PS3 internals

What are you guys talking about with 'universal PSU?'

Is it a PSU? Yes.

Will you be able to replace it with an off-the-shelf model? No.

The connector is proprietary and the form-factor is obviously non-standard.

It is universal in a way that it accepts 100-240v, so you can import the machine to Europe and just change the cord or use adapter to make it run, instead of buying 50-100e power converter.
 
It is universal in a way that it accepts 100-240v, so you can import the machine to Europe and just change the cord or use adapter to make it run, instead of buying 100e power converter.

Ok gotcha, I misinterpreted the meaning of 'universal' obviously. :)

(Just shows my US-centric way of thinking I guess! :p )
 
Wow @ X360's mobo. What a mess!

A lot of electrolytic and dialytic capacitors! I wonder which system uses power more efficiently!? ;)
 
ps3_39.jpg


How very clever. At least VRAM will never overheat. :)

Nice, I was wondering that where the hell the chips are!:smile:

(Just shows my US-centric way of thinking I guess! :p )

It's okay, I pardon you :LOL:
 
How very clever. At least VRAM will never overheat. :)
Thats a fairly standard option for laptop graphics packaging, however it is expensive.

Xbox 360 circuitry looks kinda bad.
I'd say it looks much cheaper.

Heads up that that doesn't mean the GDDR is actually clocked at that speed, just that modules capable of operation at that speed are being used.
Additionally, GDDR3 comes in 100MHz steps - the next one down being 600MHz; anything much above that speed and you would be running it out of spec. 700MHz RAM indicates speeds of between 600-700MHz.
 
I moved this to the Technology Forum.

On topic, the mainboard layout is very clean, nice stuff for a first (released) revision.
The heatsink/heatpipe design is also worth of note.
 
Actually, I'm going to be very interested in the analysts take on the BOM for this. To me it looks like there considerable more expense in the PS3 in relation to XBOX from the components and packaging used, let alone the apparent volume of silicon on that board and the BRD.
 
Is there anything that can be found from these pictures in relation to the PS3's performance? On another forum someone stated that the GDDR3RAM is close to the RSX which could reduce latency. Does anyone here agree or have any other comments to make?

Can anyone take some of these images an label the various major components? For example, where is the XDR or FlexIO or the FLASH MEMORY that was admitted to be in there.
 
20061111power2.jpg


this I was looking for.. but then again, i think i'm going to sweat a bit before i plug it in directly in to the plug in a few days here....

exciting.. maybe i will be the first who blows up his ps3 :p
 
How is the PSU cooled down? I was thinking maybe it was passively cooled, but then I saw this picture of after the PSU & BD-ROM are removed:

ps3_22.jpg
 
What are the two small black chips at the very top and top left of the board? (They seem to have an awful lot of wires running to them from RSX)

Also, what are the NEC/Tokin OE 128 chips? There are 8 of them as far as I can tell (4 on the back too)...

Thanks
 
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it just looks like its passively cooled because the only fan I see is at the bottom of the ps3 pushing air out these located below the oval top of ps3.

ps3_27.jpg
 
Thats a fairly standard option for laptop graphics packaging, however it is expensive.
Interesting, thanks! :)

I'd say it looks much cheaper.
Yeah, it does look a bit cheaper to me too (XBox360), in terms of layout. As others said, it's also likely that PS3 is more power-efficient though; which only makes sense, since less power efficiency would have meant higher heat, and even higher costs to achieve such low noise (or higher noise for the same cost, obviously...)

Additionally, GDDR3 comes in 100MHz steps - the next one down being 600MHz; anything much above that speed and you would be running it out of spec. 700MHz RAM indicates speeds of between 600-700MHz.
That is not entirely correct. If you look at Samsung's GDDR3 page, you'll notice that the 600-700MHz range is an exception: there's also a 667MHz model, which is relatively recent afaik, compared to the other ones. You could argue that Sony is clocking it between 650 and 700MHz however, and needs to buy the two kinds of models to meet capacity, however.


Uttar
 
So we now have mystery chips on the mother board?

Confirmation of Sony's claimed FLASH memory on the PS3?

Reduced GDDR3 Latency for the RSX?

Cowabunga dude!
 
Yeah, it does look a bit cheaper to me too (XBox360), in terms of layout. As others said, it's also likely that PS3 is more power-efficient though; which only makes sense, since less power efficiency would have meant higher heat, and even higher costs to achieve such low noise (or higher noise for the same cost, obviously...)
Power efficient in term of what? The non-major silicon components? Or the overall system power?
In terms of system power the PSU appears to be outputting 32A over the 12V line, whereas the 360's PSU is 16.5A - there wouldn't be such a large difference if it wasn't expected to need it.

That is not entirely correct. If you look at Samsung's GDDR3 page, you'll notice that the 600-700MHz range is an exception: there's also a 667MHz model, which is relatively recent afaik, compared to the other ones. You could argue that Sony is clocking it between 650 and 700MHz however, and needs to buy the two kinds of models to meet capacity, however.
If it is new, then yes, they are likely to be buying both should 700MHz not actually be a requirement.
 
Xbox 360 circuitry looks kinda bad.

I like it better, the PS3 board looks dishwater dull, where the 360 is more brightly colored. I know that has nothing to do with performance or engineering however. Also the 360 board is smaller. What does it mean that the 360 is busier looking and has so many more capacitors though?
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Erm... No.
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/PC/docs/article/20011116/xbox.htm

You know that's a Microsoft sponsored article judging from the date (1 week before the official release) right?

Erm, yes.

And sponsored by microsoft? How so? Anandtech is not a console site so they would not have signed any NDA's. There plenty of PS3's floating around right now, one week until North American release.

Also wonder what the engineering thinking was behind one company using heatspreaders and the other not? (Heatspreaders decrease thermal efficieny btw, there is another layer between the die and the cooling). I know in PC's heatspreaders are nice because they prevent potential cracked die's when you mount a heatsink by hand. But I wonder if that applies to console manufactoring?
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