12.05
May not look like this, but we may now know what will be inside…
(Updated and expanded since first posting)
With a well trusted Japanese development house as source the latest rumors concerning the hardware specs of the Wii U seem more than reasonable and may be the most accurate picture of what to expect so far…
In addition to the already rumored Quad-Core, 3 GHz, POWER7 CPU, to be provided by IBM (a newer version of the tech in the XBox 360), it seems the “U” will embed either 768 MB or 1024 MB (1GB) of DDR5 RAM (with both options currently actively being tested by Nintendo) which will be shared between the CPU and it’s AMD / ATI powered GPU (this “embedding” improves the bandwidth available between the CPU, GPU and RAM increasing the raw throughput within the system). This should not be confused with processor “cache”, where the POWER7 architecture supports between 4 & 32MB of eDRAM, so any rumors suggesting eDRAM itself above these values are highly likely false as the CPU will be unable to address above 32MB. Basically, a lot of people are getting the “embedded” RAM and the eDRAM cache confused, perhaps unsurprisingly.
So, with the remaining choice apparently being between 768 or 1024 MB of on-board DDR5 RAM seeming almost academic, we’re going for the final product containing 1024MB, surely the extra flexibility this will provide will far out-way any small extra manufacturing costs? (Please Nintendo!) This would certainly help with pushing out the confirmed 1080p Full HD resolution and 3D capabilities.
More when we get it…
– Richard “Rax” Burley
@Raxous
