Arriva Natale, fioccano console portatili

Cosa c’è di meglio di trovare sotto l’albero una bella console portatile da portare in giro con sé per rallegrare le noiose pause di una giornata?
Perfetto, allora rompiamo il porcellino di terracotta (preferibilmente di qualcun altro…) e compriamone una… si, ma quale scegliere tra nintendo ds e playstation portable?
Per gli indecisi dell’ultimo momento, ecco qua le specifiche tecniche delle due console:

NINTENDO DS

CPU Main processor ARM946E-S (67MHz)
Cache: 8KB data 4KB
TCM : 32KB data 16KB
Sub processor ARM7TDMI (33MHz)

Memory Main memory 4MB
ARM9/ARM7 32KB (2 times 16KB)
ARM7
Work RAM 64KB
VRAM 656KB

LCD Display two screens of 256×192 pixels (RGB)
Colors maximum of 262,144 colors

2D graphics
Engine BG 4 layers maximum
OBJ 128 objects maximum

3D graphics
Engine Coordinate conversion maximum of 4M / second
Polygon drawing capability maximum of 120K polygon s
Pixel drawing capability maximum of 30M pixels/second

Sound 16 channels (ADPCM/PCM)
Microphone input

Wireless communication IEEE802.11 protocol

Input device Touch screen / panel
‘cross’, A, B, R, L, Start, Select (X and Y are under examination)

Electric power control Sleep mode (with WakeUp by radio signal possible). Electric power control of the 2D engine, rendering engine, (unknown) engine and LCD possible.

PLAYSTATION PORTABLE

PSP CPU CORE
MIPS R4000 32bit Core
128bit Bus
1 – 333MHz @ 1.2V
Main Memory :8MB(eDRAM) (**Changed to 32MB, 4MB embedded in May 2004)
Bus Bandwidth :2.6GB/sec
I-Cache, D-Cache
FPU, VFPU (Vector Unit) @ 2.6GFlops
3D-CG Extended Instructions

PSP Media Engine
MIPS R4000 32bit Core
128bit Bus
1 – 333MHz @ 1.2V
Sub Memory:2MB(eDRAM) @ 2.6GB/sec
I-Cache, D-Cache
90nm CMOS

PSP Graphics Core 1
3D Curved Surface + 3D Polygon
Compressed Texture
Hardware Clipping, Morphing, Bone(8)
Hardware Tessellator
Bezier, B-Spline(NURBS)
ex 4×4, 16×16, 64×64 sub-division

PSP Graphics Core 2
‘Rendering Engine’ + ‘Surface Engine’
256bit Bus, 1-166 MHz @ 1.2V (**Changed to 512bit Bus in final version)
VRAM :2MB(eDRAM)
Bus Bandwidth :5.3GB/sec
Pixel Fill Rate :664 M pixels/sec
max 33 M polygon /sec(T&L)
24bit Full Color:RGBA

PSP Sound Core: VME
Reconfigurable DSPs
128bit Bus
166MHz @1.2V
5 Giga Operations /sec
CODEC
3D Sound, Multi-Channel
Synthesizer, Effecter, etc

UMD(Universal Media Disc)
60mm
Laser Diode:660nm
Dual Layer :1.8GB
Transfer Rate:11Mbps
Shock Proof
Secure ROM by AES
Unique Disc ID

AVC Decoder
AVC(H.264) Decoder
Main Profile
Baseline Profile
@Level1,Level2,Level3
2Hours(High Quality) – DVD movie
4Hours(Standard Quality) – CS Digital

I/O
USB 2.0
Memory Stick
Extension Port(reserved)
Stereo Head phone Out

Communication
Wireless LAN (i802.11)
IrDA
USB 2.0

Che dire?
Da una parte l’originalità, dall’altra la potenza.

A parte il prezzo di listino, su ebay i NDS si trovano a partire da 110, mentre le PSP a partire da 80 euro (fatto molto strano, ma potete verificare).