Sony Playstation GPU 350nm

Graphics Processor

GTE-2

Pixel Shaders

Vertex Shaders

TMUs

ROPs

Memory Size

1 MB

Memory Type

SGRAM

Bus Width

32 bit

GPU

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The Playstation GPU 350nm was a performance-segment gaming console graphics solution by Sony, launched on November 13th, 1997. Built on the 350 nm process, and based on the GTE-2 graphics processor, in its CXD8561CQ variant, the device does not support DirectX. The GTE-2 graphics processor is an average sized chip with a die area of 128 mm² and 1 million transistors. It features 2 pixel shaders and 1 vertex shader 3 texture mapping units, and 1 ROP. Sony includes 1 MB SGRAM memory, which are connected using a 32-bit memory interface. The GPU is operating at a frequency of 53 MHz, memory is running at 33 MHz.
Its power draw is rated at 10 W maximum. The console's dimensions are 270 mm x 60 mm x 188 mm, and it features a igp cooling solution. Its price at launch was 299 US Dollars.

Graphics Processor

GPU Name: GTE-2

GPU Variant: CXD8561CQ

Foundry: Sony

Process Size: 350 nm

Transistors: 1 million

Density: 7.8K / mm²

Die Size: 128 mm²

Graphics Card

Release Date: Nov 13th, 1997

Generation: Console GPU
(Sony)

Production: End-of-life

Launch Price: 299 USD

Clock Speeds

GPU Clock: 53 MHz

Memory Clock: 33 MHz

Memory

Memory Size: 1 MB

Memory Type: SGRAM

Memory Bus: 32 bit

Bandwidth: 132.0 MB/s

Render Config

Pixel Shaders: 2

Vertex Shaders: 1

TMUs: 3

ROPs: 1

Theoretical Performance

Pixel Rate: 53.00 MPixel/s

Vertex Rate: 13.25 MVertices/s

Texture Rate: 159.0 MTexel/s

Board Design

Length: 270 mm
10.6 inches

Width: 60 mm
2.4 inches

Height: 188 mm
7.4 inches

Weight: 1.40 kg (3.09 lbs)

TDP: 10 W

Outputs: No outputs

Graphics Features

DirectX: N/A

OpenGL: N/A

OpenCL: N/A

Vulkan: N/A

Pixel Shader: N/A

Vertex Shader: N/A

Console Notes

Playstation:
SCPH-700x = 1.4 kg (3.09 lbs), 9.5W / November 13th, 1997
SCPH-750x = 1.2 kg (2.65 lbs), 9.0W / January 23rd, 1999
SCPH-900x = 1.2 kg (2.65 lbs), 9.0W / June 1st, 1999
SCPH-10x = 0.56 kg (1.23 lbs), 6.5W / July 7th, 2000

GTE-2 GPU Notes

Handles display of graphics, control of framebuffer, and drawing of polygons and textures
Handles 2D graphics processing, in a similar manner to the 3D engine

RAM:
1 MB SGRAM for framebuffer
2 KB texture cache (132 MB/s memory bus bandwidth, 32-bit wide)
64 bytes FIFO buffer

Features:
Adjustable framebuffer (1024×512)
Emulation of simultaneous backgrounds (to simulate parallax scrolling)
Mask bit
Texture window
Dithering
Clipping
Alpha blending (4 per-texel alpha blending modes)
Fog
Framebuffer effects
Transparency effects
Render to texture
Offscreen rendering
Multipass rendering
Flat or Gouraud shading and texture mapping
No line restriction
Colored light sourcing

Resolutions:
Progressive: 256×224 to 640×240 pixels
Interlaced: 256×448 to 640×480 pixels

Colors:
Maximum color depth of 16,777,216 colors (24-bit true color)
57,344 (256×224) to 153,600 (640×240) colors on screen
Unlimited color lookup tables (CLUTs)
32 levels of transparency
All calculations are performed to 24 bit accuracy

Texture mapping color mode:
Mode 4: 4-bit CLUT (16 colors)
Mode 8: 8-bit CLUT (256 colors)
Mode 15: 15-bit direct (32,768 colors)
Mode 24: 24-bit (16,777,216 colors)

Sprite engine:
1024×512 framebuffer, 8×8 and 16×16 sprite sizes, bitmap objects
Up to 4,000 sprites on screen (at 8×8 sprite size), scaling and rotation
256×256 maximum sprite size

Special sprite effects:
Rotation
Scaling up/down
Warping
Transparency
Fading
Priority
Vertical and horizontal line scroll

Oscillator readings:
"Geometry Transformation Engine" (GTE-2) clocked at 53.69 MHz
VRAM Memory clocked at 67.73 MHz from

Retail boards based on this design (4)

Name	GPU Clock	Memory Clock	Other Changes
Sony Playstation SCPH-700x GPU	53 MHz	33 MHz
Sony Playstation SCPH-750x GPU	53 MHz	33 MHz
Sony Playstation SCPH-900x GPU	53 MHz	33 MHz
Sony PS One SCPH-10x GPU	53 MHz	33 MHz	193 mm/7.6 inches