate interface within the Cell to connect adjacent chips .
Flex I/O works in two modes:
Alas, RSX is not a Cell, so the first one works through the IOIF protocol using a fast slot. But in comparison, IOIF behaves like a 32-bit parallel bus with a theoretical throughput of up to 20 GB/s, while the PCI-Express used in the 7800 GTX (version 1.0, x16 lanes) is a 16-bit serial bus. with theoretical throughput up to 4 GB/s.
3.2. Content Management
The
RSX has 256 MB GDDR3 SDRAM memory. Surprisingly, the same type of memory is used in the Nintendo Wii. The memory bus is clocked at 650 MHz with a theoretical bandwidth of up to 20.8 GB/s .
An example of how data is organized in available memory.
Please note that RSX may receive
access to your content from different memory chips.
Within this 256 MB of memory, the Cell can fit everything the RSX needs to render a frame. This includes vertex data, shaders, textures, and commands. Now, thanks to the Cell’s Flex I/O bus, the RSX can also use the aforementioned 256MB XDR memory (processor main memory) as a workspace, although this will reduce performance.
This is convenient if, for example, you need to apply post-processing to the rendered frame through the SPU.
As you can see, although this console does not implement the Unified Shader Architecture (UMA), it can still distribute graphics data to different memory chips if programmers need it.
I mention this because I would like the «technical experts» to read more about this feature before making general statements like «The PS3 was limited due to the lack of UMA «. In some cases this may be true, but if they don’t mention it, then such a general statement is, in my opinion, is misleading .
Finally, RSX supports many forms of data optimization to increase throughput, such as 4:1 color compression, Z-compression, and tiled mode (I’ll talk more about that later).
3.3. Frame construction
Let’s take a look at how the RSX chip processes and draws 3D scenes.
RSX Conveyor Overview
Its conveyor model is very similar to the GeForce 3, but has been heavily upgraded over five years of technical progress.
Therefore, I suggest that you read that article in advance, as this one will focus on new features. I also recommend reading about the PlayStation Portable GPU because many of the new developments and needs overlap with that chip.
So let’s see what we have here… [26]
3.3.1. Commands
Command stage diagram
As in any other GPU, there must be a block responsible for receiving commands from outside. In RSX, this happens with two blocks, host and Graphics Front End .
The host is responsible for reading commands from memory (either local or main) and translating them into internal signals that other components in the RSX understand. This is done with four subblocks:
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Pusher : Retrieves graphics commands from memory and interprets branch instructions. Also contains 1 KB prefetch buffer. Processed commands are sent to the FIFO cache.
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FIFO cache : Stores up to 512 instructions decoded from Pusher to FIFO for quick access.
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Puller : Pulls commands from the FIFO cache whenever RSX is ready to be drawn and sends them to the next block.
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Graphics FIFO : Stores up to eight commands, which will then be read by the Graphics Front End.
The Graphics Front End then reads the data from the graphics FIFO and signals the necessary blocks within the RSX to compute the operations. If you remember, this is the equivalent of «pfifo» in GeForce3.
As you can see, commands and data go through many buffers and caches before reaching their final destination. This is done on purpose, as it prevents conveyor stop due to different blocks and tires running at different speeds. Thus cached memory takes advantage of fast throughput when possible.
3.3.2. Vertex shader
Diagram of the vertex stage process.
Blocks Vertex Processing Engine (VPE)
are skipped if the vertices do not need
further processing by the shader.
The next block is the Geometry Processing block , an evolution of the GeForce 3 «Vertex Block» that performs vertex transformations. It is still programmed with vertex shaders , which are widely used in the graphics industry today. Moreover, the number of instructions has been increased to 512 (originally there were 136!).
The block that executes the shaders is called the Vertex Processing Engine (VPE), and it can process one vertex per clock . If this was not enough, then there are eight VPEs that operate in parallel .
