XDR on Schedule for Mid-2005 (PS3 Memory Usage)

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Earlier this week, the Rambus Developer Forum was held in Japan. During the conference, SCE detailed some information about memory usage in the PS3.

First, it was stated that XDR DRAM production is still on schedule to begin mid-2005, which further confirms the previously announced production date. The three producers of XDR; Toshiba, Elpida, and Samsung, will all initiate production at that time. If all other components of the PS3 begin production at, or around the same time, final production runs of the PS3 could also start soon after.

Second, Sony announced that the amount of XDR DRAM to be placed in the PS3 has been cut in half, from the previously announced 512Mbit to 256Mbit. This could mean one of many possible scenarios. The first scenario is that system memory has simply been slashed in half. Another possible scenario is that memory speed has been doubled from 25.6 GB/sec to 51.2 GB/sec. A third possibility is that on-chip memory has been increased. Until more details are released about PS3 specifications, it is impossible to know which scenario, or possible other scenario, has been fulfilled.

It was also mentioned in the article that a goal of the PS3 will be to render currently pre-rendered material in real time. It was not mentioned as to what material this would include. Sony did mention how current CG movies are rendered with computers prior to playing them, so that they are not interactive with the gamer. The goal of making such movies interactive, rendered by the PS3 in real-time, is something they are confident in achieving with the PS3.

Info From: PC Watch Article

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You should read the article from the link. There\'s hella more info on the page...with pics and ev-urr-ee-ting...

EDIT: The page was translated by the Babel Fish Translator...so the grammar is horrible...sorry...

It was also mentioned in the article that a goal of the PS3 will be to render currently pre-rendered material in real time. It was not mentioned as to what material this would include. Sony did mention how current CG movies are rendered with computers prior to playing them, so that they are not interactive with the gamer. The goal of making such movies interactive, rendered by the PS3 in real-time, is something they are confident in achieving with the PS3.

heh.That sounds like what the PS2 was supposed to be back in march 1998 although I believe this time they are going to achieve close results

256Mbit == 32MB
512Mbit == 64MB

(just for the record)

Seven:Arent both small in size?Not that I know much about hardware.What are your conclusions?

^^ really hard to tell. As of yet, it\'s still unclear if them cutting the unit sizes by half means a decrease in memory or an increase in bandwidth!

Personally, it quite depends on how CELL or in more detail the broadband engine is set up, i.e. how many processing units (PUs) and attached processing units (APUs) it will contain. It will also depend on the throughout put. I am hoping that what ever these chances incure that the system as a whole would be balanced for maximum performance.

My take on the subject is that their actually going for increased bandwidth, but can\'t really rule out the possibilty of memory being cut. With recent announcement of PS3 being playable at E3, I can\'t help to ask myself if memory being cut in half as something to do with their early public showing (instead of the expected 2006/07 timeframe).

Time will show.

btw; interesting read and other impressions / opinions on the subject @ beyond3d:

http://www.beyond3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13812&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0