Wii specs etc.

[DiemetriX]

MAXconsole reports this as true.

 

Wii Know A Lot You Don’t... but will – Enjoy!

 

Anyway, we've done enough talking thus far, prepare your eyes for a textual feast on the joys to behold with the Wii.

 

The Wii Hardware

 

- Nintendo Wii’s ‘Broadway’ CPU operates at 729MHZ with a maximum bandwith of 1.9gbyte/sec.

- Nintendo Wii’s ‘HollyWood’ GPU is clocked at 243MHZ, the internal memory of it includes 3mb of embedded graphics memory and 24megabytes of high speed main memory.

- 64megabytes of GDDR3 (MEM2) as the external main memory. Just like the internal memory, it can be accessed from the CPU and GPU with a maximum bandwidth of 4gbytes/sec and can also store programs in the MEM2.

- The GPU of the Wii is identical to the GC’s but it is on average 1.5X faster.

 

Wii's Optical Disc Drive

 

- Opitcal Disc Drive (ODD) supports single and dual layer Wii disks, discs eject with software or button and the maximum read speed is the equivalent of DVDx6.

- Two main disc types supported the single sided 12cm single sided 4.7gb and the double sided 8.51 GB. Nintendo GC discs also supported. Some of the capacity of the discs are used by the system and games can not use full disc space.

- Inserting a disc will start the Wii console, even if it was already in an off state. Pressing the eject button will change the console to an on state to take out the disc also.

 

General Overview

 

- An optional wired LAN adapter that connects to a USB port is in the pipeline for users who do not possess a wireless LAN set-up currently.

- Internal non-removable 512MB flash memory used to storage game save data and downloadable content thus eliminating the Need for a memory card.

- Both Wii discs and Gamecube discs can be played via an intelligent mode swap. When running in GC mode, the Wii’s CPU and GPU will lower to the respective speeds of the GC and some of the MEM2 functions as ARAM.

- Software development environment is an upgrade to the ‘Dolphin SDK’ used with the GC; the same libraries are used so developers can get up to scratch easily as well as the possibility of ports being easier.

- The following interfaces are included with the Wii; SD card slot, Wireless controller, two USB 2.0 ports, wireless LAN, 4x GC controller ports, 2x GC memory card slots and an AV multi output jack (only an analog jack).

- Supports Wii disks (one sided 12cm) and GC discs (one sided 8cm) and console auto switches depends on what disk is inserted

- More than just the Nunchaku is planned as an extension. GC peripherals such as DK bongos can be used in both Wii and GC modes.

- Three power status, on, off and unplugged. To prevent mistaken turn offs, the power button must be held for about a second.

 

The Wii Control System

 

- The Wii controller features; Direct Pointing Device, Three axis accelerometer, Wii power button (remotely turn console on/off), buttons, wireless connectivity, indicator LED’s, rumble, battery powered (two AA alkaline batteries) and ability to connect extension unit.

- The Wii controller supports three types of operations; by itself, with a nunchuk extension or with a classic controller. Classic controllers will ship to developers during August 2006.

- The SYNCHRO button on the Wii controller exchanges wireless ID numbers when pressed at the same time as SYNCRHO on the Wii console. Wireless communications are only possible with consoles which have been authenticated.

- The rumble motor can be turned on and off and the intensity can be changed.

- The Wii remote has a pointer for fine movements as well as a motion sensor +/- 3.4G suitable for larger body movements, the nunchuk attachment has a sensor of +/- 2G

- The sensor bar must be placed above or below a TV set, the pointer measures coordinates between the ends of the bar which are about 20cm apart.

- The Wii remote has four status, disconnected, communicating, establishing connection and pairing wait status.

- The pointer can measure co-ordinates within bounds of rectangle centered upon the sensor bar, thus it can also measure points beyond the screen. It also responds to strong light sources, windows, fluorescent lamps, fireplaces, mirrors etc.

- Due to players hands shaking while holding the controller, a ring buffer allows a precise direction to be created to hold and average accelerator samples.

[Sarka]

I see...

