Technical Information
(From the WikiPedia)

Central processing unit

The PS3's 3.2 GHz Cell processor, developed jointly by Sony, Toshiba and IBM ("STI"), is an implementation to dynamically assign physical processor cores to do different types of work independently. It has a PowerPC-based "Power Processing Element" (PPE) and six accessible 3.2 GHz Synergistic Processing Elements (SPEs). A seventh runs in a special mode and is dedicated to aspects of the OS and security, and an eighth is disabled to improve production yields. The PPE, SPEs and other elements ("units") are connected via an Element Interconnect Bus which serves to connect all of the units in a ring-style bus. The PPE has a 512-KiB level 2 cache and one VMX vector unit. Each SPE is a RISC processor with 128-bit SIMD GPRs and superscalar functions. Each SPE contains 256 KiB of non-cached memory (local storage, "LS") that is shared by program code and work data. SPEs may access more data in the main memory using DMA. The floating point performance of the whole system (CPU + GPU) is reported to be 2 TFLOPS.[107] PlayStation 3's Cell CPU achieves 204 GFLOPS single precision float and 15 GFLOPS double precision. The PS3 has 256 MiB of Rambus XDR DRAM, clocked at CPU die speed.

The Cell microprocessor allows programmers to assign SPEs different work by running individual programs on them. Programmers may also arrange data flow in different ways. As an example for parallel processing performance gains, one core could work on decoding and multiplexing audio, another core may perform computations on realistic projectiles ballistics, while another might govern the activities of the main character. The programmer still has three more cores not yet assigned but the only remaining tasks are to collect the work performed and display the results on the screen. Since the program code on each SPE core is executed from its local store memory, much more Element Interconnect Bus bandwidth is available to transfers of work data. An obvious downside to this is that there is a 256-KiB size restriction on SPE programs, which may present a challenge for certain programming tasks.

Graphics processing unit

The Graphics Processing Unit is based on the NVIDIA G70 (previously known as NV47) architecture, which focuses on maximizing per-pixel computation in favor of raw pixel output. The GPU will make use of 256 MiB GDDR3 VRAM clocked at 650 MHz with an effective transmission rate of 1.3 GHz and the XDR main memory via the CPU.

Connectivity

The article Blu-ray Disc contains related information.

The PS3 supports numerous SDTV and HDTV resolutions (from 480i up to 1080p) and connectivity options (such as HDMI 1.3[109] and component video).[110] In terms of audio, the PS3 supports a number of formats, including 7.1 digital audio, Dolby TrueHD, and others; audio output is possible over stereo RCA cables (analog), optical digital cables, or HDMI. For the optical disc drive, a wide variety of DVD and CD formats are supported, as well as Blu-ray Discs. A 20 GB / 60 GB 2.5" SATA 150 hard disk is pre-installed. In the 60 GB configuration, flash memory can also be used — either Memory Stick, CompactFlash, or SD/MMC. For communication, the PS3 has one Gigabit Ethernet port, four USB 2.0 ports. Also, both the 20GB and 60GB versions support Bluetooth 2.0 EDR.

Form factor and power consumption

The console has many ventilation holes, a single large fan, and uses heat pipes. Physically, the PlayStation 3 is approximately 5 kg (11 lb), 32.5 cm (W) × 9.8 cm (H) × 27.4 cm (D) (12.8 in. × 3.9 in. × 10.8 in.).[16] The power supply is built into the console and a standard 3-pin IEC connector is present at the base of the console. All current PS3 power supplies are Universal 100V-240V/50–60 Hz and will work worldwide, external power markings only relate to the intended market area[citation needed]. The power consumption ranges from 150–200 watts during normal use.[111]

Official accessories

The PlayStation 3 SIXAXIS[112] is a controller that is similar in appearance to that of its predecessors DualShock 2. The SIXAXIS features finer analog sensitivity;[113] more trigger-like R2 and L2 buttons; a PS (“home”) button; and a USB mini-B port for charging the internal battery and for wired play. The PlayStation 3 supports up to 7 simultaneous controllers over Bluetooth.[16] The SIXAXIS is named for its ability to detect motion in the full six degrees; however, unlike the PlayStation 2's DualShock, the new controller has no vibration feature. The controller retails for US$49.99.

The PlayStation 3 Memory Card Adaptor is a device that allows data to be transferred from PlayStation and PlayStation 2 memory cards to the PlayStation 3's hard disk. The device has a cable that connects to the PS3's USB port on one end, and features a legacy PS2 memory card port on the other end. The adaptor is available at a price of US$14.99 in the United States and JP¥1500 (including tax) in Japan.

Using Bluetooth, the PlayStation 3 BD Remote allows users to control videos and music on Blu-ray Disc and DVD. In Japan, the device was available starting December 7, 2006, and costs JP¥3,800. The device is also currently available in North America for US$24.99.[114] However, the PS3 will accept signals only via its Bluetooth Remote, as the console does not have an infrared receiver. This prevents the use of universal remotes with the system. The Blu-ray Disc movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby was included with the initial 400,000 release copies of the PS3 in North America,[115] while the first 500,000 European PlayStation Network activations after launch will receive a free copy of the Blu-Ray release of Casino Royale.[116]

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PS3 CPU:
- Cell Processor
- PowerPC-base Core @ 3.2GHz
- 1 VMX vector unit per core
- 512KB L2 cache
- 7 x SPE @ 3.2GHz
- 7 x 128b 128 SIMD GPRs
- 7 x 256KB SRAM for SPE
- 1 of 8 SPEs reserved for redundancy
- total floating point performance: 218 GFLOPS

PS3 GPU (Graphics Processing Unit):
- RSX @ 550MHz
- 1.8 TFLOPS floating point performance
- Full HD (up to 1080p) x 2 channels
- Multi-way programmable parallel floating point shader pipelines

GPU Bandwidth:
- Main RAM 25.6GB per second
- VRAM 22.4GB per second
- RSX 20GB per second (write) +15GB per second (read)
- SB< 2.5GB per second (write) + 2.5GB per second (read)

- System Floating Point Performance: 2 TFLOPS

PS3 Sound:
- Dolby 5.1ch, DTS, LPC. All is cell based processing allow for unique sounds.

PS3 Memory:
- 256MB XDR Main RAM @ 3.2GHz
- 256MB GDDR3 VRAM @ 700MHz

Audio Video Output:
- Screen size: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p
- HDMI: HDMI out x 2
- Analog: AV multi out
- Digital audio: Digital Out (OPTICAL)

Disc Media (CD) Specs:
- PlayStation CD-ROM PlayStation 2 CD-ROM
- CD-DA, CD-DA (ROM), CD-R, CD-RW
- SACD, SACD Hybrid (CD layer), SACD HD
- DualDisc, DualDisc (audio side), DualDisc (DVD side)

Disc Media (DVD) Specs:
- PlayStation 2 DVD-ROM
- PlayStation 3 DVD-ROM
- DVD-Video, DVD-ROM, DVD-R
- DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW

Disc Media (Blu-ray) Specs:
- PlayStation 3 BD-ROM
- BD-Video
- BD-ROM
- BD-R
- BD-RE

I/O:
- USB Front x 4 (USB2.0)
- Memory Stick standard/Duo or PRO
- SD standard and mini
- CompactFlash (Type I, II)1

Communications:
- Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T)
- Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g
- Bluetooth 2.0 (EDR)
- Wi-Fi allowing connectivety between PS3 and PSP.