What this comparison shows

What a pre-launch specification costs

Most figures in this comparison do not produce multipliers.

Sony announced the PlayStation 3’s clocks and floating-point peaks in May 2005, a year before the console shipped, and the launch specification of May 2006 does not repeat any of them. In this catalog those figures are marked as pre-launch: the number describes hardware that was promised rather than hardware that was sold, and no document written after it shipped restates it.

They sit in the same rows as the PlayStation 2’s figures, because a nominal clock is a nominal clock however early it was published, and a reader deserves to see 3.2 GHz next to 294.912 MHz. What they do not get is a multiplier. A pre-launch figure stays provisional, and a provisional record never feeds an automatic multiplier. The two clocks stand side by side without a multiplier, because the division would rest on a figure that cannot be checked after shipment.

What does compare is memory, and it compares cleanly: both consoles state their main and video memory capacities in documents published at launch, the roles line up, and the multipliers are exactly the eight-fold and sixty-fold increases the sources support.

The lesson for reading the rest of the catalog: a missing multiplier is usually a statement about the sources, not about the machines.

At a glance

This card lists what each record states. These are the six questions every machine in the catalog is asked. A row with answers from different methods has no bar or multiplier; the line beneath it explains the difference.

Question	Sony PlayStation 2Sony Computer EntertainmentConsole · 2000Retail console	Sony PlayStation 3Sony Computer EntertainmentConsole · 2006Launch console
CPU clock	Sony PlayStation 2 (Retail console)294.912 MHzConfirmed	Sony PlayStation 3 (Launch console)3.2 GHzprovisionalConfirmed
Methods, caveats and sources for cpu clock Where these sit among 65 machines recorded this way 250 MHzSilicon Graphics Octane 294.912 MHzSony PlayStation 2 300 MHzIntel Pentium II PC 3.2 GHzMicrosoft Xbox 360 3.2 GHzSony PlayStation 3 3.2 GHzIntel Core i9-14900K PC Sony PlayStation 2 — 37th-lowest of the 65 figures recorded this way, and 4th-lowest of the 8 from 1997–2003. Sony PlayStation 3 — 57th-lowest of the 65 figures recorded this way, and 6th-lowest of the 7 from 2003–2009. Positions on a linear scale. See all 65 over time.
GPU clock	Sony PlayStation 2 (Retail console)150 MHzConfirmed	Sony PlayStation 3 (Launch console)550 MHzprovisionalConfirmed
Methods, caveats and sources for gpu clock Where these sit among 38 machines recorded this way 120 MHzNVIDIA GeForce 256 150 MHzSony PlayStation 2 162 MHzNintendo GameCube 500 MHzMicrosoft Xbox 360 550 MHzSony PlayStation 3 550 MHzNintendo Wii U Sony PlayStation 2 — 10th-lowest of the 38 figures recorded this way, and 3rd-lowest of the 6 from 1997–2003. Sony PlayStation 3 — 17th-lowest of the 38 figures recorded this way, and 4th-lowest of the 5 from 2003–2009. Positions on a linear scale. See all 38 over time.
Memory capacity	Sony PlayStation 2 (Retail console)32 MiBConfirmed	Sony PlayStation 3 (Launch console)256 MiBConfirmed
Methods, caveats and sources for memory capacity Where these sit among 68 machines recorded this way 32 MiBNVIDIA GeForce 256 32 MiBSony PlayStation 2 41 943 040 BNintendo GameCube 128 MiBApple iPhone (1st generation) 256 MiBSony PlayStation 3 512 MiBIntel Pentium 4 PC Sony PlayStation 2 — 28th-lowest of the 68 figures recorded this way, and 2nd-lowest of the 9 from 1997–2003. Sony PlayStation 3 — 36th-lowest of the 68 figures recorded this way, and 3rd-lowest of the 5 from 2003–2009. Positions on a linear scale. See all 68 over time.
Memory bandwidth	Sony PlayStation 2 (Retail console)48 GB/sGraphics Synthesizer embedded DRAMConfirmed3.2 GB/sPlayStation 2 main memory (Direct RDRAM)Confirmed3.2 GB/sConfirmed	Sony PlayStation 3 (Launch console)22.4 GB/sPlayStation 3 video memory (GDDR3)provisionalConfirmed25.6 GB/sPlayStation 3 main memory (XDR DRAM)provisionalConfirmed25.6 GB/sprovisionalConfirmed
These figures describe different parts of a machine (the memory and the whole machine). The figures are shown separately, and no bar is drawn. See how they are accounted for.
Peak FP32	Sony PlayStation 2 (Retail console)6.2 GFLOP/sEmotion EngineConfirmed	Sony PlayStation 3 (Launch console)218 GFLOP/sCell Broadband EngineprovisionalConfirmed1.8 TFLOP/sRSX Reality SynthesizerprovisionalConfirmed
These figures describe different parts of a machine (the processor and the graphics processor). The figures are shown separately, and no bar is drawn. See how they are accounted for.
Power	Sony PlayStation 2 (Retail console)79 WConfirmed	Sony PlayStation 3 (Launch console)380 WConfirmed
Methods, caveats and sources for power

