Hardware (cont’d)

Of course, in addition to the memory that's on the actual Cell, there's system memory. The main system itself is sporting 256 MB of XDR and the GPU has 256 MB of GDDR3 VRAM. Speaking of VRAM, the graphics processor in the PS3 is of NVIDIA design. The processor itself is based on the NV47 architecture. Another interesting point about the graphic module is that it has access to the system’s main memory as well.

Getting back to the earlier mention of optical and HDMI support, the sound output for the PS3 is quite robust. Though nothing is really taking advantage of it yet, the PS3 supports Dolby TrueHD as well as 7.1 PCM through HDMI. This puts the PS3 in prime position to use some of the newer receivers coming out from companies such as Pioneer, and, well, Sony.

The Blu-ray drive is the other big selling point of the PS3. Blu-ray technology uses a blue-violet laser to read information off of a Blu-ray disc. The wavelength of the blue-violet laser is considerably shorter than the one used in standard DVDs and thus can hold more information. This sounds great in theory, but the problem that earlier Blu-ray games are running into is that the read speed of the discs is also considerably slower than that of DVD. In fact, Resistance has to go through a short installation procedure before you can play it. Hey, at least you can put in a new HDD.

SIXAXIS

Even though they're not internal hardware, this seems like the place to mention the Sixaxis controllers. The new PS3 controllers are lacking rumble, but to make up for it, they included a gyro that can be used to control certain games. The only thing I've personally used it for so far is the demo of MotorStorm, but plenty of upcoming games are supposedly offering Sixaxis support - most notably, WarHawk, which was demonstrated the Sony E3 conference earlier this year. Other than missing rumble and having motion sensing, the Sixaxis is also wireless and rechargeable. This is a point of contention to certain fans because Sony opted to not include a way to change the battery yourself. Sony has said that they will offer a service to replace dead batteries.

One last quick note about the controllers: they sometimes lose connection or go... a little funny. On occasion, I've been playing Resistance with a friend and my or his character will run at a wall and just stand their staring at it, running in place, until we lift the controller up and wave it around. Now, of course, this could be just a game feature, like I got so freaked out that I ran and hid in the corner, but I don't think that's the case. I've also read reports of people’s Bluetooth phones interrupting the controller signal as well. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's irritating.