Posted by SuburbanHell in PSP, Sony | 2 comments
Rumor: The PSPgo already obselete?
There have been rumors of the PSP2 for quite some time now, long before the PSPgo was announced at E3.
A new rumor has been circulating this week about the development of the PlayStation Portable 2, with it being touted as a more powerful device than the original XBox.
Here are some details on the technology behind it.
The PSP2 will feature a quad core graphics chip, using PowerVR technology form Imagination Technologies as the basis for the machine.
The rumor surfaced on Eurogamer.es, with the site claiming to have information from insider sources stating that a quad core iteration of the low-power SGX543MP chip, codenamed Hydra, will be a key component in the next generation handheld, not to be confused with the forthcoming PSPgo.
The chip is said to be very close to the enhanced GPU that can be found in the iPhone 3GS, providing a generational leap in performance over older PowerVR MBX processors found in the previous models. Using comparable technology to the iPhone also aligns with the rumor that Sony is trying to create a “PSP Phone” to compete with Apple.
The same technology is also found in some netbooks such as the Dell Mini 12. The single core version of the chip has been demonstrated at CES running Quake 3 Arena at 30FPS.
The main difference is that the SGX543MP is a multi-core processor, with anything up to 16 cores available. According to the original report, PSP2 opts for a quad configuration offering specifications of 133 million polygons per second, and 4Gpixels/sec fillrate, assuming that Hydra operates at the chip’s low-end of 200MHz.
These specification figures are a ballpark match for the original Xbox, however, PowerVR’s tech includes tile-based deferred rendering, which should make the system MORE powerful.
Imagination Technologies also describes the chip as a GP-GPU. What this means is the chip has the ability to operate as both CPU and graphics processor in one. If the PSP2 utilizes this to centralize all of its processing into a single chip, it will save power and provide other efficiency savings.
As always, this is still a rumor and should be considered as such until more concrete information is reported, but it’s interesting to think that with the massive push Sony is going to be giving the PSPgo that they’re already working on a replacement.
Clap
Nintendo actually recently said that they made an entire new hand held but scrapped it since they didn’t think it would have much of a impact on the market. It would probably be more of a surprize if the PSP2 wasn’t in development. I don’t think sony is foolish enough to make the PSPgo then next year release the PSP2. If they do then their no better then sega was with hardware. The PSP and DS are getting old, but software (and hardware sales on the DS side) sales are great for both consoles at the moment. If the PSPgo is 249.99, I could only imagine how much PSP2 would cost. With how PS3 sales are going, last thing sony needs is a portable with a outrageous price tag as well.
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I agree 100%, I don’t quite understand what Sony is trying to accomplish if this information is true. Had the PSPgo NOT been confirmed/prepared for a launch this October it might be more believable. Who knows though, I can never tell what Sony is thinking anymore.
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