PlayStation technical specifications

The PlayStation technical specifications describe the various components of the original PlayStation video game console.

An SCPH-1000 motherboard
An SCPH-5001 motherboard
An SCPH-9001 motherboard
An SCPH-101 motherboard
This article is about the technical specification of Sony's original PlayStation console. For technical specifications of Sony's later home consoles, see § See also.

Central processing unit (CPU)
LSI CoreWare CW33300-based core[1]
Geometry Transform Engine (GTE)
  • Coprocessor that resides inside the main CPU processor, giving it additional vector math instructions used for 3D graphics, lighting, geometry, polygon and coordinate transformations – GTE performs high-speed matrix multiplications.
  • Operating performance: 66 MIPS[5]
  • Polygons per second (rendered in hardware):
Motion Decoder (MDEC)
  • Also residing within the main CPU, enables full screen, high quality FMV playback and is responsible for decompressing images and video into VRAM.[4]
  • Operating performance: 80 MIPS[8]
  • Documented device mode is to read three RLE-encoded 16×16 macroblocks, run IDCT and assemble a single 16×16 RGB macroblock.
  • Output data may be transferred directly to GPU via DMA.
  • It is possible to overwrite IDCT matrix and some additional parameters, however MDEC internal instruction set was never documented.
  • It is directly connected to a CPU bus.
System Control Coprocessor (Cop0)
  • This unit is part of the CPU. Has 16 32-bit control registers.
  • Modified from the original R3000A cop0 architecture, with the addition of a few registers and functions.
  • Controls memory management through virtual memory technique, system interrupts, exception handling, and breakpoints.

Memory
  • 2 MB main EDO DRAM[4]
  • Additional RAM is integrated with the GPU (including a 1 MB framebuffer) and SPU (512 KB), see below for details.
  • Cache RAM for CPU core and CD-ROM. See the relevant sections for details.
  • Flash RAM support through the use of memory cards, see below.
  • BIOS stored on 512 KB ROM

Graphics processing unit (GPU)
32-bit Sony GPU (designed by Toshiba)[9]
  • Handles display of graphics, control of framebuffer, and drawing of polygons and textures
  • Handles 2D graphics processing, in a similar manner to the 3D engine
  • RAM:
  • Features:
    • Adjustable framebuffer (1024×512)
    • Emulation of simultaneous backgrounds (to simulate parallax scrolling)
    • Mask bit
    • Texture window
    • Dithering
    • Clipping
    • Alpha blending (4 per-texel alpha blending modes)
    • Fog
    • Framebuffer effects
    • Transparency effects
    • Render to texture
    • Offscreen rendering
    • Multipass rendering
    • Flat or Gouraud shading and texture mapping[2]
    • No line restriction
    • Colored light sourcing
  • Resolutions:
  • Colors:
    • Maximum color depth of 16,777,216 colors (24-bit true color)
    • 57,344 (256×224) to 153,600 (640×240) colors on screen
    • Unlimited color lookup tables (CLUTs)
    • 32 levels of transparency
    • All calculations are performed to 24 bit accuracy
  • Texture mapping color mode:[8]
    • Mode 4: 4-bit CLUT (16 colors)
    • Mode 8: 8-bit CLUT (256 colors)
    • Mode 15: 15-bit direct (32,768 colors)
    • Mode 24: 24-bit (16,777,216 colors)
  • Sprite engine
    • 1024×512 framebuffer, 8×8 and 16×16 sprite sizes, bitmap objects
    • Up to 4,000 sprites on screen (at 8×8 sprite size), scaling and rotation[2][10]
    • 256×256 maximum sprite size[8]
  • Special sprite effects:[8]
    • Rotation
    • Scaling up/down
    • Warping
    • Transparency
    • Fading
    • Priority
    • Vertical and horizontal line scroll

Sound processing unit (SPU)
16-bit Sony SPU[4]

I/O system and connectivity
CD-ROM drive
  • 660 MB maximum storage capacity, double speed CD-ROM drive
  • 2×, with a maximum data throughput of 300 KB/s (double speed), 150 KB/s (normal)[8]
  • 128 KB data buffer
  • XA Mode 2 compliant
  • Audio CD play[8]
  • CD-DA (CD-Digital Audio)
  • Rated for 70,000 seek operations[11]
Two control pads via connectors[8]
  • Expandable with multitap connector[8]
Backup flash RAM support
  • Two removable cards[8]
  • Each card has 128 KB flash memory
  • OS support for File Save, Retrieve and Remove[8]
Video and audio connectivity
Serial and parallel ports
Power input
  • 100 V AC (NTSC-J); 120 V AC (NTSC-U/C); or 220–240 V AC (PAL)
  • 7.5 V DC 2 A (PSone only)

See also

References
  1. http://patpend.net/technical/psx/LSI.htm
  2. "Sony's PlayStation Debuts in Japan!". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 65. Sendai Publishing. December 1994. p. 70.
  3. "FastForward Sony Taps LSI Logic for PlayStation Video Game CPU Chip". FastForward. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  4. "Inside the PlayStation". Next Generation. No. 6. Imagine Media. June 1995. p. 51.
  5. "Tech Specs: Sony PlayStation". Next Generation. No. 12. Imagine Media. December 1995. p. 40.
  6. Karl Hodge. "Hall of Fame: Sony PlayStation, the games console that changed everything".
  7. "Sony PlayStation". GamePro. No. 72. IDG. September 1994. p. 20.
  8. "Sony PlayStation". Next Generation. No. 24. Imagine Media. December 1996. p. 50.
  9. https://www.computer.org/publications/tech-news/chasing-pixels/is-it-time-to-rename-the-gpu
  10. https://archive.org/stream/nextgen-issue-001/Next_Generation_Issue_001_January_1995#page/n47/mode/2up/
  11. https://all-things-andy-gavin.com/2011/02/06/making-crash-bandicoot-part-5/
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