Playstation 3 CPU Speed Downgrade Rumor - Redux

Microsoft's Andre Vrignaud comments on the recent Playstation 3 CPU Speed Downgrade Rumor:

"Remember my earlier post dissecting an alleged PS3 Rude Q&A? There's just something about a finely honed - yet evasive - turn of phrase that sets the Spidey-sense tingling, and I'm getting that feeling all over again around the rumor of the Playstation 3's main CPU speed being downgraded.

First a bit of history. Back in June Kotaku posted an IM conversation with an alleged PS3 developer. That developer stated that CELL yields were low, and that the already reduced 3.2 GHz CPU speed (from a promised 3.5 GHz) could end up being as low as 2.8 GHz. (He also stated that there would likely be an external power supply, which I 100% believe to be the case.) Anyway, at the time I found the conversation a fascinating read because it struck me as very credible.

I don't know how much you know about the CPU manufacturing process, but a good summary can be..."

[achira]

just another bs rumour article. boring...

[kingboy]

lol they will never stop ...it`s really boring now for real..

[sparco]

Look at em lol. They dunno wat else to say other than "boring". Shame. 2.8 haha. Brilliant lol. Why cant they jus finalise sum fu**in details! Do they even kno what they are doing?? But still, we dont know until Sony have a word in this.

[THELANDSOFSAND]

looking a little nervous you guys...

[zypher]

yeah, Microsoft IS looking nervous. they sit around dissecting the competition as if they don't have problems themselves. hardly any of my supposedly backwards compatible XBox games work on my 360 except for Halo. why don't this Andre dude work on that?

[THELANDSOFSAND]

lol, people don't give a sh1t about xbox games generally, they want to play next generation titles. Halo 2 is about all people play on BC. plus, all my titles run fine. what xbox game are you playing?

and a 2.8 downgrade is something to be nervous about. It's just like the PSP, runs at 333, but sony downgraded it too 222 for all games because of heating issues.

[zypher]

you're so eager to start a flamming war that you've missed the gist of my argument. apparently people do care about bc, otherwise Microsoft (who seems devoted to PUBLIC INTEREST) wouldn't bother with it. i've recently tried to go through Fable Lost Chapters as an evil wizard, and it's frozen up on me at least six times: other times it jumps, or i get a "need to clean your disc error" even though the disc is spotless and my system freshly turned on. what i was saying is that Microsoft needs to concentrate on just that: Microsoft and the 360. you don't hear about Sony programmers sitting around disecting Xenon or 360's GPU do you? since Microsoft has committed themselves to bc, they need to make sure that it works near flawlessly before they start critiquing the competition's system.

as far as a PS3 downgrade; the fact in itself that this is coming from a MICROSOFT programmer makes this just a partial, biased, self-serving RUMOR. only a fanboy drone would believe it without some sort of cross-reference.

[THELANDSOFSAND]

i dont have any problems with fable, maybe you need to clean your disc? is it scratched?

[zypher]

hey, don't try to swing the blame my way. the disc is flawless. Halo works perfectly (go figure), and i got it used from a friend of mine. it has one scratch on it and it play JUST FINE. yet Fable, brand new, not even with dust on it, freezes, jumps and all sorts of things. and this isn't an isolated incicent: maybe your supposed flawless experience is, but 360's bc issues are wide-spread. if Microsoft knew they couldn't do it right then they shouldn't have ever done it at all...and yes, the same goes for Sony with their lackluster PSP games.

[Sphinx]

but even I am getting tired of rumor after rumor... I'm looking forward to the launch, so we can see the real deal.

[THELANDSOFSAND]

sony need to finalise their retail hardware and make an offical announcement.

[ghostface]

I care about my EX'BOX games.There are no good games to play on the 360 yet. Until some good games come out,i will be playing my not so oldschool EX'BOXgames.

[THELANDSOFSAND]

um PGR3, COD2, GRAW, Oblivion, DOA4.