Sony PlayStation 2 (Retail console), the first record, is the multiplier baseline. Each section covers its own metrics. This comparison has no overall score. Bars are drawn to scale within a row and carry no number of their own.

provisional A figure marked provisional is recorded but not accepted: its evidence is unsettled. It may rely on one source, an unconfirmed announcement, or a digit read from a damaged scan. The reason appears under the figure. The catalog shows the figure but never uses it in a multiplier. How records are judged.

Processing

Instruction rates, floating-point peaks, benchmark results and clocks. None of these converts into another.

Clock frequencycpu

Method	Sony PlayStation 2Retail console	Sony PlayStation 3Launch console
Nominal clock	Sony PlayStation 2 (Retail console)294.912 MHzConfirmed baselinecaveat Recorded as Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor. Caveat Sony first published this clock as "300 MHz" a year before launch and as 294.912 MHz afterwards; see the conflict ledger. The figure also covers only the CPU: geometry runs on the two vector units and drawing on a separate chip with a clock of its own. Sources scei-ee-gs-single-chip-2003	Sony PlayStation 3 (Launch console)3.2 GHzprovisionalConfirmed provisional figurecaveat Recorded as Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor, before the hardware shipped. Caveat Announced rather than confirmed: Sony's launch specification names the processor without a clock. It stands beside clocks recorded from shipped machines, because a nominal clock is the same quantity whenever it was published, but it stays provisional until a source describing shipped hardware states one, and a provisional figure never feeds a multiplier. Reviewed again against the instruction manual printed for the console that shipped (CECHA01, 2006): its specification table names the Cell and the RSX without a frequency for either and both memories without a transfer rate, so no post-launch Sony document corroborates this figure and it stays provisional. Multiplier No multiplier: one of these figures is provisional, and provisional records never feed a multiplier. Sources scei-ps3-specifications-2005

Peak FP32 ratecpu

Method	Sony PlayStation 2Retail console	Sony PlayStation 3Launch console
Theoretical peak	Sony PlayStation 2 (Retail console)6.2 GFLOP/sConfirmed baselinecaveat Recorded as Emotion Engine: Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor. Caveat Sony states the rate without an operation mix, a precision or a benchmark, so it is a vendor peak rather than an achieved result. It is not comparable with the Dreamcast's floating-point figure, which Sega derived from a specific matrix-multiplication workload. Sources scei-ps2-specifications-1999	Sony PlayStation 3 (Launch console)218 GFLOP/sprovisionalConfirmed provisional figurecaveat Recorded as Cell Broadband Engine: Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor, before the hardware shipped. Caveat Recorded as single precision on the strength of the SPEs being single-precision units, which is an editorial reading and not a citation: the source states no precision. Provisional on that ground as well as on being a pre-launch figure. Reviewed again against the instruction manual printed for the console that shipped (CECHA01, 2006): its specification table names the Cell and the RSX without a frequency for either and both memories without a transfer rate, so no post-launch Sony document corroborates this figure and it stays provisional. Multiplier No multiplier: one of these figures is provisional, and provisional records never feed a multiplier. Sources scei-ps3-specifications-2005

Graphics

Figures recorded against a graphics processor.

