Nintendo Revolution Specs: "UPDATE"

[Nacster]

Here is some interesting gossip I came across on the Nintendo Revolution :cheesygri :

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=8658

[wanted]

According to the site, the console will boast four 2.5Ghz IBM G5 Custom cores, with 128KB of level 1 cache and a 512KB shared level 2 cache, while the graphics will be powered by a dual core ATI RN520 chipset, with 16MB of on-board eDRAM for the frame buffer.


That's nice....I don't expect much at E3 then, looks Xbox is going to run it.
Ya, the avatar's going to go soon :cheesygri

[DVST8]

YAY NEW Mario Kart, and New Mario Parties!!! WOO HOO!

[felix]

mid-2006? Wouldn't Xbox 2 and PS3 be released by then? Will they be behind the rest of the pack again? I hope not. >:(

[poppa]

mid-2006? Wouldn't Xbox 2 and PS3 be released by then? Will they be behind the rest of the pack again? I hope not. >:(

Yup, I thought they were aiming to launch earlier than the two or just one of the consoles. They probably will make up some lame excuse like "we didn't want people to steal our ideas so we'll launch late" when the real reason is for their late deployment of development kits or they just fell behind somewhere.

[thedon]

wow, i can't imagine any of these new consoles being that cheap.

[Dirty Sanchez]

Impressive specs, maybe nintendo will steal MS and Sony's thunder this time, instead of the other way around.

[Headhunter]

Quad 2.5Ghz processors? Could heat a floor in my house with that... :cheesygri

mid-2006? Wouldn't Xbox 2 and PS3 be released by then? Will they be behind the rest of the pack again? I hope not. >:(
X-Box 360 is out first (late this year), no way to get around that. I don't see PS3 being out until holiday season 2006...

[jb22]

I've said this many times but IBM is really cashing in with all 3 of the next gen consoles using their CPUs.

[nfnx]

so how does this compare to xbox2?
i missed the specs on the two.. can someone give a direct comparison?

[thedon]

360 Hardware:
1. Support for DVD-video, DVD-Rom, DVD-R/RW, CD-DA, CD-Rom, CD-R, CD-RW, WMA CD, MP3 cd, JPEG photo CD
2. All games supported at 16:9, 720p and 1080i, anti-aliasing
3. Customizable face plates to change appearance
4. 3 USB 2.0 ports
5. Support for 4 wireless controllers
6. Detachable 20GB drive
7. Wi-Fi ready

Custom IBM PowerPC-based CPU
- 3 symmetrical cores at 3.2 GHz each
- 2 hardware threads per core
- 1 VMX-128 vector unit per core
- 1 MB L2 cache

CPU Game Math Performance
- 9 billion dots per second

Custom ATI Graphics Processor
- 500 MNz
- 10 MB embedded DRAM
- 48-way parallel floating-point shader pipelines
- unified shader architecture

Memory
-512 MB GDDR3 RAM
- 700 MNz DDR

Memory Bandwidth
- 22.4 GB/s memory interface bus bandwidth
- 256 GB/s memory bandwidth to EDRAM
- 21.6 GB/s frontside bus

Audio
- Mulitchannel surround sond output
- Supports 48khz 16-bit audio
- 320 independent decompression channels
- 32 bit processing
- 256+ audio channels

i think its gotten to a point where there will be very minor differences between all the systems.

these systems seem awfully close to high end macs, and considering they go for close to $4000, these consoles are gonna be a steal at whatever price they set it at

[Nacster]

I came across an interesting article in regards to a possible leak on the Nintendo Revolution Specs..True or not..I thought it was an interesting read..I couldn't Post the link properly from the website so I pasted the article below:

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/news/news.story.php?id=120341


REVOLUTION SPECS SPIN THE SPECULATION WHEEL

'Nintendo programmer' allegedly leaks tech specs for the Big N's next-gen machine

15:30 Now that Microsoft and Sony have spoilt our fun by announcing the technical specs for the Xbox 360 and Sony PS3 we can only chase leads on what's inside Nintendo's Revolution - even though we've barely seen anything of the machine other than a box.
And a post on blogsite Nintendo Centrium has led us to a set of extremely interesting Revolution specs that are a long way from being official, but have certainly got our pulses racing.

The post, reportedly stemming from a programmer contracted by Nintendo to work on a DS game, claims that the Revolution will feature 2 G5 1.8GHz CPUS (a total of 3.6GHz), a 600MHz GPU and an embedded 16-BIT 7.1 Digital sound chip. It's also claimed that Revolution disks will be 6 GB High definition dual-layer disks manufactured by Panasonic. We've printed the alleged info in full below.

Unsurprisingly, Nintendo is unwilling to comment on the rumours and offered us the usual "rumour and speculation" line. So for the moment we should reiterate that these specs are totally unofficial and 100% hearsay.
But if they do get close to the final set-up of the Revolution, how do they compare to Sony and Microsoft's next-gen consoles?

