But yeah, I didn't really realize that it was that different. I can understand that though, actually. They are using the 128 bit processor because it's capable of handling larger chunks of data at once, making it more efficient for streaming. If you can handle a 128 bit chunk of data just as quickly as a 32 bit computer can handle 32 bits, you can have a lot faster throughput when it comes to data manipulation using the same number of cycles.
Indeedy. The entire system is literally built from the ground up for this. Its total bandwidth is ridiculous.
If the DVD drive weren't so damn slow it would have a lot more potential, methinks.
Oh, also, I drastically understated the PS2's memory. I got it confused with the PSone for some reason. :x The amount of system memory matches that of the phat PSP.
Any idea on how the graphics display mechanism works in the PS2? Because I know that dealing with graphics in the SNES is a nightmare. (other than music, it's probably one of the most agonizing things for a new programmer to grasp. SNES music is still in HEAVY development and very early stages when it comes to homebrew sound systems.)
I'm not really too clear on how this all fits together, really, or how you deal with graphics.
I'm pretty sure most of the graphical work is tasked to the two vector processors that the PS2 has (VU1 and VU2). They can push out polys at an absurd rate for the age of the system (in practical terms, we're talking up to around 650,000 polygons at 30fps and 325,000 at 60fps...quite a bit more than the GeForce 2's T&L processor could do). From what I understand, the Graphics Synthesizer was capable of rendering all of that as well. Basically, if you can harness the power of the two VUs (both 128-bit SIMD processors) I'd imagine you'd be able to do rendering on it. Not sure if you can go without knowing how to use them or not.
IIRC, the main weakness of the PS2 is that many of the effects that come standard with a GeForce chip have to be done in software on the PS2. This is why the Xbox and GameCube, despite technically being "slower" systems, easily won the graphics race. Having pixel shaders on the video chipset helps more than having a powerful main processor and extremely large amount of bandwidth in this case, plus the two systems were easier to program for. Developers were able to take the PC paradigm straight to those platforms (especially with the DirectXbox, as it was once known for obvious reasons).
