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Sega Saturn

Sega Saturn, represented with its retail processor, graphics and installed writable memory.

Manufacturer
SEGA Enterprises
Released
November 1994
Region
Japan
Record status
approved
A black Sega Saturn photographed against white, a circular disc lid recessed into the top of the case, with the first-model control pad lying in front of it.

A first-generation Sega Saturn in the black case sold outside Japan, with the Model 1 control pad. This record’s figures come from Sega’s service manual for the PAL console.

Evan-Amos · Public domain (released by its author) · Wikimedia Commons

About this machine

Two SH-2 processors run at the same nominal frequency. Their count is recorded in the retail configuration; the catalog does not turn two clocks into a fictional 57.2 MHz processor. The figures come from Sega's service manual for the PAL console, model MK-80200-50, which is the only Sega specification for this machine the project has retrieved.

Configuration

PAL retail console (MK-80200-50)

Component Role Count Clock Capacity
Hitachi SH-2 Two SH2 processors at one frequency, not one at twice it. The rate is the PAL console's; Sega published no equivalent document for the Japanese machine that this catalog has found. Main CPU 2 28.4 MHz Nominal clock —
Sega Saturn VDP1/VDP2 graphics system GPU 2 28.63636 MHz Nominal clock —
Sega Saturn backup RAM Battery-backed, and the only memory here that survives power off. System memory 1 — 32 KiB
Sega Saturn CD buffer RAM Buffers the compact-disc drive. The buffer is memory; the disc it fills is not. System memory 1 — 512 KiB
Sega Saturn IPL ROM Boot firmware. Fitted to the machine, but left out of its memory total. System memory 1 — 512 KiB
Sega Saturn work RAM System memory 1 — 2 MiB
Sega Saturn sound RAM Belongs to the sound processor. System memory 1 — 512 KiB
Sega Saturn video RAM Attached to the two video display processors. Video memory 1 — 1.5 MiB

Figures for the whole machine

Sega Saturn: system figures

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.

Metric Value Evidence Basis Method Source
Clock frequency cpu 28.4 MHz Confirmed Vendor-rated Nominal clock Stated by the vendor Master and slave SH2 of the PAL console, model MK-80200-50. Sega states one frequency for both SH2 processors of the PAL console, model MK-80200-50. It is the PAL rate; the Japanese machine's crystal gives a slightly higher one, and this catalog has no Sega document for that model. Two processors at this rate are not one at twice it, so the pair share a single clock figure.
Clock frequency gpu provisional 28.63636 MHz Rumored Vendor-rated Nominal clock From community documentation Sega's verified material states no video clock. Wikipedia gives 28.63636 MHz for both VDP1 and VDP2, and the catalog carries it as rumored until a technical document states it.
Memory capacity whole-system 4 751 360 B Confirmed Derived Design capacity Computed here from figures the vendor stated Adds 5 memory-capacity figures obtained by design-capacity. Left out: 512 KiB of IPL ROM (boot firmware, not memory the console can write to). A total is only as trustworthy as the decision about what belongs in it, so both the terms and the exclusions are named records.
Rated power consumption whole-system 15 W Confirmed Vendor-rated Rated power Stated by the vendor Japanese Sega Saturn, model code HST-3210, on AC100V±10% 50/60 Hz mains. Stated as 約15W, or "approximately 15 W". Unusually for a console of its era this is the machine's own consumption rather than an adapter rating, because the Saturn takes mains power directly. Later revisions and non-Japanese mains configurations may differ.
2 documented absences
Sega Saturn: system figures: documented absences
Metric Value Evidence Basis Method Source
Peak FP32 rate gpu unknown Sega states 25 MIPS for each SH2 and no floating-point rate at any precision. Not stated Vendor-rated Theoretical peak Stated by the vendor An instruction rate is not a floating-point rate, and Sega names no benchmark for the one it does give.
Memory bandwidth memory unknown Sega's specification block states memory capacities and no transfer rate, bus width or timing. Not stated Vendor-rated Theoretical peak Stated by the vendor The manual is a service document: it lists what is fitted and what it is rated at, not how fast the buses run.

Figures for its components

Sega Saturn backup RAM
Metric Value Evidence Basis Method Source
Memory capacity memory 32 KiB Confirmed Vendor-rated Design capacity Stated by the vendor Backup RAM of the PAL console, model MK-80200-50. Stated by Sega as 256 Kbit. Battery-backed and small, and the only memory on this machine whose contents survive a power cut.
Sega Saturn CD buffer RAM
Metric Value Evidence Basis Method Source
Memory capacity memory 512 KiB Confirmed Vendor-rated Design capacity Stated by the vendor CD buffer RAM of the PAL console, model MK-80200-50. Stated by Sega as 4 Mbit. It buffers the disc drive rather than serving a processor, and it is writable memory the console has.
Sega Saturn IPL ROM
Metric Value Evidence Basis Method Source
Memory capacity memory 512 KiB Confirmed Vendor-rated Design capacity Stated by the vendor IPL ROM of the PAL console, model MK-80200-50. Stated by Sega as 4 Mbit. Boot firmware, so it is named as an exclusion from the console's memory total rather than added to it.
Sega Saturn work RAM
Metric Value Evidence Basis Method Source
Memory capacity memory 2 MiB Confirmed Vendor-rated Design capacity Stated by the vendor Work RAM of the PAL console, model MK-80200-50. The work memory alone, which Sega states as 16 Mbit. It is one of six memories the same block lists, and the console's total is built from the five that are writable.
Sega Saturn sound RAM
Metric Value Evidence Basis Method Source
Memory capacity memory 512 KiB Confirmed Vendor-rated Design capacity Stated by the vendor Sound RAM of the PAL console, model MK-80200-50. Stated by Sega as 4 Mbit and dedicated to the sound processor.
Sega Saturn video RAM
Metric Value Evidence Basis Method Source
Memory capacity memory 1.5 MiB Confirmed Vendor-rated Design capacity Stated by the vendor Video RAM of the PAL console, model MK-80200-50. Stated by Sega as 12 Mbit, in the same block as the work memory. It serves the video display processors and is a term of the machine's memory.

Derived figures and comparisons

Computed by this project rather than read from a source, and recomputed from their inputs on every build.

4 751 360 B

Formula
a + b + … sum v1
Inputs
  • sega-saturn-ram Memory capacity: 2 MiB
  • sega-saturn-video-ram Memory capacity: 1.5 MiB
  • sega-saturn-sound-ram Memory capacity: 512 KiB
  • sega-saturn-cd-buffer-ram Memory capacity: 512 KiB
  • sega-saturn-backup-ram Memory capacity: 32 KiB
Rounding
none , 7 significant digits

Adds 5 memory-capacity figures obtained by design-capacity. Left out: 512 KiB (boot firmware, not memory the console can write to). 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