A Conversation for Sony's PlayStation 2 - the Gaming Console
Core processor / backwards compatibility
Azimuth Started conversation Mar 28, 2000
Um - the core CPU isn't the same as that used in the original Playstation; backwards compatibility is achieved because they're using the original Playstation CPU as the new I/O controller (the one that looks after the joypads etc.). The Playstation2 core CPU runs using a RISC instruction set at 294.912MHz. It's based on MIPS technology and is manufactured by Toshiba. It's what Sony have dubbed the 'Emotion Engine', although that sounds like marketing hype to me 
The Playstation2 also has a separate graphics synthesizer (147.456MHz, 4Mb VRAM) and sound processor, and comes equipped with USB, Firewire (iLink) and a PC card (PCMCIA) slot. This, in theory at least, should mean that the machine can be expanded in many different ways. I've heard rumours that Sony are planning to produce a hard drive for the console, although I'm not sure how they plan to make use of it.
Here's a good URL for more detailed information:
http://www.gamecenter.com/Resources/Consoles/Ps2/faq.html
Azimuth
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Core processor / backwards compatibility
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