Sony\'s Graphic Synthesizer won an award over AMD, Intel 4

PS2\'s Graphics Synthesizer Wins Award

Semiconductor Insights awards Sony\'s processor over the Pentium 4, AMD Athlon, and GeForce 2.

April 11, 2001

Semiconductor Insights announced today that it has awarded Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) with an INSIGHT Award for the Most Innovative Computing Semiconductor Product of the Year for the Sony Graphics Synthesizer from the PlayStation 2.
"System-on-a-Chip (SoC) design has been a buzzword in the semiconductor industry for the past 5 years. Sony has developed a chip that exemplifies the philosophy of SoC as it not only integrates many functions on-chip but also integrates different technologies," said Derek Nuhn, Chief Operating Officer of Semiconductor Insights. "The extreme performance of the resulting chip is phenomenal."

"This is the first year Semiconductor Insights has given out the INSIGHT Awards and we plan to make it an annual tradition," Nuhn said. "Semiconductor Insights performs competitive technical intelligence on devices in every technology area each year putting us in the unique position of analyzing the true technical merits of leading edge semiconductor products."

The Sony Graphics Synthesizer is used in the PlayStation 2 and can handle 20 times the simultaneous data of some PC graphics accelerators and can render 75 million polygons per second. The device is implemented in a sophisticated DRAM process with high performance logic in a single die.

"PC technology has generally led the advancement of process geometries in semiconductors," a senior analyst indicated. "Sony\'s Graphics Synthesizer has a logic core with embedded DRAM. The embedded DRAM uses sophisticated sense amplifiers that contain an SRAM latch and two read data buses. This combination of DRAM and SRAM is intended to improve the speed of the video memory for better drawing performance."

Semiconductor Insights\' analysts also discovered that although Sony\'s Graphics Synthesizer was likely implemented in a 0.18 micron process, transistor sizes were found to be as small as 0.1 microns. Sony uses a process approach that results in near-perfect alignment of the transistors and capacitor contacts. The Sony Graphics Synthesizer was chosen amongst other innovative products nominated by Semiconductor Insights\' analysts, including such devices as the Intel Pentium 4 Processor, the AMD Athlon Processor and the nVIDIA Geforce2 Graphics Processor. These runner-up devices also represent true innovations:

Intel Pentium 4 Processor -- This device is developed on Intel\'s 0.18 micron process and has transistor gates as small as 0.1 microns. Intel uses a "notched" gate to achieve the smaller transistors that also results in other benefits in the process. The version investigated by Semiconductor Insights runs at 1.5 GHz -- over twice as fast as the Pentium III examined in early 2000. Intel is using low-k dielectric in their higher speed processors to reduce capacitance between metal lines and allow for faster operation. Most other manufacturers currently use copper for high speed operation.

AMD Athlon Processor -- AMD is implementing their 1GHz and higher processors in both aluminum and copper probably to verify and test their copper process. Semiconductor Insights has analyzed the copper version of the Athlon. Like the Intel Pentium 4 Processor, AMD has transistor gates as small as 0.1 micron. NVIDIA Geforce2 Graphics Processor -- nVIDIA is a fabless company that uses TSMC as its foundry for manufacturing integrated circuits. Developed on a 0.18 micron process, the Geforce2 has more functionality that previous generations, including transform and lighting functions, leading to faster process speeds, dynamic per pixel shading and videoprocessing that, in conjunction with a receiver, allows for computers to view HDTV signals.

Semiconductor Insights congratulates Sony Computer Entertainment and their design team for demonstrating innovation and implementing a design that advances the development of semiconductor technology. Other Insight awards will be announced in the near future.

here is the site:
http://ps2.ign.com/news/33345.html

Yahoo!!!  I though the PS3 will have a AMD chip?

lol they didn\'t compare it to the geforce 3.
I now why.this is a bunch of pr bs. good job sony pr.they are the best.

Its comparing for 2000. geforce 3 wasn\'t in 2000.

perhaps cause its NOT released, AND have u seen the benchmarks?  the GF3 is NOT much better than a GF2 at resolutions below 1280x960.

bah

Originally posted by pstwo
Yahoo!!!  I though the PS3 will have a AMD chip?

Are you kidding, why would SOny take a huge step backwards

AMD\'s are great for PC\'s not consoles

In fact and you should of heard this yourself, IBM, Toshiba , and SOny have pooled together $400 million to design a next gen CPU for multimedia/Breoadband applications  and thats the chip that will be in PS3. It will be a hybrid of the EE with IBM technoligies mixed in and EE technologies improved

Originally posted by mm
perhaps cause its NOT released, AND have u seen the benchmarks?  the GF3 is NOT much better than a GF2 at resolutions below 1280x960.

bah

i was thinking along those same lines,i just saw some info on the card (GF3) this week,so much for innovation

metal, why dont u have a pic bro?

send me a pm

nm

gr0an

u kill me jaggies, u really do

open that mouth a little more, yer entire foot hasnt entered yet

Jaggies your an idiot.
Is the company that gave out this award in anyway related to sony?
If not, then what do they have to gain?
The oscars was just one big PR thing for Russel Crowe too.
Didnt you guys know that?
Jeez, idiots.

BTW: in what way was any of the other competitors inovative, jaggies?
They didnt really do anything nearly as different as sony.
What does Innovative mean again?

Originally posted by mm
metal, why dont u have a pic bro?

send me a pm

it\'s kool,i don\'t really want a pic at this time,i\'ll wait a bit longer before i do

dont want a pic even when offered?

i dont think mm understands that

but the choice is yers, i suppose

i dont think mm, even noticed i stole back my pic

Clyde, mm\'s what we call a little "slow"
Don\'t tell him I said that though, he might get angry. You know how he gets when he\'s angry. No nanners for anyone, chimp or not.

Technological gobbledygook at best.  The PS2’s technological wonderments won’t assure that great games are produced for gamers to attain.  That matter is left up to developers to undertake.  With Sony’s first and second party developers that can be accurately described as shoddy, it goes without saying that the only thing that can save the PS2 from all out failure is 3^rd party developer support.  Now then, since Nintendo’s Gamecube and Microsoft’s X-Box are sealing up deals with 3^rd party developers left and right, Sony’s saving grace will no longer be theirs alone.  They will have to share their insurance policy to success with their competition, something that will ultimately lead Sony into their unforeseen demise.  I have seen the future of videogames, and Sony is not in it.  If my words prove to be incorrect, may I burn in the fiery furnaces of Lucifer’s hellish penal complex.

[§ôµÏG®ïñD]

Jaggies u still here.. I thought u would leave after the First time someone made u look like a complete idiot..
Ohh well... guess u like a good "foot in mouth" award once in awhile.