by If you’re reminiscing about the older console, we’ll look at what powered the graphics
Updated: 17 February 2023 at 15.44
Playstation 3 came out in November 2006, and 2007 in PAL regions. With years of service and iterations, we look at the GPU equivalent of the PS3.
With a lifespan of 11 years, different models of the console have been released. Each tends to slim the size. But the GPU’s core specs remain the same, and the process size is reduced.
This means that the die size and TDP of the chip were reduced, leading to less cooling required. And this made the console a good choice for a number of users. So we look at what made the impact.
Which GPU corresponds to the PS3?
The PS3 is packed with an Nvidia Curie CPU made in Sony’s Foundry. It was RSX GPU from 90nm to 28nm process.
Even with that, the GPU core specs remained the same. With a GPU clock of 550 MHz and a memory clock of 1300 Mbps for its 256 MB memory size. Which is a GDDR3 type with a 128-bit bus that gives a bandwidth of 20.8 GB/s.
It consists of 24 pixel shaders, 8 vertex shaders, 24 TMUs and 8 ROPs. And looking at the equivalent best GPU is the Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX.
Also from the Curie architecture, it uses TSMC’s 110nm process instead. To increase the mold size in general. But the discrete GPU has much more freedom than a console.
This card actually has 24 pixel shaders, 8 vertices, 24 TMUs and 16 ROPs. With a 430 MHz clock and 1200 Mbps memory for 256 MB GDDR3 memory.
It also increases the bus to 256-bit and increases the bandwidth to 38.4 GB/s. So it’s almost hardware-related. But when it comes to optimizations, console and discrete will always be different with no real one-to-one comparison available.
Plus they are pretty outdated these days and any modern GPU can outperform them. As such, the RTX 3050 and RX 6500 XT are powerful enough to outperform these choices. But that is to be expected over the 10 years of silicon improvements and optimizations.
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Great build quality and design
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ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 6500 XT OC
Benefits
Quiet operation even under heavy load
Effective cooling solution keeps temperatures low
Quality construction designed to last
Fastest overclock with much more headroom
Cons
A customized solution can significantly increase the price
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