Playstation 3 Console

The Sony Playstation 3 Console et al

Have you ever wondered what's packed underneath Playstation 3 console's sleek jet black design? Now is the time to take a peek.

Playstation 3 Console's Cell Microprocessor

Housed underneath that Playstation 3 console's streamlined design is perhaps the hardware's most important artificial brain, the cell microprocessor whose strength in floating point kernels as of today is still unrivaled. The brainchild of STI (Sony, Toshiba and IBM), it is the newest microprocessor technology and it allows data flow on several instances, example when one core is exclusively guiding the main sprite, the other core for the environmental special effects and another core could work to deliver the most realistic ballistics on projectiles. The Playstation 3 console's cell microprocessor engine is clocked at 3.2GHz having 1PPE and 7 SPEs.

The RSX GPU (Reality Synthesizer, Graphics Processing Unit)

When Sony mentioned in TIME Magazine that their RSX GPU is just a small part in a large and powerful system, the RSX definitely plays a more critical role in the Sony Playstation 3 game experience. This RSX GPU is co-developed by NVIDIA for Sony, and NVDIA, whose familiarity in making graphic chips is well established, deserves an acclaim for bringing realistic cutting edge graphics of Playstation 3 console titles such as Fight Night: Round 3. If you find it hard to believe, check out the submitted screenshots of the game at ww.GameSpot.com because there are only so few games so far that can portray a character as lifelike as those in Fight Night: Round 3. If you are wowed by the visuals of FarCry Instincts, Playstation 3 console titles like Fight Night: Round 3 and Resistance: Fall of Men could put FarCry into shame.

The Blu-ray Media Format

With the format wars still in the rage, Sony has already licensed the technology Blu-ray, meaning their games will be running on optical drives that support this cutting edge format as well as DVD and VCD formats. This is needed, for a system so intricate in detail that it has been rumored that Metal Gear Solid 4 not only take visuals as experience but also the other senses. Sonic booms from nearby explosions are among the added factor. And for that a Blu-ray technology, with its storage capacity of 50GB, is needed.

The Online Experience

The Playstation 3 console has also been equipped to deliver the ever increasing demands of online gaming, with its PlayStation Network. It is a free service where every Playstation 3 console gets to connect automatically. And whether it is for online gaming using the Xfire Client or just downloading media and demos from the community site, all is there for just the reason: a functionality that allows users to choose a game of their preference as well as a preview of the next big game. Another perk of the site is the availability of past Playstation titles (1&2) for download for prices around $8 – $15 a pop.

All these new technology made the Sony Playstation 3 console well ahead of the competition. Perhaps another line will be written next time but at this moment, the Xbox 360 just really can't compete, much less the Wii, with the Playstation 3 console. It is fairly expensive than the two but it is expected. And the better part of having a Playstation 3 console is the already present crop of good games available.

Say, have you heard just how good a game Resistance: Fall of Man is?