A Bit-question

[Enigma]

I´ve been wondering, what kind of bit will Revolution be?
I mean we all say next-generation so I was wondering.
The NES was 8-bit
The SNES was 16-bit & so on. Maybe we don´t go by bit-measures nowadays but I felt like posting this question anyway.

Anyone?

[system_error]

The Gamecube belonged to the 64 bit generation - the Revolution to the 128 bit generation. Technically this is not really correct.


The Gamecube CPU Gekko used a PowerPC750CXe which is as far as I know a 32 bit CPU. The Revolution CPU is still unknow but I think if its a IBM CPU it might be based on the PowerPC970MP (or FX) which is a 64 bit CPU.


So you can take whatever you want to believe :)

[Cheapshot]

I don't think he means processors.

All current generation consoles are said to be 128 bit -- even Dreamcast. To be honest I don't know what the 128 bit actually is.

[gorrit]

Cheapshot, well, that's what the bit part in his first post is about(I think). NES = 8bit, SNES = 16bit, N64 = 64 bit etc.

Since the CPU bit doesn't matter that much speedwise today, people don't care as much.

EDIT: Most next-gen consoles will probably be 64 bit, becouse that's what todays highend computers use. Then again, I haven't really checked so I don't know :P

[system_error]

Actually those are the 64 bit consoles:


- Bandai Pippin
- Nintendo 64
- Dreamcast
- PS2
- XBOX
- Gamecube


So the Revolution will be 128 - but it doesn't matter this term was used in the beginning but has no real meaning today.

[DCK]

I'm quite a techie but I've no idea what all the console bit crap means. It doesn't really seem matter though.

[Cheapshot]

Actually those are the 64 bit consoles:

- Dreamcast
- PS2
- XBOX
- Gamecube



How come they are widely known and advertised to be 128bit?

To make them look faster than the previous generation to casual gamers?

[Hellfire]

Id also like to be enlightened on this, why are this gen consoles called 128 bits?

[system_error]

Yes because you can't sell the N64 as 64 bit and then make people think another 64 bit console is that much better. So I think it is basicly some marketing strategy but nothing which really matters.

Although a 64 bit CPU COULD mean a lot of difference compared to a 32 bit CPU. But maybe I am completly wrong and the bit number describes the fun factor, the colors possible, the number you can have sex before your console crashes, ... :)

[Cheapshot]

The Nintendo 64 has a 64bit proccesor? That I doubt. I mean 64bit processors for PC's are a pretty recent thing.

I'm not sure what the extra bit does but proccesors are a damn lot more expensive when more bit is involved.

[system_error]

NO hehe - the N64 belongs to the 64 bit generation of console - but the CPU only had 32 bit.

64 bit basicly means more registers, more adressable RAM, ...

Basicly 64 bit means you can now have more than 4 GB RAM in your computer (there are software ways for servers which can already go over the limit of 4 GB).

[Cheapshot]

Finally someone explains what the bit stands for. :heh:

[DCK]

The difference between 32-bit and 64-bit is overrated really. The way it works is that the CPU keeps track of addresses of the memory. Every single byte in the RAM has an address. If a CPU has 32-bit addresses it can store values from 0 to 4.2 million (2^32) in them, meaning you can have 4.2 million bytes or 4 GB of memory. If the CPU has 64-bits registers it can have 2^64 bytes or 1.6 exabyte RAM. The actual performance gain is pretty slim though.

[Schpickles]

The difference between 32-bit and 64-bit is overrated really. The way it works is that the CPU keeps track of addresses of the memory. Every single byte in the RAM has an address. If a CPU has 32-bit addresses it can store values from 0 to 4.2 million (2^32) in them, meaning you can have 4.2 million bytes or 4 GB of memory. If the CPU has 64-bits registers it can have 2^64 bytes or 1.6 exabyte RAM. The actual performance gain is pretty slim though.

Yeah, he's right there. The point I'd disagree on is with the system performance, as there are advantages to having a CPU that can handle values with a larger number of bits - for example, two 32-bit floating point numbers can be stored in a 64bit space.

Basically, the "number of bits" usually refers to the largest value that a CPU can hold in any of its "registers" (local, on-chip memory for storing numbers used in calculations).

In the last generation, the Xbox used an Intel x86 CPU (similar to those in PCs), which is 32bit, the GameCube's IBM chip was a 64bit derivative of the G3 PowerPC CPU (similar to those found in Apple Macs), and the PlayStation CPU was a custom designed CPU based on the MIPs architecture, which was capable of doing some 128bit instructions, mainly for multimedia stuff, but also for performing some really neat performance tricks (e.g. doing 4 FLoating point OPerations in one clock cycle. The GBA has a CPU capable of operating in 16 and 32bit modes... etc etc

To cut a long story short - the "number of bits" is not a good measure of performance - it merely describes one aspect of a processor. Other considerations such as the structure and amount of cache, memory bandwidth and frontside bus in and out of the CPU, and pipeline structure are much more important these days. Both the X360 and PS3 are basically 64bit chips (the PowerPC G5, such as used in the PowerMacs and iMacs is very much in-vogue, both consoles have a similar style of CPU). I wouldn't be surprised if the Revolution uses a G4-based CPU, which is also 64bit.

Normally through a lack of understanding, you'll see people try to "add together the bits" of the CPU and GPU or something along those lines... it's a pretty pointless excercise. GPUs are not general pupose processors, and have large registers designed with high performance maths in mind and hence have a high "number of bits". Best bet is to look at the whole system architecture, rather than one - now relatively insignificant - statistic of the CPU.

[YenRug]

How nerdy is this shit man. I can't believe you took your time to type that.

I found out the hard way, I think you'll find Schpickles is a programmer/developer.

[Cheapshot]

I found out the hard way, I think you'll find Schpickles is a programmer/developer.

Thanks for the heads up! :woops:

[Schpickles]

Thanks for the heads up! :woops:

hehe - one that's on a day off and has that kind of time :P

plus I did a degree in Computer Systems Engineering... so - nerdy as it is - I had to learn it :P

[faz99]

--> Did you know?
For some games the N64 used 32bits instead of the full 64bits as it wasn't needed?

Thought so.