This past week at the International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) it was announced by IBM that they would be producing a lower powered, smaller version of the processor they currently use with the PS3. Instead of using a 65nm processor in the PS3’s Cell, IBM is moving into the next generation with a new 45nm processor.
So what exactly does this mean for those of you like me who aren’t well aware of what goes on inside of game consoles? It’s pretty simple, really. For one, it’s being documented that the 45nm chip uses 40% less power than the 65nm chip. This doesn’t make newer PS3’s any less powerful then older models; it just means it won’t need as much power going into it. Second, because there will be such a large power loss the console will be more reliable, and production costs will be lowered because it will cut down on the internal fans cooling the console along with other similar components.
Now, it’s up to Sony if they want to drop the price of the PS3 to gain market share when these chips are in full on production, or they could keep the same price point on their consoles and try to gain some money back. It’s a known fact that consoles drop in price over time because of lowered production costs; it’s just a matter of when Sony wants to do it.
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