After the GeForce 6 series, Nvidia tied the shader programming interface to shader model Vertex Shader Model 3 or vs_3_0_ . This standard was developed by Microsoft for use in the DirectX 9.0c library [27] . VPE units also support the open model OpenGL 2.1 [28] and Nvidia’s own variant ( Cg ) [29] .
Compared to GeForce 3, there are new instructions for branching and calling subroutines. The VPE also contains four texture samplers that extract texture colors at this stage in case programmers want to use this block to perform some operations.
The Geometry Processing block works like this:
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Index Vertex Processor (IDX) retrieves and caches vertices and textures from VRAM. After that, it sends the data to VAB.
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Vertex Attribute Buffer (VAB) takes data from the IDX cache and forwards it to each VPE.
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Each VPE processes data based on the loaded shader. It evaluates one shader instruction per clock cycle.
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The result of each VPE is sent to the Post Transform Cache , which caches the results to skip identical calculations over the same vertex. This only applies if vertex indices are used instead of vertex data.
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The final result is stored in the Viewport Cull Unit (VPC) and attribute memory (Attribute RAM, ATR).
VPC removes vertices found outside the viewport. ATR caches vertex attributes (texture, color, fog, etc.) for reading in later steps.
3.3.3. Rasterization
Simplified diagram of the rasterization stage.
RSX includes various blocks for
calculation of values used
to interpolate pixels and colors.
Moving on, it’s time to convert the vertices to pixels (rasterization). The RSX rasterizer is quite fast, and it can convert up to 8×8 pixels (64) per clock and work with framebuffer sizes up to 4096×4096 pixels (although developers may need less).
The rasterizer accepts points, lines (including stripes and closed types), triangles (including fans), quads, and regular polygons.
Naturally, as in the current generation of consoles, the rasterizer works with sub-pixel coordinates , where the sampling points are semi-coordinates ( 0.5 ) of pixels. This allows you to later use anti-aliasing methods such as multi-sampling (multisampling).
This method rasterizes the same geometry multiple times, but offsets a few sub-pixels from each other in each batch (RSX supports four different offset modes), and then calculates the average value. This results in a smooth image.
Moreover, this block applies z-culling using a separate memory inside the RSX (which has a capacity of about 3 million pixels). This saves processing pixels and stencils that have already been rendered and allows you to early z-test on the incoming geometry.
A separate block is used to rasterize 2D objects (sprites), although it is isolated from the 3D pipeline. Consequently, the RSX operates in both 2D and 3D modes, but periodically switching between the two is expensive in terms of performance.
3.3.4. Pixel shader
The next block on our list is Fragment Shader & Texture . This is a programmable unit (using «fragment programs» or «shaders») that applies texturing and other effects.
Diagram of a pixel or fragment stage
Being an advanced successor to the texture units from the GeForce 3 chip, the new block contains six fragment units (in the original «pipes», hereinafter referred to as «channels»), each of which processes 2×2 texels (hereinafter referred to as «quads») .
To organize multiple units working in parallel, another subunit Shader Quad Distributor (SQD) was placed to send quads to each fragment unit. The unit then loads the fragment program.
For computing operations, each channel contains a huge number of 128-bit registers (there are 1536 in total) . In addition, each channel can process several quads in parallel ( multithreading ), although the number of them processed in parallel depends on the number of registers allocated to the fragment program:
qty. threads = 1536 / number of shader registers
Globally, up to 460 quads can be processed in parallel.
In addition, up to three fragment channels can process two instructions at the same time (as, for example, double processing for the PPU) as long as the instructions do not depend on each other.
Fragment units provide arithmetic and texture instructions. The former are similar to instructions for vertex blocks, while the latter, for example, can extract and decompress many types of textures (because textures can be encoded with structures and then compressed).
As with the vertex block, the fragment shader adheres to DirectX pixel model Pixel Shader 3.0 [30] , profile NV_fragment_program2 from OpenGL [31] , and profile 9 0004 fp40 from Cg [32] . All this makes programming easier and avoids learning a low-level API from the very beginning.
