Hardware Official 3DS Technical Discussion

[heartgold]

Alright, now we have had the chance to play around with the 3DS for a good 10 months, I'm sure most of us have played one the best looking game on the system, yep I'm talking out Residents Evil: Revelations demo. Now we have a good insight what the system is capable of.

Feel free to post screenshots/footage that impressed you, discuss its GPU and how it's features are used in game and other aspects of the system such as sound or whatever and if you like, criticise the system if it lacks in a particular area.

There's not much we know about the inner specs, We can speculate using screenshots and games that are release. Just so you know the known facts are....

128MB FCRAM, contains 2 dies split in 64MB each.
Some dual core ARM CPU with unknown clock speeds.
DMP Pica200 GPU model that we don't know which and unknown clock speed.
DSP, its own dedicated sound chip unlike the DS.
6MB VRAM, stated from 3dbrew.

Note: I don't want people bringing up Vita in this thread, we all know it's a much more powerful handheld out of the two, lets not state the obvious and keep it down to what the 3DS can achieve.

Edit: Regarding the Pica200 GPU more info thanks to coto and puregamer

Spoiler

PICA®200 3D Graphics IP


PICA200 graphics IP core is a 3D graphics IP core for embedded applications with DMP’s proprietary extention MAESTRO that realizes a flexible, scalable, and innovative high quality graphics to meet broad demand for ASIC/ASSP/SoC (System on Chip) applications for the rapidly growing “21st-century Digital Consumer Market” such as amusement machines, car infotainment systems, mobile phones, game consoles, and digital appliances.


DMP provides PICA emulators for PC environments, “ShaderBox®” which is an authoring support tool for DMP extensions, and content execution environments (engines). All these tools support the industry standard COLLADA specification, allowing for seamless workflow from major CG tools as well as efficient and low-cost production of contents that make full use of DMP extensions.

Features:

• Frame buffer: Maximum 4095×4095 pixels
• Pixel format: RGBA4444, RGB565, RGBA5551, RGBA8888
• Vertex program (ARB_vertex_program)
• Render to texture
• mipmap
• Bilinear texture filtering
• Alpha blending
• Full-scene antialiasing (2×2)
• Polygon offset
• 8-bit stencil buffer
• 24-bit depth buffer
• Single/Double/Triple buffer
• Vertex performance: Maximum 15.3M polygons/sec (at 200MHz)
• Pixel performance: Maximum 800M pixels/sec (at 200MHz)

DMP MAESTRO technology

• Per-pixel lighting
• Procedural texture
• Refraction mapping
• Subdivision primitive
• Shadow
• Gaseous object rendering

Specification

• 65 nm Single Core (max. clock frequency 400 MHz)
  • pixel performance: 800 Mpixel/s
    • 400 Mpixel/s @100 MHz
    • 1600 Mpixel/s @400 MHz
  • vertex performance: 15.3 Mpolygon/s
    • 40Mtriangle/s @100 MHz
    • 160Mtriangle/s @400 MHz
• Power consumption: 0.5-1.0 mW/MHz
• Frame Buffer max. 4095×4095 pixels

 

[Coto]

According to:

http://www.dmprof.co...cts/e_pica_200/

PICA®200 3D Graphics IP


PICA200 graphics IP core is a 3D graphics IP core for embedded applications with DMP’s proprietary extention MAESTRO that realizes a flexible, scalable, and innovative high quality graphics to meet broad demand for ASIC/ASSP/SoC (System on Chip) applications for the rapidly growing “21st-century Digital Consumer Market” such as amusement machines, car infotainment systems, mobile phones, game consoles, and digital appliances.


DMP provides PICA emulators for PC environments, “ShaderBox®” which is an authoring support tool for DMP extensions, and content execution environments (engines). All these tools support the industry standard COLLADA specification, allowing for seamless workflow from major CG tools as well as efficient and low-cost production of contents that make full use of DMP extensions.

Features:

• Frame buffer: Maximum 4095×4095 pixels
• Pixel format: RGBA4444, RGB565, RGBA5551, RGBA8888
• Vertex program (ARB_vertex_program)
• Render to texture
• mipmap
• Bilinear texture filtering
• Alpha blending
• Full-scene antialiasing (2×2)
• Polygon offset
• 8-bit stencil buffer
• 24-bit depth buffer
• Single/Double/Triple buffer
• Vertex performance: Maximum 15.3M polygons/sec (at 200MHz)
• Pixel performance: Maximum 800M pixels/sec (at 200MHz)

DMP MAESTRO technology

• Per-pixel lighting
• Procedural texture
• Refraction mapping
• Subdivision primitive
• Shadow
• Gaseous object rendering

 

[Puregamer]

Don't we know the specs of the PICA 200?

Specification

• 65 nm Single Core (max. clock frequency 400 MHz)
  • pixel performance: 800 Mpixel/s
    • 400 Mpixel/s @100 MHz
    • 1600 Mpixel/s @400 MHz
  • vertex performance: 15.3 Mpolygon/s
    • 40Mtriangle/s @100 MHz
    • 160Mtriangle/s @400 MHz
• Power consumption: 0.5-1.0 mW/MHz
• Frame Buffer max. 4095×4095 pixels

Source: http://www.dmprof.co..._PICA200_en.pdf


Edit: LOL put coto's and mine post together, and that's all the info on the PICA there is

 

[heartgold]

thanks guys

 

[Pong20302000]

this vid had some pics assembled with some hip music

 

[The Milkman]

Now we wait for the flash complaints...

