Memory
The Emotion Engine's main memory: a narrow, very fast Rambus channel delivering 3.2 GB/s, in a console generation where competitors used wide, slower buses.
| Metric | Value | Evidence | Basis | Method | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memory capacity memory | 32 MiB | Confirmed | Vendor-rated | Design capacity Stated by the vendor Main memory fitted to the console. The Emotion Engine can address 256 MB, which development hardware used and retail machines never did. 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. | |
| Memory bandwidth memory | 3.2 GB/s | Confirmed | Theoretical | Theoretical peak Stated by the vendor Peak transfer rate of the Direct Rambus channel between main memory and the Emotion Engine. 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. |
15×
a ÷ b ratio v1 Compares memory-bandwidth at memory scope, obtained by theoretical-peak. Valid only within this comparability group, and reported to 2 significant digits — the precision of the least precise input. At least one input is a theoretical peak, which is an upper bound rather than an achieved result.
33 554 432 B
a + b + … sum v1 Adds 1 memory-capacity figure obtained by design-capacity. Left out: 4 MiB (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.
3 200 000 000 B/s
a + b + … sum v1 Adds 1 memory-bandwidth figure obtained by theoretical-peak. Left out: 48 GB/s (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.