Finally, since units are constantly fetching parts of textures from VRAM or RAM, this block contains three caches for textures: 4 KB L1 cache for each channel, 48 KB L2 cache for video memory samples, and 96 KB L2 cache for main memory .
Note that the main memory cache is much larger than the rest. This was a conscious decision made to compensate for the higher latency.
3.3.5. Pixel Operations
Final Block Raster Operation Block (ROP) performs final tests on the received pixels before writing the results to the framebuffer (which is stored in VRAM or main RAM).
Post-processing stage
There are two sets of ROPs, four blocks each (eight blocks in total). Each group performs z-testing, alpha blending, and a final write to memory.
In general, this scheme can process up to 16 z-values and 8 pixel colors per clock.
Curiously, the PC variant of the Nvidia 7800 GTX supports 16 ROPs instead of 8. Maybe this reduction was made to prioritize the memory bandwidth consumed by the SPUs? To increase throughput, ROP also provides color compression and Z-compression.
In addition, there is tile mode to optimize memory access with the video encoder.
In this mode, the framebuffer is stored in contiguous blocks of 128 bytes, which are ordered as they will be broadcast or scanned. Because of this, the GPU gets rid of the need for paging (for memory addressing) when passing a framebuffer for display to the screen, which consequently improves throughput. These tiles are stored in places marked in memory exclusively for this type of addressing.
3.4. Single video output
Gone are the days of proprietary video connectors for consoles and dozens of analog signals packaged in a single connector to account for each region of the Earth. The PlayStation 3 finally has a single video signal that will soon be accepted worldwide: High Definition Media Interface (HDMI). It is used to transmit audio and video at the same time.
Reverse side of PS3, HDMI output on the left, old Multi A/V analog video output on the right.
HDMI connector consists of 19 pins [33] , all in one housing. It transmits a digital signal, meaning that it is broadcast using 0’s and 1’s rather than a range of values as in analog signals.
Therefore, it does not suffer from interference or image degradation, as was the case with previous equipment — for example, screen artifacts created by cheap SCART cables.
To this day, the HDMI protocol has been constantly updated. New versions of the specification offer more features (higher image resolution, faster refresh rates, alternate color spaces, and so on) while maintaining the same physical media for backwards compatibility.
Throughout the life of the PS3, Sony has added some HDMI features to new PS3 models through software updates [34] . The latest protocol compatible with the PS3 is version 1.4, primarily providing support for «3D TV». However, other features such as higher video resolution remained limited to 1920×1080 pixels (although most games displayed their framebuffer at 1280×720 pixels).
3.5. 3D effect in “real time”
What was this “3D television” I mentioned earlier?
It so happened that the life of this console coincided with a short-term fever on 3D TVs (the so-called 3DTV ) [35] .
To support them, Sony has updated its SDK to facilitate the rendering of stereoscopic frames in RSX and has implemented the “3D specification” into its HDMI encoder.
What happens behind the scenes is that the encoder is broadcasting two frames at a time, and the TV is interleaving them in a similar way to how the 3D glasses for the Master System did 30 years ago.
4. Audio
I’m afraid you won’t see much information in this section because since the last portable invention, audio has quietly shifted towards software. In other words, there are no more dedicated audio chips.
You see, while the need for better graphics tends to grow exponentially (consumers want more decorations, better detail, and different colors), you won’t hear the same level of demands on sound anymore.
I’m guessing this is because the possibilities have reached our cognitive limit (44.1kHz sample rate and 16-bit resolution). The only thing left is to implement more channels and effects, but this does not require processing power that would require the installation of special chips, at least in consumer equipment.
Sound Pipeline Brief
So audio is now completely implemented in software and processed by SPUs (I mean Synergistic Processor Unit, not Sound Processing Unit! it’s a bit ironic that both names have the same letters). Further, Sony provides many libraries in its SDK that instruct the SPUs to perform audio sequencing and mixing and streaming. And if that’s not enough, they can also apply a variety of effects.
After that, where is the audio signal sent for broadcasting? RSX chip . It also contains ports used to broadcast audio signals to the TV. Before being sent, the signal is encoded in various formats, depending on the selected output (analogue, HDMI or S/PDIF, the latter is also called “digital audio”).