Clock frequencygpu

Method	Sony PlayStation 2Retail console	Sony PlayStation 3Launch console
Nominal clock	Sony PlayStation 2 (Retail console)150 MHzConfirmed baselinecaveat Recorded as Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor. Caveat Sony states 150 MHz and derives the chip's own bandwidth figures from it, so the two agree; accounts outside Sony's documentation frequently give 147.456 MHz instead. No source cited here states that value, so it is not recorded. Sources scei-ps2-specifications-1999	Sony PlayStation 3 (Launch console)550 MHzprovisionalConfirmed provisional figurecaveat Recorded as Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor, before the hardware shipped. Caveat Announced rather than confirmed, and the graphics processor is the part of the console Sony described least: the launch specification names the RSX and stops. Provisional on that ground, so it is shown beside other nominal clocks but never divided into one. Reviewed again against the instruction manual printed for the console that shipped (CECHA01, 2006): its specification table names the Cell and the RSX without a frequency for either and both memories without a transfer rate, so no post-launch Sony document corroborates this figure and it stays provisional. Multiplier No multiplier: one of these figures is provisional, and provisional records never feed a multiplier. Sources scei-ps3-specifications-2005

Peak FP32 rategpu

Only one of these records states this figure in this form, so there is nothing here to compare it with.

Method	Sony PlayStation 2Retail console	Sony PlayStation 3Launch console
Theoretical peak	Sony PlayStation 2 (Retail console)not recorded	Sony PlayStation 3 (Launch console)1.8 TFLOP/sprovisionalConfirmed baseline states nonecaveat Recorded as RSX Reality Synthesizer: Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor, before the hardware shipped. Caveat The weakest figure on this record. No precision, no shader-unit count and no operations-per-cycle are stated, so it cannot be reconciled with the 550 MHz quoted beside it, and no later Sony document repeats it. It is recorded because the source states it and withheld from every automatic multiplier because nothing about it can be checked. Reviewed again against the instruction manual printed for the console that shipped (CECHA01, 2006): its specification table names the Cell and the RSX without a frequency for either and both memories without a transfer rate, so no post-launch Sony document corroborates this figure and it stays provisional. It also cannot be read as the same claim as the PlayStation 4's 1.84 TFLOP/s: the PlayStation 4's reconstructs exactly from the compute units its own source names, counting the fused multiply-add each shader lane issues per cycle, and this one reconstructs from nothing. They share a comparability group because both are a vendor's theoretical peak for a graphics processor, which is as far as the group can see: it cannot tell that the two are counting different operations. A search for a checkable figure to set against this one found nothing usable: the rates that circulate for the RSX disagree with each other by more than a factor of two and every one of them traces back to a wiki or a forum, so there is no A source and no pair of agreeing B sources to record a conflict against. Multiplier No multiplier: Sony PlayStation 2 (Retail console) records no value here, so there is nothing to divide by. Sources scei-ps3-specifications-2005

Memory

Capacity, bandwidth, bus width and timing. Binary and decimal prefixes are kept as the source wrote them.

Memory capacityVideo memory · memory

Method	Sony PlayStation 2Retail console	Sony PlayStation 3Launch console
Design capacity	Sony PlayStation 2 (Retail console)4 MiBConfirmed baselinecaveat Recorded as Graphics Synthesizer embedded DRAM: Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor. Caveat The release writes "4MB", meaning 4 MiB. The figure is quoted from the 2003 description of the merged Emotion Engine and Graphics Synthesizer chip; the embedded memory was not resized when the two dies were combined. Sources scei-ee-gs-single-chip-2003	Sony PlayStation 3 (Launch console)256 MiBConfirmed 60×the baselinecaveat Recorded as PlayStation 3 video memory (GDDR3): Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor. Caveat Both releases write "256MB", meaning 256 MiB. External to the RSX rather than embedded in it, unlike the PlayStation 2's graphics memory. A third Sony document states the same two capacities, and it is the first written for a buyer holding the machine rather than for the press: the specification table in the CECHA01 instruction manual. Multiplier `a ÷ b` (ratio v1, to 1 significant digit) Sony PlayStation 3: 256 MiB Sony PlayStation 2: 4 MiB Compares memory-capacity at memory scope, obtained by design-capacity. Valid only within this comparability group, and reported to 1 significant digit — the precision of the least precise input. Sources scei-ps3-launch-2006 scei-ps3-specifications-2005 scei-ps3-cecha01-manual

