202w ago - Today Eurogamer.es is reporting that PowerVR technology from Imagination Technologies will form the basis of the still-in-development PSP2.

The site claims to have insider sources that reckon that a quad core iteration of the low-power SGX543MP chip, codenamed "Hydra", will be present in the next generation handheld, not to be confused with the forthcoming PSPgo.

To quote: The chip itself appears to be very close indeed to the enhanced GPU experts say resides within the iPhone 3GS, providing a generational leap in performance over older PowerVR MBX processors found in the previous models.

The same technology is also found in select netbooks such as the Dell Mini 12, as part of the new low power Poulsbo chipset. The single core version of the chip has been demonstrated at CES running Quake 3 Arena at 30FPS.

The obvious difference of course is that the SGX543MP is a multicore processor, available with anything up to 16 cores on tap. According to the original report, PSP2 opts for a quad configuration offering notional specs of 133 million polygons per second, and 4Gpixels/sec fillrate, assuming that Hydra operates at the chip's low-end of 200MHz (higher speed variants are also available, presumably...

223w ago - Following up on the article from a few days ago: Sony will use Intel's Larrabee graphics chip in its upcoming PlayStation 4.

To quote: We know for a fact that Jeffery Katzenberg at DreamWorks likes Larrabee- a lot. That apparently was one of the reasons DreamWorks dropped Advanced Micro Devices.

So, chalk that up as one big win for Intel's somewhat-murky next-generation graphics chip due late this year or 2010.

Now Sony? A report this week in the U.K.-based technology Web site The Inquirer claims Sony favors Larrabee over Nvidia for its PlayStation 4. (The other major piece of silicon used in the current PlayStation is a Cell processor developed jointly by IBM, Sony, and Toshiba.)

For the record, an Intel spokesperson said the company "cannot comment on rumor or speculation." Sony in Europe reportedly didn't mince words, however, comparing the report to some of the 20th century's great fiction. Though another reported comment from Sony is more insipid and PR-like.

224w ago - Recently Team InFeCtuS has launched their new 4th Generation Mod-chip for the Nintendo Wii console.

The Argon 2 is both updatable via Internet and solderless, and also capable of running Wii homebrew software available at www.ArgonChannel.com.

Today we review the Argon 2 drive enhancement chip for the Wii.

I will start with my first impression of the chip itself. In size it is just a fraction larger that the infectus chip, which is not bad at all considering it has an integrated official wiiclip built in.

A quick video of it in action:





Please note: (many others need you to solder one on if you plan to use one with their chip, thus adding to the size of the chip needing it, then you have the added hasle of figuring out which one you need, and once you do solder it on... wait didn't you want a wiiclip because you're not so handy at soldering?)

So for the average user this chip is DIY, and plug-n-play via wiiclip. The PCB hardware itself is solid, and it is easy to see that it is of high quality. That being said, let's get down to actually putting the chip to use.

Upon first installing it my first test was with a dvd-rw,...

227w ago - Here is a translation of an ongoing project from Spanish developer DemonHades (linked above) courtesy of idone, detailing the PS3 BiOS chip being pulled and starting to be traced as follows:

For some time, we have been talking about the PlayStation 3 BiOS, and up to date there is no public info about the IC which does this job and the way it stores the information.

Here is a quick briefing of what we have done so far (pictures in sequence with the below text, spread across the three images below):

Pic #1: The reference of this IC is CXR713120-202GB.

Pics #2 & #3: Thanks to KnightSolidus we have these photos with the ways of this IC and some notes of connections references with colors.

Pic #4: The PLAYSTATION 3 BIOS is also known as SYSTEM CONTROLLER (SysCon)

Pic #5: As we can see in the image, SYSTEM CONTROLLER uses an SPI interface to communicate with the CELL eeprom, on which possibly it will know how to behave. We think it *might* be something interesting to work with.

Pic #6: Using this SPI interface, we can try to cause a livelock that would get us the checkstop.

Pic #7: Here we can see the CXR SYSTEM CONTROLLER, internal diagram. We believe that the UART port...

228w ago - A new book from the designer of the heart of Sony's PS3 - the Cell processor - reveals how Sony inadvertently worked with Microsoft on games consoles.

The book, The Race for a New Game Machine, details how Sony, working with Toshiba and IBM to produce the powerful processor found itself in bed with arch-gaming rival Microsoft due to business alliances.

Two authors produced the book: Mickie Phipps who worked with David Shippy. The latter was chief architect for the power processing unit for the Cell processor at IBM in Austin, Texas. Prior to this he had worked on the G3 PowerPC.

The Race for a New Game Machine details how Sony, Toshiba and IBM formed the Cell partnership in 2001, each committing several hundred million dollars. It was agreed that IBM would be able to sell the Cell to third-parties. Everybody gathered at IBM's Austin HQ.

Then, in 2002, Microsoft approached its old ally-cum-adversary, IBM, with a view to Big Blue creating a chip for a new game console.

This lead to what could be seen either as a comedy or a tragedy depending on your loyalty. Agreements meant that engineers within the IBM team could not share knowledge with Toshiba or Sony colleagues regarding...