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Sony's PS3 Slim Carries Updated Cell Chip


Karooo

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The PlayStation 3 Slim gaming console from Sony Computer Entertainment is not only smaller and cheaper, but adds hardware enhancements that make it speedier, including a new Cell microprocessor.

 

The gaming console, introduced on Tuesday, is a slimmer and lighter version of older PS3 consoles. It carries a 120GB hard drive, which is an upgrade from the 80GB of storage offered in the earlier PS3. The console will sell for US$299 and become available on September 1. (See "PS3 Slim vs. Xbox 360 Price Fight")

 

Sony has made some enhancements under the hood to boost its processing speed and power efficiency. The gaming console will carry an upgraded version of the Cell microprocessor, which is being jointly developed by IBM, Sony, and Toshiba.

 

The new chip has been manufactured using an advanced 45-nanometer manufacturing process, an IBM spokesman said. Based on IBM's Power architecture, the chip delivers many performance improvements while drawing less power than earlier chips, IBM has said. The earlier console carried a Cell processor manufactured using the 65-nm process. IBM declined to provide the clock speed of the new Cell processor.

 

 

 

Chip production enhancements for the Cell could deliver some cost benefits to users, said Jon Peddie, president of Jon Peddie Research. The chips will become more power efficient and users may see some energy savings, Peddie said. Smaller chips also cost less to produce, which may have contributed to the lower console price, Peddie said. That could also set the stage for further price drops in the future.

 

On launch, a Sony executive said the advanced manufacturing process was a factor in driving the console's price down.

 

"We're extremely pleased that we've been able to meet production efficiencies that have allowed us pass those savings on to customers," said President and CEO Jack Tretton, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, in a video on the official PlayStation Web site.

 

The console carries a graphics processing unit made by Nvidia, though details about the chip were not immediately available. Nvidia officials declined comment, and Sony officials did not return calls seeking comment.

 

Earlier consoles carried the RSX GPU developed jointly by Nvidia and Sony. Peddie said that the graphics core in the PS3 Slim has to be identical or similar to the RSX GPUs, otherwise existing games for the PS3 won't run on the new console.

 

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there is actually nothing can be done...as days go by there will be newer technologies and older technologies will get cheaper....so after couple of months the $299 will again reduce with improved technologies as well....

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Sony is being really dumb by introducing all these changes in cell processor and screwing with the people who bought the console first. I can understand a slim version but why introduce these changes :

 

PS3 Slim bitsreams Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA audio, at last

 

Slowly, ever so slowly we're beginning to learn about the internal differences between Sony's new PS3 Slim and its chubby ancestry. We already knew that it supported BraviaLink while talk of "faster gaming" was introduced (suspiciously) yesterday; something that remains very much in doubt until we can confirm. Now we hear that the fatboy gone slim will bitstream Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio direct to your receiver. Hear that audio nerds? Bitstream. See the HDMI chip on previous generations of the PS3 couldn't bitstream the new(ish) high def codecs like Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA. As such, the PS3 had to decode it internally before sending it over to your receiver via LPCM. A process that could garble the lossless audio depending on your setup. Even though the vast majority of people will never notice the difference (or even care), PS3 Slim owners can still kick back in smug satisfaction each time the TrueHD or DTS-HD MA indicators light-up on their receivers.

 

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oh sh*t ! I had almost made up my mind to buy the phat cousin, now I'll have to settle for the slim ugly one 1-2 months down the line I guess :P

 

 

 

:) btw, does all this make any difference to the normal/casual user ?

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oh sh*t ! I had almost made up my mind to buy the phat cousin, now I'll have to settle for the slim ugly one 1-2 months down the line I guess :P

:) btw, does all this make any difference to the normal/casual user ?

i dont think so......

 

wont matter to over 85% off popoulation...

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oh sh*t ! I had almost made up my mind to buy the phat cousin, now I'll have to settle for the slim ugly one 1-2 months down the line I guess :P

:) btw, does all this make any difference to the normal/casual user ?

 

That bitstream ability ain't gonna make a huge difference at all. Even that post says "depending on your setup it might garble the audio" if it was internally decoded. Unless you're some audiophile nut who buys only speakers that cost more than cars, I doubt you're gonna hear the difference. And even if it was a faster chip, you'd probably have 2 or 3 seconds of improvement in load times or so. Frankly for that, I wouldn't bother much with waiting for a new slim model that looks fugly and needs a kickstand at extra cost and won't come with free games.

 

Moreover no one's tested these consoles for reliability. Who knows when or how many times it will fail. Unlike the well-documented failure rate of the existing fat ones.

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oh sh*t ! I had almost made up my mind to buy the phat cousin, now I'll have to settle for the slim ugly one 1-2 months down the line I guess :(

:P btw, does all this make any difference to the normal/casual user ?

 

get the fat one.. maybe ps3 slim will bring a new hardware prob with it.. who knows..

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Pick the Slim one, no point going with the fat now that the production has been discontinued and the old one still suffers from YlOD and BR dying although these cases have not been found in the 80GB Ps3's plus its a pain having the glossy PS3 since its a dust magnet and gets scratched pretty easily also don't worry about the Slim one having problems since its gonna be covered under warranty anyway.

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^^ I agree with the slim one being covered under warranty Avenger, but that would be true of a phat that you'd buy now too. Besides the 80gb and 160gb ones don't have many problems like the previous iterations. With the new ones you're really stepping into the unknown.

 

And I really don't get the argument about the glossy one getting scratched easily and being a dust magnet. Yes, it does get scratched. But it'll look quite good as long as you clean it regularly and leave it covered properly when not in use. The phat PS3 has a bit of class to its looks, unlike the Slim which really reminds me of a PS2 Slim.

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