Sources
Graphics and RSX:
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Jordan, Vincent, NVIDIA GPU architecture. Archived. ↩︎
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Michael Gschwind, Bruce D’Amora, Alexandre Eichenberger, Cell BE – enabling density computing for data rich environments.
IBM Corp. ↩︎ -
Microsoft, Shader model 3 (HLSL reference). ↩︎
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Mark J. Kilgard, NVIDIA OpenGL 2.0 Support. ↩︎
-
Khronos, NV_fragment_program2. ↩︎
-
Nvidia, Cg 3.1 Toolkit Documentation — fp40. ↩︎
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Nvidia, Cg 3.1 Toolkit Documentation — vp40. ↩︎
-
Marcelina Kościelnicka, nVidia Hardware Documentation. ↩︎
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HDMI® Licensing Administrator Inc, HDMI Specifications and Programs. ↩︎
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PS3 Developer Wiki Contributors, HDMI. PS3 Developer Wiki. ↩︎
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Wikipedia contributors, HDMI. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.. ↩︎
-
Playstation.Blog, NEW 3D Display and PS3 Accessories Debut at E3. ↩︎
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PS3 Developer Wiki Contributors, RSX. PS3 Developer Wiki. ↩︎
Overview of the PlayStation 3 Slim Only in the first week of sales in the US and Europe, the number of copies sold exceeded 500,000 units (this despite the fact that the cost of the console was reduced from the estimated $600 to $299 — 29,980 yen in Japan and 299 euros in Europe).
It should be noted that in addition to promoting its new product, Sony has also taken steps to eliminate the remnants of the «thick» Playstation 3 in the warehouses of dealers: the recommended price of the existing version of the PlayStation 3 with 80GB HDD has been reduced to 29$9 from August 18 in the US and up to €299 from August 19 in Europe. In addition, as of August 18, the MSRP for a PS3 equipped with a 160GB HDD is $399 in North America.
Sony PlayStation 3 Slim
What has changed in the PlayStation 3 Slim besides the case thickness? Unfortunately, it was not possible to get a copy of the new console «for parsing». The Sony dealer sternly said that «any serious scratch on the case or damage to the warranty sticker will mean that we bought the PS3 Slim, and at a non-cash basis for the organization and at extremely unfavorable conditions.» More successful in this regard were colleagues from 3Dnews, who managed to dissect the PS3 Slim. And post a photo report
Compare Sony PlayStation 3 and Sony PS3 Slim motherboard.
Photo: 3DNews.ru
As you can see in the photo, in order to pack the PS3 Slim stuffing into a new thin and light case, Sony engineers had to seriously rework the console’s circuitry. The result of this undoubtedly long and painstaking work was to reduce the weight and thickness of the PS3 Slim by about 2/3 compared to its «thick» predecessor.
PlayStation 3 Slim (CECH-2000) «slim» compared to PLAYSTATION 3 (CECHHL00) almost half
In addition, Sony designers have equipped the PS3 Slim with a more compact and less energy-intensive power supply (now Sony’s flagship set-top box consumes about 250 watts), and also significantly redesigned the console’s cooling system. Changes in the latter mainly affected the design of the air outlet casing, the design of the radiator and the blown fan — the diameter of the latter increased to 95 mm, and the number of impellers increased to 17 pieces. The fan speed has also been reduced, which, coupled with the reduced power consumption of the Sony PS3 Slim component, has resulted in a significant reduction in low- and mid-frequency noise in the console’s operation.
The only thing the designers can be reproached with is the use of a 120 GB Toshiba hard drive, which emits a fairly well-distinguished high-frequency whistle during operation. Which, however, is practically indistinguishable by ear at the set volume of the speakers of the stereo system (or TV) in the region of -40 dB and above.