Memory capacitySystem memory · memory

Method	Sony PlayStation 2Retail console	Sony PlayStation 3Launch console
Design capacity	Sony PlayStation 2 (Retail console)32 MiBConfirmed baselinecaveat Recorded as PlayStation 2 main memory (Direct RDRAM): Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor. Caveat The release writes "32 MB", meaning 32 MiB. The Graphics Synthesizer's 4 MiB is separate and unreachable from here, so the two are never added. Sources scei-ps2-specifications-1999	Sony PlayStation 3 (Launch console)256 MiBConfirmed 8×the baselinecaveat Recorded as PlayStation 3 main memory (XDR DRAM): Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor. Caveat Both releases write "256MB", meaning 256 MiB. The RSX's 256 MiB is a separate pool, so the console's memory is never one figure of 512 MiB. A third Sony document states the same two capacities, and it is the first written for a buyer holding the machine rather than for the press: the specification table in the CECHA01 instruction manual. Multiplier `a ÷ b` (ratio v1, to 2 significant digits) Sony PlayStation 3: 256 MiB Sony PlayStation 2: 32 MiB Compares memory-capacity at memory scope, obtained by design-capacity. Valid only within this comparability group, and reported to 2 significant digits — the precision of the least precise input. Sources scei-ps3-launch-2006 scei-ps3-specifications-2005 scei-ps3-cecha01-manual

Memory capacitywhole-system

Method	Sony PlayStation 2Retail console	Sony PlayStation 3Launch console
Design capacity	Sony PlayStation 2 (Retail console)32 MiBConfirmed baselinecaveat Recorded as Derived. Computed here from figures the vendor stated. Caveat Adds 1 memory-capacity figure obtained by design-capacity. Left out: 4 MiB embedded in the Graphics Synthesizer (on the drawing chip’s own die and unreachable from the processor). A total is only as trustworthy as the decision about what belongs in it, so both the terms and the exclusions are named records. Sources scei-ps2-specifications-1999	Sony PlayStation 3 (Launch console)256 MiBConfirmed 8×the baselinecaveat Recorded as Derived. Computed here from figures the vendor stated. Caveat Adds 1 memory-capacity figure obtained by design-capacity. Left out: 256 MiB of video memory (the RSX’s own pool, which the processor cannot spend on its own work). A total is only as trustworthy as the decision about what belongs in it, so both the terms and the exclusions are named records. A third Sony document states the same two capacities, and it is the first written for a buyer holding the machine rather than for the press: the specification table in the CECHA01 instruction manual. Multiplier `a ÷ b` (ratio v1, to 2 significant digits) Sony PlayStation 3: 256 MiB Sony PlayStation 2: 32 MiB Compares memory-capacity at whole-system scope, obtained by design-capacity. Valid only within this comparability group, and reported to 2 significant digits — the precision of the least precise input. Sources scei-ps3-launch-2006 scei-ps3-specifications-2005 scei-ps3-cecha01-manual

Memory bandwidthVideo memory · memory

Method	Sony PlayStation 2Retail console	Sony PlayStation 3Launch console
Theoretical peak	Sony PlayStation 2 (Retail console)48 GB/sConfirmed baselinecaveat Recorded as Graphics Synthesizer embedded DRAM: Theoretical. Stated by the vendor. Caveat A bus maximum. The 2560 bit are not one bus but three ports — separate read and write paths for the frame and Z buffers plus a texture path — so no single operation can consume the whole figure. Sources scei-ps2-specifications-1999	Sony PlayStation 3 (Launch console)22.4 GB/sprovisionalConfirmed provisional figurecaveat Recorded as PlayStation 3 video memory (GDDR3): Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor, before the hardware shipped. Caveat A bus figure from a pre-launch table. Worth reading beside the PlayStation 2's graphics memory, which was sixty-four times smaller and twice this fast, although the multiplier is refused: this figure is provisional, having been announced before the console shipped and never restated afterwards. Reviewed again against the instruction manual printed for the console that shipped (CECHA01, 2006): its specification table names the Cell and the RSX without a frequency for either and both memories without a transfer rate, so no post-launch Sony document corroborates this figure and it stays provisional. Multiplier No multiplier: one of these figures is provisional, and provisional records never feed a multiplier. Sources scei-ps3-specifications-2005