Xbox 360 will have 3 IBM PowerPC-based cores running at 3.2 GHz, a 500MHz custom GPU from ATI, and is likely to use HD-DVD disks capable of holding anything up to 100 GB of data.

And Sony's PS3 will bust out a 3.2GHz PowerPC-base Core and bolstered by Sony's own Cell processor (said to push 'supercomputer' power), a 550MHz GPU especially developed by nVidia, and will use Sony's own Blu-Ray disks capable of storing 54GB of data.

Draw the battle lines in the forums below, and we'll bring you the latest word on the Nintendo Revolutions as we get them.

Speculative Nintendo Revolution Specifications:

2 G5 1.8GHZ CPUS

512K L2 Cache

1200 MHZ Front Side BUS

600MHz GPU with 12MB embedded 1T SRAM

128MB 1T SRAM MAIN MEMORY 600 MHz (L3 Cache to CPU and GPU)

256MB 400MHZ NEC design embedded DRAM

Embedded 16-BIT HD 7.1 Digital sound chip

Dedicated sound bandwidth will not affect CPU

6GB HD Dual Layer Panasonic Discs

3:1 balance between CPU and RAM

1:1 balance between GPU and RAM

[Headhunter]

^ Those specs sound credible to me, though Nintendo has never been big on horsepower. The GameCube is viewed as the least powerful of the current generation, yet the PS2's graphics are usually the worst between the 3 consoles.

[Fantaz]

Probably just another round of fake specs. Nintendo is good at keeping secrets and wouldn't leak something like that. Also I heard the graphics chip ATi developed for them is much more advanced than what they did with Xbox 360.

[sfu_lifer]

^ Those specs sound credible to me, though Nintendo has never been big on horsepower. The GameCube is viewed as the least powerful of the current generation, yet the PS2's graphics are usually the worst between the 3 consoles.
They're very conservative with their horsepower estimates (Sony and MS are quite full of crap when it comes to bragging rights).
The PS2 is the weakest hardware-wise out of all 3 according to the folks I've met who actually worked on the current gen hardware.

[jerryhussain]

Probably just another round of fake specs. Nintendo is good at keeping secrets and wouldn't leak something like that. Also I heard the graphics chip ATi developed for them is much more advanced than what they did with Xbox 360.
I'll join the fake camp as well. They could never fit in quad core processor plus an ATI chip running at 600MHz in that small package.

[Headhunter]

They're very conservative with their horsepower estimates (Sony and MS are quite full of crap when it comes to bragging rights).
The PS2 is the weakest hardware-wise out of all 3 according to the folks I've met who actually worked on the current gen hardware.
Really? Hmm...maybe it's because Sony's API is supposed to be far more complex/archaic, as opposed to an actual lack of hardware capability.

Being a lousy programmer and having never worked on a console, I don't actually know...

[sfu_lifer]

Really? Hmm...maybe it's because Sony's API is supposed to be far more complex/archaic, as opposed to an actual lack of hardware capability.

Being a lousy programmer and having never worked on a console, I don't actually know...
No, it's because the Gamecube came out a year later with more advanced hardware :). The PS2 GPU is a joke among developers. That and the poor memory architecture. They're squeezing as much as they can out of it right now (at least the good ones are like Polyphony). You just bought into all the supercomputer hype ;)

[jerryhussain]

No HD On Revolution (http://gc.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=5198)

Bye bye Revolution ! :cheesygri

[sfu_lifer]

No HD On Revolution (http://gc.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=5198)

Bye bye Revolution ! :cheesygri
Wow. They're really going low-budget. HD won't drive me away but the way they're speaking so far (esp Kaplan), it doesn't sound very good. I agree you don't need HD to make good looking games but to make great looking titles, you need all the resolution that you can get.

[Headhunter]

No, it's because the Gamecube came out a year later with more advanced hardware :). The PS2 GPU is a joke among developers. That and the poor memory architecture. They're squeezing as much as they can out of it right now (at least the good ones are like Polyphony). You just bought into all the supercomputer hype ;)
I knew that the architecture for programmers was hell, but I always thought it was because of poor design instead of low power. Now I know, and knowing is half the battle! :cheesygri

No HD On Revolution (http://gc.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=5198)
Oh my God, what?? I would have intentionally purchased all multi-console games for the Revolution to support Nintendo, but not if it looks significantly worse. Not supporting HD is insane; it would be better to throw out GC compatibility and DVD playback for it.

Bad, bad move. This will drop my Nintendo purchasing in the next generation at least 75%.

[guest10586]

With Nintendo you will have to buy the DS to use multiplay just like zelda... Nintendo is the king of peripheals.

4 2.5 GHz PowerPC processors? In that little box? Probably not.

