Graphics
Reality Coprocessor (RCP)
Two engines in one part: the RSP, a microcode-programmable signal processor that runs geometry and audio, and the RDP, the graphics pipeline that rasterizes. The RCP also carries the console's I/O interfaces.
- Manufacturer
- Silicon Graphics / Nintendo
- Architecture
- Reality Coprocessor
- Introduced
- 1996
- Record status
- approved
Fitted to
Editorial notes
The RSP being microcode-programmable is what separates this from the PlayStation's fixed-function split: the geometry stage is software, so what the machine does with a triangle is not fixed in silicon. Both engines read main memory directly, alongside the CPU.