Very soon: Saints Row, Dead Rising, TDU- then GOW, COD3, Halo3, Forza2, fable 2

what games do you like?!

most of the good xbox games play fine on the 360, if you want to play xbox games so badly you will have to keep playing a xbox.

[zypher]

well maybe he got a 360 with the hopes of getting a next-gen experience and he hasn't yet, which has made him rely on XBox games. besides, why would he keep the original XBox with Microsoft all but burrying it as inconsequential?

[MissAubrey]

Sony always does this sh-crap.

[Jay da 2KBalla]

lol I'm luvin it.

[Jay da 2KBalla]

lol I'm luvin it.

[Karibu]

Even if this rumor is true, like all xbugs always presume, it doesn't matter really. Even if Cell was 'only' 2,8Ghz, it's still more powerfulll than
Xenos... or was it Xenon?? Damn MS and their lame names, all their thing sound like some evil scifi character. LAME.

[Jay da 2KBalla]

Stop hatin on 360. O and last time I checked 2.8 ghz was slower than 3.2ghz.

[Karibu]

oh, it's just xbug stuck on my comment.

FYI
2.8Ghz Xenos is slower than 3.2Ghz Xenos.
Cell isn't Xenos. 2.8Ghz Cell is better than 3.2Ghz Xenos. PS3 will have 3.2Ghz Cell.

[Bishop]

From MS fan boys. You were so much about the system but Sony has already said that they are to late into development to change the systems components.

You just want Sony to fail because they wiped the floor with MS last generation. Those games you mention THELANDOFSAND our only considered great by MS fan boys who like generic GTA's and want all of their games to involve shooting. Sony fans are not going to buy a 360 "just like they didn't buy an Xbox" FPS's and one semi RPG. I have a 360 and the only games I will buy off of that list are Halo 3 and Fable 2 maybe but I defiantly wouldn’t buy the console just for those games.

Games like Prey and Chrome Hounds, which were hyped up, turned out to be lacking. For all they hype Sony gives off for the console MS game devlopers gives off twice the hype for generic games.

[Jay da 2KBalla]

Dont be mad at people who like 360 games because your barbecue grill runs at 2.8 ghz

[shoota33]

another ignorant xbox fanboy remark.ps3 has never been downgraded,when will you get throught your tiny brains.And if everyone likes xbox 1.5 games so much why are there pyramids of xflop 1.5's in every store.

[Jay da 2KBalla]

another dumbass remark. Like I said dont be mad at people who like 360 games because your barbecue grill runs at 2.8ghz. Why do you waste ur time calling an enanement object a name as if you ar offended by it? But of course you wont answer dis question out of fear of lookin like an ass which is not a reason at all or I assure you that you already do please believe. Man you are sad. And I dont know where you live at probably japan or something like dat but ova here in da US 360s are not just sittin around in stores collectin dust now get that through your little 12 year old mind and by the way its time for our cookies and juice followed by naptime. And while we are talkin about how the 360 plays games I was wondering if the ps3 has that nifty little feature.

[ACE]

I just think its funny all the anti-xbox people laughed and laughed and laughed when the 360 had hardware problems, not realizing that Sony was not immune to such things. Simple fact is putting this so so power in a small plastic box is not easy no matter who you are. If the PS3 launches without even so much as a hint of the problems the 360 had... well, that just won't happen. But trying to tell the fanboys that the PS3 might not be all that and a bag of chips is impossible because for some reason Sony breeds rabid fans who believe sony (constant PR liars) always tells the absolute truth. Yeah, and the original Playstation was supposed to have "Toy Story quality graphics" my pixelated butt.

[shoota33]

You must be the stupidest kid on the planet.I told you xbox fanboys that i was being sarcastic when i said i was 12 moron,im older than you are dumbass.Here in NYC no one is buying xflop 1.5.i dont know what little village you live in but they are not selling sh!t here.And for the last time ps3 has not been downgraded,you just keep listening to rumers stupidass.I dont know why you are here trying to convince people that the xflop is good when you are not convinceing anyone.ps3 has better and way more features,games,more powerful hardware and a way bigger fanbase than xflop 1.5 .I suggest you take your 16 year old dumbass to summer school maybe you will learn something.