Memory bandwidthSystem memory · memory

Method	Sony PlayStation 2Retail console	Sony PlayStation 3Launch console
Theoretical peak	Sony PlayStation 2 (Retail console)3.2 GB/sConfirmed baselinecaveat Recorded as PlayStation 2 main memory (Direct RDRAM): Theoretical. Stated by the vendor. Caveat A bus maximum, not a rate any workload sustains. Rambus reaches it with a narrow channel at a very high transfer rate, which makes it more sensitive to access pattern than a wide, slow bus of the same nominal figure. Sources scei-ps2-specifications-1999	Sony PlayStation 3 (Launch console)25.6 GB/sprovisionalConfirmed provisional figurecaveat Recorded as PlayStation 3 main memory (XDR DRAM): Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor, before the hardware shipped. Caveat A bus figure from a pre-launch table, and one the launch specification does not repeat. The same table quotes the RSX's access to this memory separately, at 20 GB/s writing and 15 GB/s reading, so the processor is not the only claimant on the 25.6. Reviewed again against the instruction manual printed for the console that shipped (CECHA01, 2006): its specification table names the Cell and the RSX without a frequency for either and both memories without a transfer rate, so no post-launch Sony document corroborates this figure and it stays provisional. Multiplier No multiplier: one of these figures is provisional, and provisional records never feed a multiplier. Sources scei-ps3-specifications-2005

Memory bandwidthwhole-system

Method	Sony PlayStation 2Retail console	Sony PlayStation 3Launch console
Theoretical peak	Sony PlayStation 2 (Retail console)3.2 GB/sConfirmed baselinecaveat Recorded as Derived. Computed here from figures the vendor stated. Caveat Adds 1 memory-bandwidth figure obtained by theoretical-peak. Left out: 48 GB/s inside the Graphics Synthesizer (the drawing chip’s own embedded memory, which the processor cannot read or write). A total is only as trustworthy as the decision about what belongs in it, so both the terms and the exclusions are named records. Sources scei-ps2-specifications-1999	Sony PlayStation 3 (Launch console)25.6 GB/sprovisionalConfirmed provisional figurecaveat Recorded as Derived. Computed here from figures the vendor stated, before the hardware shipped. Caveat Adds 1 memory-bandwidth figure obtained by theoretical-peak. Left out: 22.4 GB/s of video memory (the RSX’s own pool, reached by the processor only across a separate interface). A total is only as trustworthy as the decision about what belongs in it, so both the terms and the exclusions are named records. Reviewed again against the instruction manual printed for the console that shipped (CECHA01, 2006): its specification table names the Cell and the RSX without a frequency for either and both memories without a transfer rate, so no post-launch Sony document corroborates this figure and it stays provisional. Multiplier No multiplier: one of these figures is provisional, and provisional records never feed a multiplier. Sources scei-ps3-specifications-2005

Energy

A cooling-design target, a specified rating and a measured wall draw are separate quantities, and only the last supports a multiplier.

Rated power consumptionwhole-system

Method	Sony PlayStation 2Retail console	Sony PlayStation 3Launch console
Rated power	Sony PlayStation 2 (Retail console)79 WConfirmed baselinecaveat Recorded as Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor. Caveat A rating rather than a measurement: no workload is stated, and the console draws less than this at idle and while playing a disc. It applies to one revision of the hardware among many, and the metric forbids ratios for exactly that reason. Sources scea-ps2-scph-39001-manual	Sony PlayStation 3 (Launch console)380 WConfirmed not a ratiocaveat Recorded as Vendor-rated. Stated by the vendor. Caveat A supply rating, not a measurement: no workload is stated and none is implied. It took the manual in the box to find it: neither the specification Sony published before launch nor the launch release itself states a wattage, and the manual is tied to this console rather than to a later, smaller revision by the dimensions and mass it prints beside the figure, which match Sony’s own launch release exactly. Multiplier No multiplier: this quantity is not defined consistently enough for one figure to be divided by another. Sources scei-ps3-cecha01-manual

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