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Originally Posted by TheGame
No... Xbox is 32, GCN is 64 like I said.
I used to have an explanation for it, like GCN runs on two 64-bit processors... and Xbox runs on four 32 bit processors (or somthing like that).
I'm not 100% sure, but that's why I think they label them as 128bit, alongside DC and Ps2 which run simply off of one 128 bit processor.
But once again, I'm FAR from sure on this Matter... the only thing I know for sure is Xbox is in fact 32 bit, and GCN is 64, and Ps2 is 128.
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OK, let me clear this up:
The DC, though very close, is only a 64-bit console by design (two 64-bit Hitachi CPUs, with a 128-bit PowerVR graphics engine. The Dreamcast has no dedicated GPU to handle graphics functions. Like the PS2, it is all handle in the MPU with Vector Processes.
The PS2 is the first true 128-bit console, and the price-point (prior to launch) definately proves that, and why the PS2 also has no dedicated GPU. The PS2 has one 297mhz CPU emulating two tasks- one as a main processor at half the clock speed (148.5 mhz), while the other is the "emotion engine" or graphics subset running at anywhere from 90mhz to the full 297mhz, of course at the cost of performance.
The emotion engine lacks onboard T&L (texture and lighting units), and does all effects in software, being a fixed graphics system. However, the PS2 is a VERY POWERFUL fixed-function unit, and the first ever with a HUGE 12-texel pipeline, capable of today's highest realword fillrate.
The GCN is a 64-bit system with a 256-bit graphics engine (codenamed "Flipper" by ArtX, later aquired by Ati). Rumors have it that Nintendo has indeed changed the PowerPC 750cxe chip (Gekko CPU) to a 64-bit SIMD instruction set, though the physical address is 32-bit according to most sources and docs.
Flipper LSI is a GPU, I/O Controller, Memory management system, Boot Rom location, L3 cache, Sound DSP, and expansion port all in one, operating at a synchonous 162mhz- 33% of Gekko's amended clock speed. Flipper is also fixed-function like PS2's graphics synth, and lacks hardware shaders provided in Nvidia's Xbox solution. However, GCN's ISA is VERY FLEXIBLE, and custom shaders have already been implemented in launch titles by Factor 5 and Nintendo, as well as newer technology in games like StarFox adventures, Mario Sunshine, and the upcoming Resident Evil 4. Low-level code for things such as DOT3 environment bumpmapping is now possible on GCN thanks to forward-thinking, and making the GCN very easy to program for via Open GL and DX toolsets. This is the first time (and probably the last) that a fixed-function GPU is capable of programmable functions without using a CPU to deliver the instructions.
The Xbox is a 32-bit system with a 256-bit graphics engine, codenamed "NV2A". The 733mhz CISC CPU has been given some extra gaming instructions, as well as native portions of the Win2k kernel the OS uses as a dashboard. In comparsion, the GCN RISC processor, depending on application, is generally as fast or faster than a 700mhz PIII CPU, so Xbox and GCN are typically the same CPU-wise.
In the graphics department, the GPU has a myriad of onboard effects with a programmable GPU API. This allows things such as bumpmapping, multitexturing, custom lighting, and other effects at no cost to performance (that GCN technically cannot do without a hit on performance, until the ISA was actually revealed for Flipper, proving otherwise). The Xbox is capable of roughly the same as GCN, since Xbox with raw power can almost compensate for performance hits for texture layers/hardware lights above 4 per pass, while GCN does 8 textures and 8 lights at no cost.
To recap:
DC is a 64-bit system with 128-bit graphics engine (fixed)
PS2 is a 128-bit system with a 128-bit graphics engine (fixed)
GCN is a 64 (or 32)-bit system with a 256-bit dedicated GPU (fixed)
Xbox is a 32-bit system with a 256-bit dedicated GPU (programmable)
It's not that difficult to see where the "bit" thing is going- it's quite obvious that "bit" is exponentially increasing in the GPU scale (see Parhelia 512 GPU, and newer Ati/NV cards due by 2004). Newer consoles will have either 256-bit, or 512-bit GPU's, with varying CPU types and clock speeds.
PS3 though, just may again be without a GPU, since Sony once again harps on vector units as a mainstay in many recent articles regarding Cell technology.
If you want more info on all of this techno jargon, feel free to PM me.
-Official Ninja of [coming soon]...