Talk:Hollywood (graphics chip)

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1 Known Specifications
2 20% Faster? Or 20% more efficient?
3 No Such Thing as 1T-SRAM
4 Good source for the article

[edit] Known Specifications

The new edits made by Acrevolution. We do need exact sources on the information. Can anyone post these sources? ~ Eevee04

The details of what exactly the hollywood is haven't been made public yet. There are conflicting rumors stating that its just an R300 like the flipper (which is what was previously mentioned in the article) and rumors stating that it is based on a more current ATI laptop graphics chip, either a customized R530, or an early R630 based custom chip. About the only evidence we have at all for the identity of the chip are the id numbers on it, and 632 does appear on the chip, which would seem to be some evidence for the last hypothesis. 64.6.0.7 20:21, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

I think we've come to the conclusion that no one quite knows what the specs are, so, I'm removing the information until it's properly sourced. The Captain Returns 05:08, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

I've been trying to find information as well, both about this and the central processing unit "Broadway". I'm thinking that the chips must be modified versions of Gamecube chips as the console is backwards compatible, but does not seem to be so much more powerful than the Gamecube as to be able to emulate it in software. Thoughts? If anyone digs up any technical documentation I'd love to take a look at it. 65.96.163.132 00:56, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

The processor does seem to be a PPC750CL derived chip. It seems like its simply a faster gekko processor, although it may contain a few extra extensions, which would allow for complete backwards compatibility in that regard. The video chip however can be very different and still allow for backwards compatibility as long as it supports openGL 1.4, which is pretty much a given.

I would agree that the Broadway is derived from the same PPC750 design that was used for the Gekko; it's clear that the Wii doesn't have a separate set of hardware for GameCube games, and anything else would entail emulation software, like the Wii uses for the Virtual Console games. Once adjusted for the difference in fabrication process, the chip would have perhaps no more than a 75% increase in transistor count over the Gecko, which is small for a change between console generations. Evidence does suggest that it's just an evolution, akin to how a Core 2 Duo is fully backwards-compatible with a Pentium IV.

However, the GPU is a different story entirely. I'm wishing I could get my hands on a thrown-away Hollywood chip (the Vegas die namely) so I could tear it open and put it under a microscope; then I'd be able to figure out what it is. As it stands, all that I can say is that it very clearly is *not* the same as a Flipper; once accounting for the shrinkage due to changes in fabrication process, it would appear that the Vegas die would have 2.5-3x the number of transistors of the Flipper. Given its shape, size, and fabrication process, it does seem similar to an RV530 (not 630) though... Nottheking (talk) 00:02, 3 January 2008 (UTC)

False. If it was in fact similar to the RV530, the hardware would require some sort of emulation to play GameCube games. 70.137.151.202 (talk) 00:57, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] 20% Faster? Or 20% more efficient?

I just removed an unsourced paragraph from the article claiming the chip was 20% faster than the Gamecubes. Which I find to be a dubious claim, since it has a clockspeed which is at least 50% faster than the Gamecube's, and it has faster access to more ram as well, which would lead me to expect a larger boost in power. However, if the claim was misinterpreting a piece of information which claimed 20% more efficient, that is more plausible as a similar reduction in power draw has been reported by IBM from the Broadway. Zeebo-010 22:38, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] No Such Thing as 1T-SRAM

1T-SRAM is a brand of 1T-DRAM. This is a blatant advertisement and should be removed.

It would appear to be policy to use registered trademarks and names when referring to a specific company's product. Because the Wii uses a brand of memory chips made by MoSys that the company names "1T-SRAM," technically that would be the correct name for it, even if it's DRAM, not SRAM. Nottheking (talk) 00:04, 3 January 2008 (UTC)