The keys to the system's amazing power are the
Cell processor (jointly developed by Sony, IBM and Toshiba) and the
RSX graphics processor, co-developed with Nvidia and SCEI. Working
in tandem, the new components produce an astounding two teraflops of
floating point horsepower - a simply unprecedented amount of processing
power. See the article on the games that were shown elsewhere on this
site, for a look at how the system's sheer grunt will change interactive
entertainment forever.
The hardware design innovates in plenty of other ways. Bluetooth enables
up to seven controllers to connect to the console without troublesome
wires, and expect plenty of connectivity between PLAYSTATION 3 and
PSP (PlayStation Portable) via the Wireless capabilities (802.11 b/g
standards are both supported).
Storage is taken care of with a detachable HDD (Hard Disk Drive),
and the system boasts unparalleled connectivity. Six USB 2.0 slots
allow a multitude of devices to connect to the system (including the
controllers, which are charged via USB), while Memory Stick, SD card
and Compact Flash media all boast their own slots.
High-definition visuals come as standard, with resolutions of up to
1080p supported. To make the most of this mind-blowing leap in visual
fidelity, Blu-ray Disc - a new breed of high definition DVD capable
of storing up to 54GB - is supported, as is pretty much every kind
of DVD and CD you can get your hands on. This includes PS one and PS2
games, as PLAYSTATION 3 fully supports all the games released for its
predecessors.
Simply put, PLAYSTATION 3 will be the centrepiece of any entertainment
system when it is released next spring. The high definition, realtime
visuals shown at the conference were truly astonishing to behold, and
the tech demos that were demonstrated hinted at the sheer extent of
the leap in power we can expect as PlayStation moves into the next
generation.
