Sony has confirmed that the new 40GB version of the PlayStation 3, which debuted in Europe last month, will feature a 90nm Cell processor after last week’s rumours suggested that the new model might use a 65nm Cell.
The rumour mill started to simmer when Sony’s Chief Financial Officer, Nobuyuki Oneda said in a conference call earlier this year that both the Cell processor and the RSX graphics processor would be re-spun on a 65nm process at some point. He also said that the Cell processor would be the first to make the transition.
They then reached boiling point last week when German site Computer Base reported that the new machine had much lower power consumption, and then directly attributed this to new revisions of the Cell and RSX chips manufactured on a 65nm process.
Despite the rumours about the CPU and GPU inside the PS3 using a 65nm process being false, the new PS3 model does significantly reduce power consumption compared to other models. The number is reportedly as high as 32.5 percent, and this power saving is reportedly because Sony has used different components in the newer model.
The 65nm Cell processor was seen by some as one of the few benefits that the new model had, as it lacks backwards compatibility, reduces the number of USB ports, has a smaller hard drive and completely removes the flash memory card slots in order to meet the €400 price point.
Sony told Heise that the 65nm Cell processor will be coming to the newly manufactured PS3s in the coming months, but didn’t detail exactly when this transition was likely to be made.
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The rumour mill started to simmer when Sony’s Chief Financial Officer, Nobuyuki Oneda said in a conference call earlier this year that both the Cell processor and the RSX graphics processor would be re-spun on a 65nm process at some point. He also said that the Cell processor would be the first to make the transition.
They then reached boiling point last week when German site Computer Base reported that the new machine had much lower power consumption, and then directly attributed this to new revisions of the Cell and RSX chips manufactured on a 65nm process.
Despite the rumours about the CPU and GPU inside the PS3 using a 65nm process being false, the new PS3 model does significantly reduce power consumption compared to other models. The number is reportedly as high as 32.5 percent, and this power saving is reportedly because Sony has used different components in the newer model.
The 65nm Cell processor was seen by some as one of the few benefits that the new model had, as it lacks backwards compatibility, reduces the number of USB ports, has a smaller hard drive and completely removes the flash memory card slots in order to meet the €400 price point.
Sony told Heise that the 65nm Cell processor will be coming to the newly manufactured PS3s in the coming months, but didn’t detail exactly when this transition was likely to be made.
Discuss in the forums
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