Latest Specs for the NU64

64DD Specs
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64 megabyte writable high-density magnetic disks
1 megabyte/second transfer rate
150ms average seek time


Console Specs
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Physical Dimensions:
10.25" x 7.5" x 2.9" (About the size of the Sony Playstation)

Video and Resolution:

Resolution
    
    256 x 224 to 640 x 480
    Flicker Free Interlace Mode Support
    
Color
    
    Maximum: 32-bit RGBA pixel color frame buffer support
    Standard: 21-bit color output
    

Extension Options:

One extension port for add-on mechanisms
Cartridge slot supports add-on mechanisms
Controller ports support add-on mechanisms
Memory Expansion option


Controller Ports:

4 Controller Ports
3-prong feed


Controllers:

Includes digital joypad at left
Includes analog stick in lower middle
Includes 'Start' button in middle
Includes six buttons on the right
    
    Two larger-than-normal 'B' and 'A' buttons
    Four normal-size 'C' buttons
        
        Can be used as normal action buttons
        Can be an additional directional control pad
        Also can be used to control the camera angle
        
    
Includes two buttons ('L' and 'R') on top
Includes one button (the 'Z' trigger) on the back
Includes memory card port on back


Custom CPU:

Custom 64-bit R4300 RISC CPU running at 93.75 MHz
64-bit RISC "Reality Immersion" Co-Processor (RCP) running at 62.5 MHz
    
    Built-in Sound and Graphics Processor (RSP) takes care of:
        
        Video
        Sound
        Vectors
        
    Built-in Pixel Drawing Processor (RDP) takes care of:
        
        Textures
        Anti-Aliasing
        Rasterizing
        Z-Buffering
        Etc.
        
    
Benchmarks:

125 MIPS for the Main CPU
60 SPECint92 for the Main CPU
45 SPECfp92 for the Main CPU
100+ MFLOPS for the "Reality Immersion" Graphics Co-Processor
100,000 minimum for real-time generated polygons (using ALL the special effects) per second



Memory:

4.5 Megabytes total RAM
Rambus DRAM subsystem capable of transferring up to 562.5 Megabytes per second
Custom 8-bit Rambus Bus runs at 500 MHz max
Internal data bus to the RCP is 128-bit


Audio:

Stereo 16-bit
100 Channels of Wavetable Synthesis
Sampled at 44.1 KHz


Video Output:

RF
Stereo A/V
S-Video


System games:

Games begin at 100-250 Megabits using compression algorithm (compressed onto 64 Megabit ROMs; 3:1 to 5:1 Ratio)
256 Megabit ROM max (using four 64 Meg ROMs); downward compatible
Use "FastROM" technology
Use "MegaROM" technology

Extra Features:

Real-time: 
    
    Morphing 
    Scaling 
    Rotation 
    Skewing 
    Shading
    Anti-aliasing
    Tri-linear filtered mip map interpolation
    Perspective correction
    Environment mapping
    Depth buffering
    
Realisitc texture mapping 
Automatic Load Management
Transparency
Gouraud Shading
Phong Shading
MPEG Ready

Other:

Chipset completed in 1st week of January 1995
Console design and controllers completed 1st week of May 1995
Chipset debugging completed mid-October 1995
Box artwork and design completed mid-October 1995
*TRUE* unit-specific development systems now available to current Nintendo packagers and developers


Textured mapping is a process in which a computer takes an image (e.g. a 
"texture") and wraps it around a 3-D object.  

Morphing is going from one 3-D object to another, changing its shape 
and transforming until it reaches the new shape.

Scaling means to shrink or enlarge an object.  

Rotation means to show the playing field from a different angle.  

Skewing means to slant an object.  

Shading is the process by which the computer simulates lighting effects
on objects in a 3-D scene.  

Anti-aliasing is the process of surrounding the particular color with
"blending" colors so the screen colors appears smooth next to each other and "blend together". This process will eliminate the jagged edges of diagonal lines on a TV or Monitor.
    
Tri-linear mip map interpolation will eliminate the effect of 
exaggerated pixelation when objects are scaled to large proportions.
    
Load Management will eliminate the "pop-up" effect of parallax backgrounds in 3-D games.

Depth Buffering removes hidden surfaces during the real-time rendering
process of a scene.

Transparency means you can see through an object.

Gouraud Shading calculates a color for each vertex on the object and then blends the shading between each pair of vertices to determine the color for the pixels.

Phong Shading calculates a color for each pixel in the object which 
generally results in more color and shading variation and therefore more 
realism in the rendered scene.

Flat Shading gives each side of a polygon a single color. It is the least realistic of the three but also takes the least amount of time to 
calculate.  This is usually the kind of polygons they are talking about
when they give benchmarks.  It makes your polygon number seem much higher than it really can be used usefully for.
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Last Updated: Thursday, December 28, 1995<P>


