Rumour: Wii U final specs

[TGO]

CPU:

“Espresso” CPU on the Wii U has three enhanced Broadway cores

GPU:

“GPU7” AMD Radeon™-based High Definition GPU. Unique API = GX2, which supports Shader Model 4.0 (DirectX 10.1 and OpenGL 3.3 equivalent functionality)

Memory:

Mem1 = 32MB Mem2 = 1GB (that applications can use)

Storage:

Internal 8 GB with support for SD Cards (SD Cards up to 2GB/ SDHC Cards up to 32GB) and External USB Connected Hard Drives

Networking:

802.11 b/g/n Wifi

Video Output:

Supports 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p and 480i

Video Cables Supported:

Compatible cables include HDMI, Wii D-Terminal, Wii Component Video, Wii RGB, Wii S-Video Stereo AV and Wii AV.

USB:

Four USB 2.0 Ports

http://www.vgleaks.com/world-exclusi...u-final-specs/

yep, you are reading that right...............its 3 Wii's + duct tape this time....

[Cybertox]

This source doesnt give enough information. At what speed is the processor running? How big is the GPU? 1GB Ram for a 2012 console ? Nintendo are you kidding me?

[DeviousOne]

Ill wait until Thursday hopefully official specs from Nintendo are released from Nintendo themselves

[Kuro]

This is laughable. Yeah I'm with you too D

[coolguy]

1 gig of ram is plenty but specs do sound low... i will waite for the show

[DeviousOne]

That spec list looks exactly like what's on the Wii U nintendo site so I don't know how this is a leak lol

[TGO]

That spec list looks exactly like what's on the Wii U nintendo site so I don't know how this is a leak lol

very true, but also points to those specs being true.....but Wii U being current gen & the life cycle Ninty has given the original Wii I think it'll be ok.
I actually expect another console which will be close to nextgen specs 3 years after PS4/Nextbox are released.

[Blacksite]

I thought RAM was cheap. Why wouldn't they go for 3-4GB?

[Cybertox]

I thought RAM was cheap. Why wouldn't they go for an extra GB or two?

Why not at least 4GBs?! Its 2012 and most of thecomputers have 12GBs+.

[keefy]

RAM is cheap 8GB to you or me costs about £30 but when making a million consoles thats £30 million on RAM alone.
2005 2GB cost me close to £200.

[Blacksite]

Why not at least 4GBs?! Its 2012 and most of thecomputers have 12GBs+.

Isn't that what I said? 3-4GBs of RAM?

Most computers don't need 12GBs or more to play video games.

[DeviousOne]

While most don't agree....Fact is The word generation is defined by time so this would be time wise next gen tech wise we don't know what is next gen since there is no other next gen console lol

[skinny_jr]

And it's not the same ram that you put in you're pc....

[itachi73378]

Nintendo engineers have specifically tailored the spec to produce more fun per clock cycle on the cpu and plan on using a mario mushroom to increase RAM afterwards

[Blacksite]

Well, at least it's more than what you would see in current-gen consoles (512MB). Makes you wonder how it'll fair against the competition.

[Cybertox]

Isn't that what I said? 3-4GBs of RAM?

Most computers don't need 12GBs or more to play video games.

The source says the wii U will have 1Gb. Your post said why not add an extra gb or two .
Add an extra gb = 1 + 1
Or add two extra gbs = 2 + 1
Both dont result in 4 gbs so no, thats not what i said. I said why not have 4gbs of ram.

[Blacksite]

Just worded it terribly. I meant to say 3-4GB the first time.

[RaY_210]

I have no idea what this means, and personally, I don't care. I'm just waiting for the conference tomorrow.

[Completely Average]

Isn't that what I said? 3-4GBs of RAM?

Most computers don't need 12GBs or more to play video games.

To PLAY video games? No.


But good luck playing a native 1080p video game with AA and all of the modern Shader 4.0 effects without at least 512MB just for frame buffering. That's the primary reason why current console games are usually limited to 720p or less native resolution, lack of video RAM.

1GB is no where near enough. Most modern PC games will use that in video memory alone if the resolution is 1080p.

[Completely Average]

And it's not the same ram that you put in you're pc....

Yes it is. It's the exact same GDDR-5 RAM that is found on virtually every PC video card on the market right now.