Nintendo is a step behind, it would surprise me if they jump ahead for once, they seem to be content in being second.

[Headhunter]

4 2.5 GHz PowerPC processors? In that little box? Probably not.
Although I highly doubt this is the case, it is possible to put multiple cores on the same die.

Nintendo is a step behind, it would surprise me if they jump ahead for once, they seem to be content in being second.
If you group together all worldwide sales, I think Nintendo is barely first thanks to the continually huge sales of GBA. PSP sales are a lot weaker than expected, and Microsoft has no handheld to speak of...

[jerryhussain]

If you group together all worldwide sales, I think Nintendo is barely first thanks to the continually huge sales of GBA. PSP sales are a lot weaker than expected, and Microsoft has no handheld to speak of...
I think he was talking of the worldwide console marketshare:

COMPANY - # of Units Sold

Sony - 90,000,000
Microsoft - 21,000,000
Nintendo - 19,000,000

[mark_in_2k]

Link (http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000940046619/)

Seems like Nintendo don't like to embrace technology too much. No HD support could be ano ther nail in the coffin for these guys.

However, the rumoured specs of the console (http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000100046549/) seem to put it in a similar league to the X360.

[Jump]

HDs don't make a console but how does Nintendo expect to have backwards compatibility and have players be able to download games onto the system to play if there's no hard drive? Memory cards don't exactly have the fastest access rate either.

[Headhunter]

HDs don't make a console but how does Nintendo expect to have backwards compatibility and have players be able to download games onto the system to play if there's no hard drive? Memory cards don't exactly have the fastest access rate either.
I think they will require users to separately purchase a flash memory card...

[sleepyguy]

wow... if no HD is true... Revolution is outta the game (and my wallet). Hope they support EDTV at least like the GC.

[Headhunter]

wow... if no HD is true... Revolution is outta the game (and my wallet). Hope they support EDTV at least like the GC.
Yeah, I don't see Nintendo dumping an existing feature...at least, I hope.

[soulflare]

I don't see Nintendo dumping an existing feature...

Haha... I don't know, they may have their console generations confused and are working on something to segway nicely between the N64 and Gamecube. CD-ROMs anyone? :lol:

[Headhunter]

Haha... I don't know, they may have their console generations confused and are working on something to segway nicely between the N64 and Gamecube. CD-ROMs anyone? :lol:
I'd love to get my hands on those newfangled CEE DEE devices!

[elty]

4 x G5 2.5 gotta be a joke... that thing will sell for like $3000 and can replace ur heater.

spec wise it is not that impressive, but than, I think it is going to be "good enough".

[JayPatel]

Yeah, I don't see Nintendo dumping an existing feature...at least, I hope.

didnt they drop the optical out feature in the existing Cube after manufacturing ones with it from the start? Pretty sure I read that. nintendo needs to think about this decision.

[rapshmunkee]

didnt they drop the optical out feature in the existing Cube after manufacturing ones with it from the start? Pretty sure I read that. nintendo needs to think about this decision.Yeah, they did it to cut their costs. I think they claimed that hardly anybody was taking advantage of it... but for some reason I don't think it seemed to dawn on Nintendo that since they don't actually sell their component cables in retail stores it's not exactly trivial for the average gamer to get their hands on a digital out cable in order to take advanatage of games in progressive scan. Personally, I had to buy my modified VGA cable from a shop based in Hong Kong and my component cable direct from Nintendo's online store. Both put me back a fair penny too.

EDIT: Oh, you said optical out... did you mean for audio? Like before they released the console? My comment stemmed from Nintendo removing the digital video out from their more recent console revisions, which means you can't play games in progressive scan anymore. However if you contact Nintendo they'll send you a refurb I think that does have the digital out, just fyi.

[JayPatel]

my bad, i mean component out.

Yeah, they did it to cut their costs. I think they claimed that hardly anybody was taking advantage of it... but for some reason I don't think it seemed to dawn on Nintendo that since they don't actually sell their component cables in retail stores it's not exactly trivial for the average gamer to get their hands on a digital out cable in order to take advanatage of games in progressive scan. Personally, I had to buy my modified VGA cable from a shop based in Hong Kong and my component cable direct from Nintendo's online store. Both put me back a fair penny too.

EDIT: Oh, you said optical out... did you mean for audio? Like before they released the console? My comment stemmed from Nintendo removing the digital video out from their more recent console revisions, which means you can't play games in progressive scan anymore. However if you contact Nintendo they'll send you a refurb I think that does have the digital out, just fyi.

[Headhunter]

didnt they drop the optical out feature in the existing Cube after manufacturing ones with it from the start? Pretty sure I read that. nintendo needs to think about this decision.
Fair enough, dropping component was one aspect. I understand their view; I got a component on mine, but no component device to hook it up to...