Information
Name - Katana Home Entertainment System
Release dates -
US September 24th 2003
Europe October 12th 2003
Japan November 12th 2003
Launch Cost - US$299
Weight - 2.54 Kilograms (cords and controllers not included)
Controlports - 4
I/O - 10/100Mb Ethernet
Basic Hardware -
2.6 Ghz Ntech Gemini-6 64bit CPU
550 Mhz Ntech/Pure3D G2 Katana GPU
400 Mhz dual DSP Intel-i-chip audio processor
350 Mhz Ntech Blue-H Southbridge handler
512MB Samsung 600Mhz DDR 256bit
12CM 10x Blue-ray DVD drive
15GB 7200rpm 2 inch Hard drive
Ural based OS
Detailed Hardware analysis
CPU - Central processing unit
2.4Ghz Ntech Custom-Gemini 6 x86 processorA 104 million transistor x86 CPU with 512KB of L2 cache the Gemini 6 processor in the Katana is easily the most improtant component of the machine when it comes to redefining the games and multimedia we use today.
The Gemini 6 series CPU is apart of the Gemini now mid end Gemini processor range as the chipset has since been over taken by the much larger and faster Gemini 7 processor. The Katana based Gemini 6 is diffrent from the standard PC issue chip as it has a 64bit data bus rather than the 32bit that the PC has and as such is capable of crunching far more data then that of thePC brotheren. While it still contains the same 64bit registers of the PC chips it does have an extra ALU unit at the end of the pipelines to help out the I/O tasks that it is delt.
The processor was the first in the Gemini family to adopt the now standard idle prediction logic which is used to enhance the effeciveness of the available pipelines and bandwidth. When in action is can produce upto 30% extra performance across the board leading to far superiour performance for the games that will be run on the system.
The overall processing power of the machine is roughly 7-9 times more powerful than the Xbox's CPU and as such it is first choice for developers who want to have to most action packed and dynamic software available.
GPU - Graphics processing nit
550Mhz Ntech/Pure 3D G2 KGPUThe KGPU was a marvel of engineering for it's time smashing the transistor count and weighing in at 160 million transistors while running at an astounding 550Mhz! Featuring 12 pipelines the KGPU is still upthere with the PC greats and delivers a maximum performance of 230 Gflops perfromance! Considering that the average user is running the system on a standard TV at 640*480 this mean that the performance factor of the on screen action is still well beyond most high end PC's!
The KGPU was the first to technologies, Idle prediction logic as was explained above and the Vector engine. Vector engine is a set of 32 vector processors used to power the Shadow R ligthing systems and to emulate the normal tasks of Vertex shaders, while keeping the advantage of the vector units, because of this the Vector eninge and Katana is considered a 3.0 Vertex shader capable setup. The 12 pixel shaders are all 2.0 shader capable and can calculate that FP24 and FP32 accuracy to create the best blend between speed and functionality.
Most programs on the Katana run on Open GL 2.0 or Ntech's own P3D API and as such it means that developers already have a good knowledge of the software devleopmetn techniques plus there is room to move.
SPU Sound processing unit
400Mhz Intel-i-chip dual DSP audio processors
The SPU is the only major processing component of the Katana that isn't built by Ntech, instead it comes from our close partners over at Intel-i-chip corperation. The chip is split in half in order to optimize the profromnace of the chips and to reduce the heat output from the chip set, as such it was a very good choice for the Katana system.
With 2MB of on chip cache (split 1.5/.5MB) it is capable of outputing 256 5.1 DD channels and 128 7.1 DD channels, they can decode audio from MP3's, Window Media files and Ntech's very own DAX format and as such they are very powerful processors and are key to great audio output through the Katana's many audio output options.
Input/Output
200Mhz Ntech Blue-H Southridge processor
This chip is responcible for the handling of data coming in and out of the machine and it is key for a smooth online experience and fast effiecent plug & play functionality.
RAM
512MB 600Mhz 256bit DDR
To help feed the all the processor in the Katana a fast and effiecent memory system had to be setup and this is where the RAM comes into this. With 4 channels of 600Mhz 256bit DDR curtosy of Samsung, the chips in the Katana can have a constant stream of 35GB/sec of data running through it and as such it is very rare for a bandwidth bottleneck to appear so far.
Storage
35GB Samsung 12cm 10x BLue-ray DVD drive
Internal Storage
15GB 2" 7200 rpm Seagate Hard drive
OS
Custom build of Ntech Ural Operating System