You don't really think ATI went through the years of development and massive expense of creating a whole new GPU and memory management system just so the Wii U could use some fancy RAM that isn't compatible with anything else do you?

No, it's using a barely modified PC GPU, and PC video RAM to save on costs, just like MS has been using for two generations.

Sony tried the unique RAM configuration with the PS3, and it did nothing but make the PS3 excessively expensive to produce, resulting in a launch price that was extremely high, years of financial losses, and never showing any benefit whatsoever in the games. I don't think Nintendo is wanting to follow Sony down that road. In fact, I don't think Sony will try going down that road again with the PS4, I fully expect it to use GDDR-5 RAM exclusively, just like everyone else.

[itachi73378]

So lets speculate:

Is the Memory 1 32mb eDRAM or is it reserved memory for the OS?
Because if its the former then 1080p seems very likely

[Sajuuk Khar]

Sony tried the unique RAM configuration with the PS3, and it did nothing but make the PS3 excessively expensive to produce, resulting in a launch price that was extremely high, years of financial losses, and never showing any benefit whatsoever in the games.

The PS3, if anything, has the most traditional RAM config when compared to other current gen consoles, ie 2 pools dedicated to the cpu and gpu respectivly, just like a pc (GDDR3 for gpu and XDR for CPU). It would probably be quite easy to argue that it was not the RAM setup that blew out the initial ps3 cost but rather the combo of the cpu,gpu and blu-ray costs. Single diodes for the drives were around the $100 mark if not more due to difficulty in manufacturing and competing with demand from HD-DVD.

But you do have a point about Sony using G/DDR5 ram for the ps4. It makes economical sense at the very least which is probably something Sony should consider.

[Completely Average]

The PS3, if anything, has the most traditional RAM config when compared to other current gen consoles, ie 2 pools dedicated to the cpu and gpu respectivly, just like a pc (GDDR3 for gpu and XDR for CPU).

When you say it has the "most traditional" you are of course ignoring the fact that XDR is not used in PCs at all, that UMA has been used in SunOS and Unix workstations for about 20 years now, and UMA will become standard PC memory architecture starting next year.

[itachi73378]

When you say it has the "most traditional" you are of course ignoring the fact that XDR is not used in PCs at all, that UMA has been used in SunOS and Unix workstations for about 20 years now, and UMA will become standard PC memory architecture starting next year.

I'm no expert but GPUs need faster memory compared to CPUs. If you go for a UMA, you will either slow the GPU through bandwidth bottleneck, or waste resources on faster memory that the CPU don't really need.

Can I get a clarification?

[Vulgotha]

This source doesnt give enough information. At what speed is the processor running? How big is the GPU? 1GB Ram for a 2012 console ? Nintendo are you kidding me?

Look at their 3DS.

Nintendo: We want $250 for a device with 128MB of RAM and a very weak ARM dual core.

Or look at the Wii! Yea, they're going to charge you out the nose for archaic technology because they know people will line up at the door for it.

@Completely Average

Lol, how would UMA work in a desktop system? That doesn't even make any sense. Will graphics cards be sold without onboard VRAM? You'd need to have alot of people onboard with this idea to sell. CPU makers, Mobo makers, GPU vendors, consumers, etc.

Will vendors 'standardize' the type of memory a PC can use? Graphics cards use the slightly tweaked GDDR memory pools for performance reasons.

That will crap all over performance or prices if it becomes 'mainstream'.

The only group that can really pull this off is AMD given they produce both their own CPU's and GPU's.. Atleast for anything that can actually do anything 'useful' for power users.

Intel can also make their own graphics processors but naturally they're pretty pathetic compared to anything from Nvidia and AMD.

There's also Nvidia's Tegra but that is a mobile solution.

UMA can only work in specialized, embedded hardware (often consoles or mobiles) or cheapo desktops that aren't really meant for performance but savings.

Also, XDR is hardly what I would call a 'radical departure' in the memory design space. At least, not compared to the large paradigm shift that would constitute UMA. And yes, sure, previous older and more specialized systems did use UMA. That's nice. But it's hardly pertinent to the current discussion.

That's pretty close to a red herring.

I could be totally wrong about this, but I don't see UMA becoming the 'standard' for the PC industry next year. Not for anything past specialized hardware, embedded hardware, mobile hardware, or bargain bin deals.