A practical analysis of the PlayStation architecture

Article excerpt

Rodrigo Copetti analyzes the PlayStation architecture: Sony knew that 3D hardware could get very messy to develop for. Thus, their debuting console will keep its design simple and practical… Although this may come at a cost! (The Playstation uses the) Sony CXD8530BQ, one of the two big chips this console houses. It’s what we would call a ‘System-on-Chip’ in today’s terms. The resulting CPU core runs at 33.87 MHz. Like other MIPS R3000-based CPUs, the CW33000 supports configurations with up to four coprocessors. Sony customised it with three: System Control Coprocessor, Geometry Transformation Engine, and Motion Decoder. See the full, well researched details on the website here and in book form here.