 

What does this mean? *shrugs*

[Charlie]

Hmm, most of that stuff is pretty guessable and they didn't cite a source, only saying an "unnamed developer"

[Dante]

Bah! I was just going to post this in the hardware topic.

 

This part sounds cool;

 

Wii's Optical Disc Drive

 

- Opitcal Disc Drive (ODD) supports single and dual layer Wii disks, discs eject with software or button and the maximum read speed is the equivalent of DVDx6.

- Two main disc types supported the single sided 12cm single sided 4.7gb and the double sided 8.51 GB. Nintendo GC discs also supported. Some of the capacity of the discs are used by the system and games can not use full disc space.

- Inserting a disc will start the Wii console, even if it was already in an off state. Pressing the eject button will change the console to an on state to take out the disc also.

[Fierce_LiNk]

How reliable is this information?

and

 

What the hell does it all mean?

[Hellfire]

Seems about right, reliable or not.

[Social]

How reliable is this information?

and

 

What the hell does it all mean?

 

exactly what it says, there's nothing really technical about the info, apart from the cpu/gpu stuff. Quite easily understandable to the average computer geek

[Fierce_LiNk]

exactly what it says, there's nothing really technical about the info, apart from the cpu/gpu stuff. Quite easily understandable to the average computer geek

 

It was only the first bits that don't mean anything to me:

 

- Nintendo Wii’s ‘Broadway’ CPU operates at 729MHZ with a maximum bandwith of 1.9gbyte/sec.

- Nintendo Wii’s ‘HollyWood’ GPU is clocked at 243MHZ, the internal memory of it includes 3mb of embedded graphics memory and 24megabytes of high speed main memory.

- 64megabytes of GDDR3 (MEM2) as the external main memory. Just like the internal memory, it can be accessed from the CPU and GPU with a maximum bandwidth of 4gbytes/sec and can also store programs in the MEM2.

 

I admit, i wouldn't call myself a computer geek. So, i don't really know if this is good, bad, decent, terrible, etc.

[Ginger_Chris]

It seems a pretty average guestimate, it doesnt scream massivly powerful (nintendo fanboy) or underpowered (sony fanboy). but alot of that information ive heard before, just seems like someones collected all the definite information floating around and then added appropriate numbers.

 

next console release I might try the samething.

[SpinesN]

I doubt we will see GDDR3 as the systems main memory. Also those bandwidth numbers seem VERY low. Overall I think it was just made up.

 

Edit: On a side note the video out on the wii is digital not analogue.

[Kazzahdrane]

- An optional wired LAN adapter that connects to a USB port is in the pipeline for users who do not possess a wireless LAN set-up currently.

 

 

That's good to know. Wireless networks are all well and good but not all of us have big enough flats/houses to warrant them. Nice to see Nintendo will be quickly supporting those who prefer wired.

 

What I really want to know is whether the Wii can act as a wireless access point for the DS. We know there will be wireless connectivity with the handheld so I'm hoping they let the DS connect to WFC through the Wii (meaning those of us with wired LANs will be able to use WFC on DS games without buying the £30 dongle).

[river_rage]

- The rumble motor can be turned on and off and the intensity can be changed.

 

This contradicts what IGN reported earlier:

 

The Wii-mote features a built-in rumble motor that can be turned on or off. It does not offer varying degrees of rumble sensitivity. However, according to documentation, more intense vibrations can be simulated if developers rapidly trigger the motor on and off.

 

That's only nitpicking though...

[James McGeachie]

Why are people acting like this is new? It's almost identical to what IGN posted MONTHS ago except it seems the Wii has less RAM now than it did before.

[goku21]

That´s BS because wii will only use 1T-Sram. gddr3 is really out of question...

[SpinesN]

good call goku, I forgot about that. Nintendo already inked a deal with mosys for the 1t sram >_>

[Hellfire]

I also thought that but pedro taught me that gddr3 can be 1t-sram.

[Charlie]

It was only the first bits that don't mean anything to me:

 

- Nintendo Wii’s ‘Broadway’ CPU operates at 729MHZ with a maximum bandwith of 1.9gbyte/sec.

- Nintendo Wii’s ‘HollyWood’ GPU is clocked at 243MHZ, the internal memory of it includes 3mb of embedded graphics memory and 24megabytes of high speed main memory.