Sony equipped the PlayStation 3 Slim with a fairly loud Toshiba HDD. Photo: 3DNews.ru
The changes also affected the functional component of the console. As in the PS3, the Sony PS3 Slim motherboard has two chips — an 8-core Cell (jointly developed by Sony, Toshiba and IBM) and RSX from nVidia. Initially, Cell is able to process graphics, and it does it more than well — one of the 8 cores is dedicated specifically for graphic operations, one for the operation of the operating system, another core is responsible for sound, the remaining five are for other operations. Game developers have direct access to these five cores of the Cell processor.
In PS3Slim, the Cell graphics core was blocked, and all the burden of graphics processing fell on the nVidia RSX (Reality Synthesizer or «Reality Synthesizer»). The main reason for this GPU in PS3 and PS3 Slim is RSX’s ability to support resolutions up to 1920 x 1080p (Full HD), while the Cell graphics core is capable of producing a picture in «standard» NTSC/PAL (480i/575i) interlaced scanning modes. Accordingly, due to the presence of two processors on the board (recall that Cell is based on the PPE architecture — PowerPC Power Processing Element), the total amount of PS3 Slim memory (512MB) is divided in half — 256MB of XDR memory is allocated for the needs of Cell, and 256MB of DDR3 memory is allocated for the needs of the nVidia RSX.
nVidia RSX and Sony/IBM Cell on Sony PS3 Slim 9 board0006 . Photo: 3DNews.ru
By the way, the hardware blocking of the graphics core in the Cell processor on the Sony PS3 Slim indirectly confirms that the company is aiming to release completely new content for the game console, and therefore the long-awaited dream of PS3 Slim backward compatibility with games for The Sony PlayStation 2 never came true.
This is where the main changes in the stuffing of the Sony PS3 Slim actually end. All other changes relate solely to the exterior and marketing positioning of the console. So, the Sony PS3 logo has undergone a modification (changed the style of writing, size) and changed its placement on the case. “Tons of piano lacquer” was removed from the body itself, replacing the PS3’s shiny and fingerprint-resistant lacquer surface with a matte textured surface, equipped with only glossy plastic elements.
The Sony PlayStation3 Slim now has a new finish and logo.
The obsessive touchpad on the front of the Sony PS3 Slim has been ditched, Power and Eject are now two large, round, well-spaced buttons. In other words, the designers did their best, and the new, «stylish and compact PS3 Slim is sure to appeal to a wide audience of people who want to buy the best gaming console for themselves,» according to Sony in a press release on the occasion of the console’s launch.
By the way, while the PS3 brand name used to be spelled PLAYSTATION 3, Sony has now officially changed the spelling to PlayStation 3. As stated in a Sony press release, «Together with the PlayStation®2 and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) , united by the PlayStation family, the new PS3 model will help expand the PlayStation business and provide users with even more options with the PlayStation®Network service.» In other words, for some reason, Sony marketers needed to increase the awareness of already recognizable brands.
Sony is also pushing the promotion of downloadable content and services from its own PlayStation Network. According to a press release, it is precisely for the convenience of working with this network, the number of accounts in which worldwide exceeds 27,000,000 units (by the way, the amount of content is just a little over 15,000 units. As one of the testers with Ferralabs aptly put it, “good welcome to the faceless herd, my friend»), the capacity of the PlayStation 3 Slim hard drive has been increased in the base to 120GB, and the user has added the ability to replace the disk with 160GB by the user without losing the warranty.
The main download content offered through the PlayStation Store — games, trailers, demos, movies and TV shows, a social network — is intended to replace the PlayStation Home service, a «revolutionary 3D community for gamers where PS3 users can connect and share their experiences with games», and the functions of the news service must be handled by the Life with PlayStation service.
In addition, new projects from SCE Worldwide Studios, including Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, EyePet, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, Heavy Rain, God of War 3, MAG, ModNation Racer, Gran Turismo 5 and more will be released with initial code optimization specifically for PS3 Slim. So far, the console with games optimized for it is having a hard time — loading the system and content from DVD on the PlayStation3 Slim is slower than the original PlayStation 3.
PS3 Slim and PS3 80Gb operating system download