[Rumor]Wii Specs (info on HW, the disc format, the controller, etc.)

[RC Cola]

This probably isn't the most credible of sources, but I feel like I need to make more threads about the Wii. Considering how specific some of these details are, maybe at least some of it is true:
http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=8802
So far Nintendo have done a very credible job in keeping information regarding the Wii to a minimum. Well all that has just changed! An anonymous Wii developer has sent to us slurry of information regarding Nintendo’s next-gen console, all that’s left now is a confirmed release date and price to complete the puzzle. Believe us when we say, this article is a MUST READ, you won’t be disappointed. Prepare to get educated…

Wii Know A Lot You Don’t... but will – Enjoy!

Anyway, we've done enough talking thus far, prepare your eyes for a textual feast on the joys to behold with the Wii.

The Wii Hardware

- Nintendo Wii’s ‘Broadway’ CPU operates at 729MHZ with a maximum bandwith of 1.9gbyte/sec.
- Nintendo Wii’s ‘HollyWood’ GPU is clocked at 243MHZ, the internal memory of it includes 3mb of embedded graphics memory and 24megabytes of high speed main memory.
- 64megabytes of GDDR3 (MEM2) as the external main memory. Just like the internal memory, it can be accessed from the CPU and GPU with a maximum bandwidth of 4gbytes/sec and can also store programs in the MEM2.
- The GPU of the Wii is identical to the GC’s but it is on average 1.5X faster.

Wii's Optical Disc Drive

- Opitcal Disc Drive (ODD) supports single and dual layer Wii disks, discs eject with software or button and the maximum read speed is the equivalent of DVDx6.
- Two main disc types supported the single sided 12cm single sided 4.7gb and the double sided 8.51 GB. Nintendo GC discs also supported. Some of the capacity of the discs are used by the system and games can not use full disc space.
- Inserting a disc will start the Wii console, even if it was already in an off state. Pressing the eject button will change the console to an on state to take out the disc also.

General Overview

- An optional wired LAN adapter that connects to a USB port is in the pipeline for users who do not possess a wireless LAN set-up currently.
- Internal non-removable 512MB flash memory used to storage game save data and downloadable content thus eliminating the Need for a memory card.
- Both Wii discs and Gamecube discs can be played via an intelligent mode swap. When running in GC mode, the Wii’s CPU and GPU will lower to the respective speeds of the GC and some of the MEM2 functions as ARAM.
- Software development environment is an upgrade to the ‘Dolphin SDK’ used with the GC; the same libraries are used so developers can get up to scratch easily as well as the possibility of ports being easier.
- The following interfaces are included with the Wii; SD card slot, Wireless controller, two USB 2.0 ports, wireless LAN, 4x GC controller ports, 2x GC memory card slots and an AV multi output jack (only an analog jack).
- Supports Wii disks (one sided 12cm) and GC discs (one sided 8cm) and console auto switches depends on what disk is inserted
- More than just the Nunchaku is planned as an extension. GC peripherals such as DK bongos can be used in both Wii and GC modes.
- Three power status, on, off and unplugged. To prevent mistaken turn offs, the power button must be held for about a second.

The Wii Control System

- The Wii controller features; Direct Pointing Device, Three axis accelerometer, Wii power button (remotely turn console on/off), buttons, wireless connectivity, indicator LED’s, rumble, battery powered (two AA alkaline batteries) and ability to connect extension unit.
- The Wii controller supports three types of operations; by itself, with a nunchuk extension or with a classic controller. Classic controllers will ship to developers during August 2006.
- The SYNCHRO button on the Wii controller exchanges wireless ID numbers when pressed at the same time as SYNCRHO on the Wii console. Wireless communications are only possible with consoles which have been authenticated.
- The rumble motor can be turned on and off and the intensity can be changed.
- The Wii remote has a pointer for fine movements as well as a motion sensor +/- 3.4G suitable for larger body movements, the nunchuk attachment has a sensor of +/- 2G
- The sensor bar must be placed above or below a TV set, the pointer measures coordinates between the ends of the bar which are about 20cm apart.
- The Wii remote has four status, disconnected, communicating, establishing connection and pairing wait status.
- The pointer can measure co-ordinates within bounds of rectangle centered upon the sensor bar, thus it can also measure points beyond the screen. It also responds to strong light sources, windows, fluorescent lamps, fireplaces, mirrors etc.
- Due to players hands shaking while holding the controller, a ring buffer allows a precise direction to be created to hold and average accelerator samples.

Thanks 'TheGuy' for the info!

Big shoutout must go out to the 'TheGuy' for this info!
Again, don't take this as the exact truth. Some of it even seems like recycled info from past rumors. Although at the very least, it was interesting to read. :)

[Invisible Fan]

Nintendo made a claim that they'd take a little loss on the parts this time around, but I'd be surprised if the hardware listed was worth 200 bucks.

[RC Cola]

Yeah, if those were the specs, I'd be a little disappointed (although I've been preparing myself for it); even if it is cheap, I'd feel a little ripped off if Nintendo was making money off of every system sold at launch with these specs. I know I've said this before, but they probably could have had (or will have) specs that are considerably more powerful (dual-core CPU, GPU with SM3.0, etc.), and still ended up (or will end up) with a console in the $200-$250 range (maybe $300 tops).

[RC Cola]

Maybe this is legit:
*UPDATE* The dev mailed us and said he was shocked to see all these cries of 'fake', so he provided some more info to show he's not bluffing...

Broadway CPU

Broadway is Wii's CPU. Broadway functionality and specifications are as follows.