- 64megabytes of GDDR3 (MEM2) as the external main memory. Just like the internal memory, it can be accessed from the CPU and GPU with a maximum bandwidth of 4gbytes/sec and can also store programs in the MEM2.

 

I admit, i wouldn't call myself a computer geek. So, i don't really know if this is good, bad, decent, terrible, etc.

 

 

The thing is, does it really matter what the CPU/GPU specs are? We've seen what it can do and we know the developers will be able to get more out of it in years to come and that should be enough.

 

Specs in games consoles don't really mean that much, the Xbox only had a 700mhz processor and Halo 2 looked and ran incredible.

[Teppo Holmqvist]

Hmh,

 

I personally smell bullshit. First of all, source for this crap is deleted post from Nintendo's own forums. And we all know how bad place that is. Secondly, these are direct copy from IGN article (even wording matches in some places). Thirdly, Nintendo spends millions and millions of dollars to MoSys and then decides not to use their memory?

 

EDIT: Little addition. MoSys doesn't even have MEM2 based solutions....

[SpinesN]

I also thought that but pedro taught me that gddr3 can be 1t-sram.

er.... umm.... how? That's like an apple being an orange. GDDR3 has a spec that it is made for as does 1t sram. The specs are not the same and thus the product is not the same.

[DiemetriX]

*UPDATE* The dev mailed Maxconsole and said he was shocked to see all these cries of 'fake', so he provided some more info to show he's not bluffing...

 

I see no reason why this proves anything.

 

 

Broadway CPU

 

Broadway is Wii's CPU. Broadway functionality and specifications are as follows.

 

• Operating speed: 729 MHz

• Bus to main memory: 243 MHz, 64 bits (maximum bandwidth: 1.9 gigabytes/sec)

• 32-kilobyte 8-way set-associative L1 instruction cache

• 32-kilobyte 8-way set-associative L1 data cache (can set up 16-kilobyte data scratch pad)

• Superscalar microprocessor with six execution units (floating-point unit, branching unit, system regis

ter unit, load/store unit, two integer units)

• DMA unit (15-entry DMA request queue) used by 16-kilobyte data scratch pad

• Write-gather buffer for writing graphics command lists to the graphics chip

• Onboard 256-kilobyte 2-way set-associative L2 integrated cache

• Two, 32-bit integer units (IU)

• One floating point unit (FPU) (supports single precision (32-bit) and double precision (64-bit))

• The FPU supports paired single floating point (FP/PS)

• The FPU supports paired single multiply add (ps_madd). Most FP/PS instructions can be issued in

each cycle and completed in three cycles.

• Fixed-point to floating-point conversion can be performed at the same time as FPU register load and

store, with no loss in performance.

• The branch unit supports static branch prediction and dynamic branch prediction.

• When an instruction is stalled on data, the next instruction can be issued and executed. All instructions

maintain program logic and will complete in the correct program order.

• Supports three L2 cache fetch modes: 32-Byte, 64-Byte, and 128-Byte.

• Supports these bus pipeline depth levels: level 2, level 3, and level 4.

Reference Information: Broadway is upward compatible with Nintendo GameCube’s CPU (Gekko).

 

Hollywood GPU

 

Hollywood is a system LSI composed of a GPU and internal main memory (MEM1). Hollywood is clocked at 243 MHz. Its internal memory consists of 3 megabytes of embedded graphics memory and 24 megabytes of high speed main memory.

 

Hollywood includes the following.

• Graphics processing unit (with 3 megabytes of eDRAM)

• Audio DSP

• I/O Bridge

• 24 megabytes of internal main memory

• Internal main memory operates at 486 MHz.

Maximum bandwidth between Hollywood and internal main memory: 3.9 gigabytes per second

• Possible to locate a program here

Reference Information: Hollywood is similar to Nintendo GameCube’s Flipper and Splash components.

 

External Main Memory (MEM2)

 

Wii uses 64 megabytes of GDDR3 (MEM2) as external main memory. Like internal main memory, MEM2 can be accessed directly from Broadway and the GPU at high speed and has a peak bandwidth of 4 gigabytes/sec. Programs can also be placed in MEM2.

