Sorry to beat a dead horse, but exactly what in the Dreamcast is 128-bit except the blurb on the box?
I suppose a more appropriate question would be, what exactly is it that makes the Dreamcast NOT 128-bit? I think if nothing else, the fact that many of its games outshine their PS2 and Gamecube counterparts (unarguably 128-bit systems) should speak volumes enough - unless those aren't 128-bit systems as well? This is of course assuming the Dreamcast's processor WASN'T 128-bit, which kindof defines the system as such... But I digress on this topic, I suppose. What ever became of the plans to license Dreamcast technology in set-top devices?
The Jaguar had a 64Bit GPU (which was the workhorse of the system's graphics) the 68000 was 16bit but it was only 'supposed' to be there for basic input(controller functions) while the GPU/Object processor was to be considered the systems' heart, or main cpu. I think that's why it's been so hard to emulate until recently because it had basically 5 processors I believe (in 3 chipsets) Tom & Jerry, Object & DSP and the 68000. Wicked architecture but there were many hardware bugs that seemed to cripple the system from the get-go. I could give a rats if the DC was 128bit. It's got some awesome games and shines through them. People fail to realize the real machine and base everything off of specs. Just because the PS2 was released later doesn't make it better. (that's just proven) and the only advantage I see the PS2 has over the DC is the DVD capabilities.
Your name could also be Sasu Rapatti ;-) Daniel Carter Vision sounds like crap, where as Dreamcast Vision is pretty cool. Tony
Despite being "dead" for over a year now, I still think the Dreamcast outshines the PS2 in every way, except for the DVD thing - which really isn't THAT nessicary.
Yea... although it's a nice addition... many prefer to use their stand alone or theatre packaged DVD systems. I only watch DVD's through my Onkyo Surround System... and no longer have a PS2 anymore anyhow so
None of those are 128-bit systems, and I really would like to hear what your definition of a 128-bit system is - it's really starting to sound as if you're pulling the numbers out of thin air. The DC uses a 32-bit SH4, the Gamecube uses a 32-bit PPC, the PS2 uses a 64-bit MIPS and the XBox uses a 32-bit IA32. Good question. I was googling around for this a month or so ago, and found nothing.
You know what, you win. I'm sick of seeing this argument being raised in various places about every goddamn system ever released and claiming to be x-bit - someone gets a high air about themselves and decides to inform all the other idiots that such-and-such console isn't really what it says it is. So fine, call the XBox an 8-bit console for all I care. You win. I'm not sure what the point of being right is, but you win. You should probably tell the various systems' makers that they royally goofed on their system specs, and that according to you, there's no such thing as a 128-bit system. And please, spread the word to everyone else, especially those informative-type sites that post system specs, that they're all freaking wrong. I guess what bugs me is I'm not quite sure what the point is to the insistance that every console now is 32-bit (minus the PS2, which is somehow 64) but I trust that this line of conversation is over and we're returning to discussion about DVDs and set-tops at least, if not Dreamcast Beta Hardware as the original topic stated? Sorry for the outburst, but i was trying to let the topic go, as it wasn't going anywhere and apparently you know exactly how the systems are made anyways, and just had to keep pushing at it. That and it's 5 am.
I.... I don't like to go outside anymore in the daytime. And I eat a lot of very rare steaks. And I have this horrible, irrational fear of people named "Simon" or "Richter" - is this bad?
What the fuck was that!? You were wrong, and the guy told you the facts; and in a very nice manor. Nowadays companys simply double the number of bits to tell you what generation the system is. If you really think that the next gen will actually be 256 bit then you are fuckin crazy. The controvesy over what "bit" a system is come from the fact that just about every company lies about it. I mean, imagin Microsoft came out with the slogan "Xbox, the greatest 32bit system on earth". All the morons would think it wasn't powerful. Tony
The job of marketing departments isn't to share accurate technical information, but to dazzle the punters with big numbers. There is a decent amount of information available about all consoles, anyone can check the facts themselves. But since you refuse to say what your criterions are, we aren't necessarily even talking about the same thing (for instance you say the GC is a 128-bit system, but Nintendo are claiming no such thing and neither are Microsoft regarding the XBox). No point other than technical accuracy and a general allergy to hype. (Though I did make one mistake - one of the enhancements of the PS2's MIPS core was to widen the GPRs to 128 bits, but apparently not for all operations.)
Agreed. . .no one has been claiming systems are any-bits for a while now. That is in the past. SEGA was a dinosaur and figured people still cared about bits when in reality they cared about poly pushing, which the PS2 does far better than the DC (not making it a better gaming choice by any means). So, no, the DC isn't 128-bits (nothing is). . .but it's familiar with the way we anaylize our console systems. Tha Jag and Saturn were ahead of their times in this respect. . .they were using more than one processor and at the time, people were still amused by 2D games (not banging the 2D games but you know what I'm talking about in 1994). Those numbers meant something to people back in the day when there was only one processor running the show (8 and 16). So, in the end, nothing is 128-bit. . .do kids today even know the history of bits? I think us older kids still relate to bits cause it makes sense to us. . .logical leaps in technology. . .I can't wait for HL2 and Doom 3! Those will be 256-bits, eh? BTW, didn't Intel and ADM JUST release their 64-bit processors? PS: Yeah, back at SEGA, we always brought these facts up. . .nothing new to those of us that worked with the damned thing! Which brings me back to the original post sorta. . .not that I ever saw any of the protos, but a guy there DID have a really cool Saturn mock-up (similar to that DC mock-up) that was radically different! I will see if he'll send me a pic and I'll post it. . .
Amd AMD released the Opteron almost a year ago and the Athlon 64 and FX about 6 months ago. It isn't true 64 bits though as they are only extentions of the x86 arctitecture to lengthen it's life. Intel has an IA-64 CPU for servers but it seems like they will adopt AMD's x86-64 instruction set.