• Operating speed: 729 MHz
• Bus to main memory: 243 MHz, 64 bits (maximum bandwidth: 1.9 gigabytes/sec)
• 32-kilobyte 8-way set-associative L1 instruction cache
• 32-kilobyte 8-way set-associative L1 data cache (can set up 16-kilobyte data scratch pad)
• Superscalar microprocessor with six execution units (floating-point unit, branching unit, system regis
ter unit, load/store unit, two integer units)
• DMA unit (15-entry DMA request queue) used by 16-kilobyte data scratch pad
• Write-gather buffer for writing graphics command lists to the graphics chip
• Onboard 256-kilobyte 2-way set-associative L2 integrated cache
• Two, 32-bit integer units (IU)
• One floating point unit (FPU) (supports single precision (32-bit) and double precision (64-bit))
• The FPU supports paired single floating point (FP/PS)
• The FPU supports paired single multiply add (ps_madd). Most FP/PS instructions can be issued in
each cycle and completed in three cycles.
• Fixed-point to floating-point conversion can be performed at the same time as FPU register load and
store, with no loss in performance.
• The branch unit supports static branch prediction and dynamic branch prediction.
• When an instruction is stalled on data, the next instruction can be issued and executed. All instructions
maintain program logic and will complete in the correct program order.
• Supports three L2 cache fetch modes: 32-Byte, 64-Byte, and 128-Byte.
• Supports these bus pipeline depth levels: level 2, level 3, and level 4.
Reference Information: Broadway is upward compatible with Nintendo GameCube’s CPU (Gekko).

Hollywood GPU

Hollywood is a system LSI composed of a GPU and internal main memory (MEM1). Hollywood is clocked at 243 MHz. Its internal memory consists of 3 megabytes of embedded graphics memory and 24 megabytes of high speed main memory.

Hollywood includes the following.
• Graphics processing unit (with 3 megabytes of eDRAM)
• Audio DSP
• I/O Bridge
• 24 megabytes of internal main memory
• Internal main memory operates at 486 MHz.
Maximum bandwidth between Hollywood and internal main memory: 3.9 gigabytes per second
• Possible to locate a program here
Reference Information: Hollywood is similar to Nintendo GameCube’s Flipper and Splash components.

External Main Memory (MEM2)

Wii uses 64 megabytes of GDDR3 (MEM2) as external main memory. Like internal main memory, MEM2 can be accessed directly from Broadway and the GPU at high speed and has a peak bandwidth of 4 gigabytes/sec. Programs can also be placed in MEM2.

Reference Information: Nintendo GameCube ARAM is used as auxiliary memory for the DSP. The CPU and GPU did not have direct access to it.
I've seen a couple people online "confirm" this as well.

I hope those reports about Nintendo taking losses on the HW are true…we might get a very affordable console then. :)

[Invisible Fan]

Maybe this is legit:

I've seen a couple people online "confirm" this as well.

I hope those reports about Nintendo taking losses on the HW are true…we might get a very affordable console then. :)

Even if the wii-motes are expensive, people have to buy more seperately. I'm still not getting what's driving up the base price.

Oh well, even if it's dirt cheap for a console (like 50 bucks more than their DS Lite), I'll still wait a year and see what shoes will drop. It worked with the Gamecube....

[RC Cola]

Even if the wii-motes are expensive, people have to buy more seperately. I'm still not getting what's driving up the base price.
Yeah, I doubt the controller is that expensive. Probably more expensive than regular controllers, but it would probably have to retail at like $60-$70 to make the difference (which kind of defeats the purpose of being an affordable console in the first place). I doubt that is going to happen since I would think Nintendo execs wouldn't let that idea pass. Plus, I thought I read that some part of the controller isn't that expensive (the accelerometers IIRC).

Sometimes, I tell myself that these specs are worth the price since it will all be in one very small and quiet box which consumes very little power. But then I wonder why that stuff even matters. In some ways, the specs might be a bit impressive...just not in the right ways IMO.

I'm not trying to make it seem like specs are all that important, especially with the philosophy behind the Wii. I would just prefer it if the specs matched the asking price (which they might...but I doubt it would be a smart business move for Nintendo).

[KingCheetah]

The processor is a little slower than the current x-box which is just strange -- they could put a 1.5 - 2 gig processor in just as cheaply IMO. :confused:

Oh well the PS2 has a 300 mhz processor and it's still fun to play.

I understand there is a lot more to this than just processor speed, but 700 mhz processors are from 99-00 technology.

[Raven Lunatic]

Only 512 Mb internal, non-removable flash drive for save data? I hope the USB ports can be used for removeable storage devices that can store save data as well.

[RC Cola]

The processor is a little slower than the current x-box which is just strange -- they could put a 1.5 - 2 gig processor in just as cheaply IMO. :confused:
Technically, I think the GC CPU did more per clock than the Xbox CPU, so the Wii CPU would be better than the Xbox CPU. That's not to say they couldn't have put in a 1.5GHz-2GHz CPU though (which does as much or more per clock as the GC/Wii CPU). I wish they did...probably could have gone dual-core with those clockspeeds too.

I think the PS2 CPU @ 300 MHz could do more than the GC and the Xbox CPUs, but since it was doing things that the GC and Xbox GPUs were doing, that kind of defeated the purpose (IOW, it had to do both CPU and GPU work instead of just CPU work). Plus, there was there was the whole ease of development issue. ;)


Oh well the PS2 has a 300 mhz processor and it's still fun to play.
True. And it’s $130 IIRC. Wii FTL. :)

I remember hearing a rumor that Sony was going to package the Eyetoy with the PS2 in order to compete with the Wii. That would have been kind of funny if it happened.

[RC Cola]

Only 512 Mb internal, non-removable flash drive for save data? I hope the USB ports can be used for removeable storage devices that can store save data as well.
AFAIK, they can (USB thumb drives or even USB hard drives can be used). You could also use SD cards.