 

Reference Information: Nintendo GameCube ARAM is used as auxiliary memory for the DSP. The CPU and GPU did not have direct access to it.

[system_error]

Those specifications cry for a very low retail price. The CPU and GPU cost next to nothing. If the CPU is just a higher clocked Gekko I really wonder what took Nintendo so long and why they spend so much money to make IBM raise the core frequency.

 

 

I don't need damage control but if this post is indeed true it means the Wii has to be sold at 150€ at most (1 complete controller, nothing else) or I feel ripped.

 

Memory size is a bad joke and so is the GPU frequency ... but the games I have seen so far tell me that the specs are true and that the few good games we saw so far concerning graphics will be the best the Wii will offer for a long time.

 

Also why is it GDRAM3 instead of MoSys they and Nintendo announced a while back? Why should they change that?

 

 

UPDATE: http://www-306.ibm.com/chips/techlib/techlib.nsf/techdocs/0E7882415E9EE987872569FF0077ACF4/$file/750cxe_ds_dd2.4.pdf

 

The design sheet for the PowerPC 750CXe - in there most of the "proof" of the unknown developer is there...

[Stabby]

Those specifications cry for a very low retail price. The CPU and GPU cost next to nothing. If the CPU is just a higher clocked Gekko I really wonder what took Nintendo so long and why they spend so much money to make IBM raise the core frequency.

 

Look at the size of this thing. If you take away the Gamecube controller and memory card slots, DVD drive, etc. you're left with an extremely small package.

[Tellyn]

SYNCHRO theory seems valid to me. Press it on controller and console at the same time to validate wireless functionality with that specific console. To prevent other people butting in because they're closer to the console?

[Teppo Holmqvist]

Also why is it GDRAM3 instead of MoSys they and Nintendo announced a while back? Why should they change that?

 

That's why it is bullshit. GDRAM3 is Samsung's version of low-latency memory and in direct competition with MoSys. There won't be any way that MoSys would provide those for Wii's.

[pedrocasilva]

er.... umm.... how? That's like an apple being an orange. GDDR3 has a spec that it is made for as does 1t sram. The specs are not the same and thus the product is not the same.

1T-SRAM can be applied to any Draw RAM (SD-RAM, DDR, etc) it's basically a fetch for refresh times, real SRAM can be refered to as 4T-SRAM (4T=4 Transistors), Draw RAM has refresh times where the data can't be acessed, the 1T just covers that up and keeps it accessable at all times.

 

back in 2001 it had a few drawbacks, being the main one that they had memory indexing limitations thus had to throw in two 12 MB chips to make a 24 MB bank in GC. also the space taken by the chip and final price is higher (under 15% for both). Other limitation is that it obviously have to go at the Draw RAM speed, (a pentium 4 3 GHz will have, 3 GHz cache/Sram).

 

GC tecnically had DDR 333, now... I don't know if this GDDR3 bank has 1T-SRAM applied (but it can be done), but how many chips would they need for a 64 MB bank? 6?, but just having that 24 MB bank for fetching is already pretty good, specially if we're talking about chips with more MHz.

 

- The GPU of the Wii is identical to the GC’s but it is on average 1.5X faster.

I hate this cryptic phrases... I mean... DUH this is a legacy chip with backwards compatibility with GC, they're are going to keep specific features, like 2 alpha registers and all, but equal? that's like saying R300 (9700pro) is equal to R350 (9800pro), and (R400) X800 too; I mean, of course they didn't do a core from the ground, they just evolved it. it would be stupid to scrap all they did before. still they work at it 12 months a year, saying it's the same chip can be said but it's overall... bullshit.

 

GC had hardware optimizations, like... volumetric fog on hardware... just Wii having features implemented like cell shading supported by hardware makes it a completly diferent chip, a evolution; it's like saying a direct X 8 and a Direct X 9 chip are the same.

 

also lets clock flipper at 243 MHz it won't be 1,5x faster than the 166 MHz flipper, so; is it the same chip? they said so and prooved it isn't in the same phrase, simple as that.

 

(I'm not going into wether this spec-sheet is true or not)