 

[pachura]

All the specific figures related to CPU and GPU performance like clock frequency or Mpix/s are pure speculation and/or blind copy-pasting.

The only new thing we've recently learned is that 3DS is actually capable of applying fullscreen AA in a real game (in 2D, though). Up to now, almost no game used AA (SSF4 had it on some objects in cutscenes; it was also applied in Pokedex, but's that's a toy, not a fully blown game).

 

[Deleted_171835]

Is this supposed to be a copy of the thread on Neogaf?

inb4itgetslockedthankstoangryfanboys

 

[McHaggis]

All the specific figures related to CPU and GPU performance like clock frequency or Mpix/s are pure speculation and/or blind copy-pasting.

The only new thing we've recently learned is that 3DS is actually capable of applying fullscreen AA in a real game (in 2D, though). Up to now, almost no game used AA (SSF4 had it on some objects in cutscenes; it was also applied in Pokedex, but's that's a toy, not a fully blown game).

I long for the day where my Nintendo console's games have smooth lines.

 

[Eerpow]

All the specific figures related to CPU and GPU performance like clock frequency or Mpix/s are pure speculation and/or blind copy-pasting.

The only new thing we've recently learned is that 3DS is actually capable of applying fullscreen AA in a real game (in 2D, though). Up to now, almost no game used AA (SSF4 had it on some objects in cutscenes; it was also applied in Pokedex, but's that's a toy, not a fully blown game).

We have known about AA since launch actually.

And AA wasn't applied in the pokédex app.
I've played both RE:revelations and SSFIV and I can say that both games uses AA when the 3D is off,
though in Street Fighter you have to go inside the menu and disable 3D from there before it starts running with AA.

By cutscenes you mean in game when the camera zooms out and the fight starts right?

If 3D wasn't shut down in the menu before you would enter a fight the game would play with AA off as long as it was in game footage.


So both RE and SF play jaggie-less, not that it matters on a small screen but it's a neat feature.

Hope that cleared some things up.

 

[Coto]

Also,

http://www.dmprof.com/english/e_products/e_pica200_lite/

There's the "PICA 200 Lite", aimed to handhelds/low power consumption. I bet 3DS has a custom one, like this

 

[Schmendrick]

All the specific figures related to CPU and GPU performance like clock frequency or Mpix/s are pure speculation and/or blind copy-pasting.

The only new thing we've recently learned is that 3DS is actually capable of applying fullscreen AA in a real game (in 2D, though). Up to now, almost no game used AA (SSF4 had it on some objects in cutscenes; it was also applied in Pokedex, but's that's a toy, not a fully blown game).

We have known about AA since launch actually.

And AA wasn't applied in the pokédex app.

The 3DS has two types of AA: 2x horizontal AA and 4x AA, which the developer can choose to turn on or off. The Pokedex app uses the first, for example.
If the game doesn't have AA, that can only mean that it uses too many resources as it is. You should realize that when using full AA in 3D mode, the 3DS has to render at 8 times the screen's resolution.

 

[Eerpow]

The 3DS has two types of AA: 2x horizontal AA and 4x AA, which the developer can choose to turn on or off. The Pokedex app uses the first, for example.
If the game doesn't have AA, that can only mean that it uses too many resources as it is. You should realize that when using full AA in 3D mode, the 3DS has to render at 8 times the screen's resolution.

OK, so Capcom is using the the latter type, because their games are the smoothest I've seen.

 

[Dash_2]

this vid had some pics assembled with some hip music

[media]http://www.youtube.c...h?v=hr0taw61nLU[/media]

nice video and the music i might haveto make some babies to this song tonight

nice thread in general would love to see more on the spec

thanks for all the research guys

 

[pachura]

If the game doesn't have AA, that can only mean that it uses too many resources as it is.

That's why it is so impressive that they've managed to have AA in Resident Evil.

 

[Deleted_171835]

The 3DS got a RAM boost shortly before launch which would mean that first-gen games wouldn't have been able to take advantage of the extra RAM. We should see better-looking games later on as a result of that. Not to mention the whole extra core that was apparently unlocked to devs.

And there's the possibility that Nintendo could raise the clockspeed of the PICA200 for devs just like Sony upped the PSP clockspeed to 333MHz after a firmware update.

All the specific figures related to CPU and GPU performance like clock frequency or Mpix/s are pure speculation and/or blind copy-pasting.

The only new thing we've recently learned is that 3DS is actually capable of applying fullscreen AA in a real game (in 2D, though). Up to now, almost no game used AA (SSF4 had it on some objects in cutscenes; it was also applied in Pokedex, but's that's a toy, not a fully blown game).

I've seen AA being used before Revelations. Zelda OOT 3D had it in 2D mode. And from what I heard, Zen Pinball does 4X super-sampling AA in 3D Mode.

 

[The Milkman]

Whats AA?

 

[Deleted_171835]

Whats AA?

Anti-aliasing.

 

[The Milkman]

Whats AA?

Anti-aliasing.

Ohhh... Whats that do? Ive heard of it quite a bit (mostly with PC games)

 

[Deleted_171835]

Whats AA?

Anti-aliasing.

Ohhh... Whats that do? Ive heard of it quite a bit (mostly with PC games)

Aliasing is the jagged effect on lines. Anti-aliasing removes those jagged lines.