| The Dreamcast Specifications |
| CPU: |
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Hitachi SH4 chip *** |
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200MHz clock rate |
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360 MIPS (millions of instructions per second) |
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1.4 billion floating-point operations per second |
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3D calculations |
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800+ MBytes/second bus bandwidth |
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*** HITACHI SH-4 CPU *** | |
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Specifically developed for Sega for use in the Dreamcast console, the SH-4 is a superscalar CPU that can execute multiple tasks in the same clock cycle. Highly proficient in Floating Point calculations (the calculations necessary for fast 3D), the Dreamcast can produce 7 Floating point operations per cycle, for a total performance of 1400 Million Floating point operations per second (FLOPS). In comparison with a Pentium II 450 CPU, which can generate 450 Million FLOPS, the SH-4 is over 3 times more powerful and represents state-of-the-art hardware at an incredibly affordable price. The SH-4 also has the ability to handle modem communications at no performance cost to the CPU, which makes the chip perfect for a console with Internet browsing, mail and gaming in mind. | |
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PowerVR Second Generation *** |
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3 million polygons/second peak rendering rate |
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Gouraud shading |
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Perspective-Correct Texture Mapping |
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Z-buffering |
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Colored light sourcing |
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Shadow and light volumes |
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Full scene anti-aliasing |
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16.7 million colors |
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Point, Bilinear, Trilinear and Anisotropic Mip-map filtering |
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Hardware based, fog, bump mapping, and texture compression |
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Super sampling |
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*** POWER VRDC GRAPHICS CHIP *** | |
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Developed by market leaders in semiconductor technology, NEC and Videologic, the Power VRDC chip represents the current leading edge in both console and PC graphics chips. The Power VRDC supports the most comprehensive set of effects and features of any graphics chipset today, and coupled with the chip's unique memory-efficient rendering system, delivers more power than the current leaders in PC technology, 3DFX. The first graphics chip to deliver full-scene anti aliasing, Power VRDC truly represents the next step in home videogame graphics. | |
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*** VIDEO ENCODING PROCESSOR *** | |
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Dreamcast is equipped with a state-of-the-art video encoding processor that supports numerous video outputs. With its standard resolution of 640 by 480 (the highest resolution that current TVs support), the Dreamcast outputs a flicker-free image at 60 frame per second. Unlike the Nintendo 64, Dreamcast supports both RGB SCART and Super Video signals to ensure compatibility with all Australian TV sets. Furthermore, Dreamcast can also output a VGA signal that can be connected to any PC monitor for super high resolutions and crystal clear images. | |
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16 MB main operating RAM |
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8 MB video RAM (VRAM) |
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2 MB sound RAM 128KB Flash RAM |
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*** 26 MB SYSTEM RAM *** | |
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16MB of main system RAM, 8 MB of video RAM and 2 MB of Sound RAM make up the total RAM in the Dreamcast console (over 9 times more than Sony's PlayStation). 8 MB of video RAM allows Dreamcast to display incredibly crisp high resolution 3D worlds that are filled with photo-realistic textures, while the 2MB of sound RAM allows CD quality sound effects via the Dreamcast's sound chip. Dreamcast utilises and incredibly memory-efficient version of Windows CE for its operating system as well as compression techniques that make the system much more efficient than PCs with over twice the amount of RAM. | |
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Yamaha AICA Sound Core |
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RISC CPU |
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DSP for real-time effects |
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64 sound channels |
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Full 3D sound support |
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Hardware-based audio compression |
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1 Gigabyte data storage |
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*** GD ROM DRIVE *** | |
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Dreamcast features an exclusively developed 1-gigabyte CD ROM drive called the GD ROM. While also holding more than 1/3 more information than standard CD ROMs (640 MB), the GD ROM was primarily developed by Yamaha to avoid piracy as the 1 gigabyte format is exclusive to the Dreamcast system (unlike CD ROM and DVD which are currently being severely affected by piracy). The 12 speed drive is super-fast and can load the Dreamcast's entire 26 MB of RAM in under 15 seconds. | |
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56Kbps Modem *** |
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*** IN-BUILT MODEM *** | |
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Dreamcast features a 56 Kbps modem (33.6 Kbps in some territories) that allows the unit access to the internet for on-line gaming, net browsing and E-mail. The modem speed makes downloading text and image intensive web pages a breeze while also enabling lag-free on-line gaming. The Dreamcast modem was specifically designed with 'plug and play' simplicity in mind and this makes access to the Internet incredibly easy. | |
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*** WINDOWS CE OPERATING SYSTEM *** | |
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Dreamcast utilises an enhanced version of Microsoft's Windows CE Operating system. Furthermore, the Dreamcast's operating system supports the Direct X and Open Gl graphics libraries, which enables quick conversions of PC games and software to Dreamcast where graphical improvements and enhancements can be made to take advantage of the Dreamcast's superior hardware. | |
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*** LIQUID COOLING SYSTEM *** | |
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Dreamcast features and incredibly unique liquid cooling system that stops the unit from overheating even in extreme conditions. An in-built fan keeps the chipset cool while a thermal cut-out switch will immediately shut down the system and prevent any permanent damage should the fan or cooling system ever fail. | |