Topic: Wii CPU Broadway specs "leaked" so to speak.

[Terranigma Freak]

The folks over at Beyond3d have discovered the documents on the Wii CPU chip known as Broadway. But for some strange reason, I cannot view the link they provided. No one else seems to be having this problem on their boards. Anyway, the thread itself is worth looking at since many of their knowledgable members are discussing what they saw from the documentation. What they talked about is way beyond my knowledge, but I figured I post this for people who are curious, and can actually understand what they're talking about.

http://www.beyond3d.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34269

Here's the thread at Beyond3d.

http://www-3.ibm.com/chips/techlib/techlib.nsf/techdocs/2F33B5691BBB8769872571D10065F7D5/$file/750cl_dd2_ds.pdf

This is the link where they got the info from. I can't access it, maybe someone else can.

[wandering]

Hmm, yeah, I'd expect the pvt to be at 500 or so, the question is whether the oart als the system's 23 mgs? Maybe the die is really setting aside part of the onl for the system's secondary pl42?

I have no idea what they're talking about.

[Kairon]

I actually understand some part of what they're saying!

SIMD stands for single instruction multiple data, a feature first invented back in the 586 days to not resend instructions with a hole bunch of graphics data that all needed to be dealt with the same way: just send one set of instructions and then you can send multiple data that will all be executed with that set of instructions!

... just don't ask me what that means. I copied it out of the textbook...

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[BlackNMild2k1]

IF you follow that link to IBM this is what you get now

Quote
Our Apologies
You have attempted to enter a controlled access area that you are not currently entitled to view. IBM Microelectronics uses a entitlement process to protect potentially sensitive data.

Your entitlement is not an all or nothing proposition. Each user has a specific set of entitlements associated with their user profile. IBM employees, Business Partners and Customers may all have differing levels of entitlement. For example, all IBM employees would not have a blanket entitlement to all data. The IBM employee may only be entitled to information relating to their specific job responsibilities. This same principle applies to all users of this site.

Data accessible from this site may relate to IBM, IBM Business Partners, and Customers, and we take the responsibility for protecting that data very seriously. If you feel that you qualify for additional entitlements, please contact your IBM Representative or other IBM Contact person to secure additional entitlements. Thank you for your understanding of our privacy concerns, and again, we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

HTTP Web Server: Item Not Found Exception

Wish I had seen it earlier, but I'll check B3d and see if anyone captured the page.
 

[Ceric]

I haven't read the threads yet.  But from what Kairon said it sounds like SIMD works similarly to a function in a program. For the non-programmer type people my understanding from what he copied is something like this.

Lets say that Wandering here just became part of a Mail order gourmet Coffee service.  Since this is gourmet we are talking beans.  The service wants everyone to have the same experience so with Wandering's first order they send there preffered grinder and some beans.  Now think of this grinder as the instructions and the beans as the data.  The grinder/instructions is actually the how the beans/data are processed, by pressing the grinder button.  This is the same for every type of bean/data that Wandering will be receiving from now on.  The company that doesn't have to send him any new equipment until he decides to try there do-it-at home jerky service.  Then the process will start again but he'll get a dehydrator as the instructions and the meat as data.

I know there is some flaw in this analogy.  In actuallity the instruction to push the button is the instructions.  I'm just assuming you know how to use the tool and allowing the magical stuff the tool does to be the instruction but thats sort of the general gist.  I've probably confused more then I helped.

Edit:
One them Stated that it be using the Harvard architecture.  Why should anyone care?  By how it's been explained to me on the Harvard architecture getting at the Memory takes just as long as getting to the registers.  1 Cycle.  Which is great.  Though I don't have any first hand experience with this architecture myself.

Oh also.  I agree that PC's are stagnating.  Intel saw this and made a successor to the x86 architecture but AMD extended it again and people liked it.  Hence we are still stuck with it.  There has been many innovations and better ways of doing things then when that architecture was designed but we are stuck with it... Blah..

[Kairon]

The linked discussion talks about some other things, SIMD is just one word someone said once that I was happy to actually recognize.

They talk about trying to compare the Wii to various PowerPC lines, they talk about how much cache it might have (I think they were guessing 256K L1 and 512 L2), they talk about tons of technical stuff that went right over my head, and then they devolve into a discussion about whether or not the Broadway is just a shrunk down Flipper with a couple bug fixes, or whether they've actually added additional logic to it. They also bring up IGN's infamous 'Nintendo may make a Broadway-based handheld' post considering the Broadway looks to run at about 5.8 watts. 5.8 WATTS!

~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

[Ceric]

It would make since to use it in a handheld after the Wii's lifecycle.  By then you could probably shrink it more for cheap.  You have it designed.  People now how to work with it.  There is just a lot of advantageous to doing it.  But not until the next console comes out.

[Galford]

Interesting conversation...

Here's the new link about the 750CL...
http://www-306.ibm.com/chips/techlib/techlib.nsf/techdocs/2F33B5691BBB8769872571D10065F7D5/$file/ppc750cl_ds_dd20_5oct06.pdf

Here's what we know and some interesting speculation...

Broadway is being produced on a .90 SOI process.  This info comes directly from Nintendo's site.
The 750CL is made on this exact same process.

Rumors place the Broadway at 729mhz.  According the document linked above the 750CL comes in steppings of 100mhz.
Except for one lone dissenting stepping, one that runs at 733mhz.  See what I'm getting at.

I believe the Gekko runs on the 60X FSB like many PPCs do, the 750CL runs off the same FSB.

While this is educated guess this could be the basis of Broadway we are looking at.

[UncleBob]

1.21 GIGAWATTS!?! 1.21 gigawatts! Great Scott!!!

[ShyGuy]

Marty, the only other thing that can generate that kind of power is a bolt of lightning! And due to the unpredicable nature of lighting we never know when or where it will strike!

Doc, we do now: Midnight, Nov 19th: The Nintendo Wii

[Strell]

The Wii has flux capacitors.  Like 9 of them.

It's the truth.  Look it up.

[ThePerm]

the Wii has 9 blast processors

[18 Days]

Nerds. I hate them.