Hardware Specifications
Thus dids't the Playstation come forth from the dark alleys of Tokyo... This
is one serious gaming machine. SNES, Megadrive, 32X, Jaguar and 3DO all pale
besides this monster. The PSX has 5 processors running concurrently, similar
to the Atari Jaguar. Then main processor is the powerful LSI R3000A 32 bit
RISC processor, running at 33.8 Mhz. In addition to it, there is a 66 MIPS
High-speed Matrix Processor for calculating 3D polygons, there is a graphics
processor for displaying sprites (2D) at 60 frames a second, a sound
processor for doing CD quality sound and a 80 MIPS Data Expansion Engine
for decompressing graphics and sound data from the CD-ROM.
What does it all mean? Well, this machine is built for 3D! And since that
is where the games are going, we're all set. (In all fairness it should be
mentioned that the Sega Saturn is on par with, if not better than, the PSX
on 2D scrolling games, note 2D only. However, this is not a problem since
these machines are lightyears ahead of the competition anyways!)
CPU
· R3000A 32bit RISC chip @ 33.8mhz - Manufactured by LSI Logic Corp.
· Clearing capacity: 30 MIPS
· Bus bandwidth: 132 Mb/sec
As stated above, a very kuel CPU, slamming the 68000 in the Jaguar and the
ARM 60 in the 3DO, even the Hitachis in the Saturn! A high bus bandwith is
important when using lots of colors in fast moving animations! (Like
Tohshinden)
3D Geometry Engine
· High speed matrix calculator
· Clearing capacity: 66 MIPS
· 1.5 million flat-shaded polygons/sec
· 500,000 texture-mapped and light-sourced polygons/sec
Ahhh, the key to the ultimate 3D performance. Note, however that the above
specs are rather optimistic. There is a slight difference between displaying
random polygons on screen and calculating whether or not a polygon will be
visible or not as the arm is lifted in defense, then shown according to the
position it is in. Toshinden achieves 80.000 of the latter polygons, a very
impressive number for such an early game. Expect this to increase as the
programmers really get to know the hardware. Luckily the Playstation
development setup is hailed as being among the best in the industry.
Data Engine (MDEC)
· Clearing capacity: 80 MIPS
· CPU, direct bus connection
· Also compatible with JPEG, MPEG1, H.261 files
A very important player. It even helps cutting down load time, since the
data can be loaded from the CD in compressed form, then uncompressed on the
fly by this baby! Note the support for industry formats, not just
proprietary.
Sound
· ADPCM, 24 channels
· Sampling frequency: 44.1 Khz
CD quality sound! What more could you ask for... Well, since you ask, it
would have been nice if it had a little bit better sound support. By all
means, it is great for using sound of the CD, but more or less incapable
of producing sound on its own. Oh well, you won't notice it!
Graphics
· 16.7 million colors
· Resolution: 256x224 - 740x480
· Sprite/BG drawing
· Adjustable frame buffer
· No line restriction
· Unlimited CLUTs (Color Look-Up Tables)
· 4,000 8x8 pixel sprites with individual scaling and rotation
· Simultaneous backgrounds (Parallax scrolling)
· 360,000 polygons/sec
Why do people question these specs? OK, so the Saturn might be a bit
better on 2D, but read the specs again. Parodius has some slowdown, NOT
because of lacking hardware, but due to programmers not used to the system
. Raiden has less slowdown, i.e. more experienced programmers. So in
6-9 months we should see no more slowdowns in 2D scrolling games. Relax,
the hardware CAN handle it!
Memory
· Main RAM: 2 Megabytes
· VRAM: 1 Megabyte
· Sound RAM: 512 K
· CD-ROM buffer: 256K
· Operating System ROM: 512K
· RAM cards for data save: 128K EEprom
Hey, it's more RAM than any others console out there! Stuff can be stored
in RAM in compressed form, then uncompressed on the fly in game. So don't
expect that this will limit its performance. (You just can't compare how
much RAM the PSX has vs. a PC. It is a totally different concept!)
CD-ROM
· Double speed
· XA compliant
It's faster than any of ther other CD systems out there! And they sometimes
even let you play games while you are waiting. (We're talking 6-7
seconds.....)
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