[AuburnTiger]

This rumor has been voiced before and confirmed a lie. Do we have to go through this again?

[BIadestarX]

Did you know that they started production for the PS3? So, how come Sony does not officially announce the final specs for the system? Is there something that they don't want people to know (i.e. major downgrade) before November?

[AuburnTiger]

You read too much enquirer

[Liverpool4ever]

First of all, I'm not from the UK or the US. But, atleast I'm a little good in my 2.nd foreign language, but if you wish, correct this post and "Suppose you can English" and "Where does it stand I put it in the same league". Yeah, C'mon. Do your worst.

[AuburnTiger]

Ha, you want me to correct you? I'm not your teacher and I don't wish to be. When I first asked you what you meant you took it as an insult. Of course I know your foreign, no arguments there, but don't get all pissed off when someone doesn't understand you.

Now quit following me around like a lost puppy.

[Liverpool4ever]

I guess you just wimped out because you realised I didn't have any faults. I'm not pissed because you pretend you don't understand me, I'm pissed because you answer with, Huh.... If you didn't understand a sh!t, then don't respond. Easy as that.

[AuburnTiger]

I can't believe your still pissed about this!! To answer your first question, it is common to say "huh?" in America when someone is baffled by a question that dosen't make sense. And no offense but your questions made no sense, literaly. If i'm not mistaken, this is a US site so don't act like a girl when someone dosen't understand your broken english.

[Liverpool4ever]

SO CORRECT ME!!! I'm AMERICAN, WOHOO, WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL?? HEY, I'M GEORGE AND LOOK LIKE A MNOKEY... C'MON... CORRECT "suppose you can english" and "I didn't put it in the same league". OK, DONT SAY: I'M NOT A TEACHER AND A D.I.C.K...

[AuburnTiger]

you first wrote-
"Where does is stand that I put it in the same league?"
-I'm guessing that you meant "What league should I put that in?" but this is still far guess from what you said.

Your 2nd question
"suppose you can english"
-ha, I don't have a clue what you mean.

It's apparent that your grammar needs definite work and if you expect people to listen to then you probably shouldn’t make fun of there country even if there president is not the smartest guy in the world. Now that I’ve corrected you, quit following me around like a lost puppy.

[Liverpool4ever]

Ok, whatever. If you dont understand what "I suppose you can English" means, then you must be like 10 years.

[AuburnTiger]

You are worthless, you ask for my teachings and you reject them. Ask anybody with an average IQ and they'll tell you the same thing. “I suppose you can English" makes no sense. You can't even guess what you’re talking about. Once again, you need to work on your grammar, because it kind of helps people understand your thought a little better.

[Aflac]

If there were a court case about which console is more powerful, the 360 would have won before it began because the PROOF of the 360's superiority over ps3 has already been revealed. Here's your proof (for the millionth time):
http://xbox360.ign.com/arti... -xbox 360 proven superior to the ps3 through a detailed analysis based on HOW THE SYSTEMS WORK, not just their numbers
http://ps3.ign.com/articles... -downsides of ps3
http://www.smartcomputing.c...
http://www.gamersreports.co... -360 gpu report
http://www.gamespot.com/new... -another report highlighting the 360’s superiority over ps3
http://www.firingsquad.com/... -another detailed report proving the 360 superior to ps3
http://www.nextechnews.com/... Ps3 possible delay, terrible tech problems...

Take note that sony has said nothing to counterattack the tech analysis because they know very well its all true. They did counterattack and dismiss some downgrade rumours, because those were the only attacks on sony that were false and could be proven so.

Cry me a river, build a bridge, and get over it.

[Cyclonus]

My fcuking Dell PC runs at 2.8Ghz...

[shoota33]

please stop posting your bs ps3 is more powerful PERIOD!! i know it hurts but i mean damn GET OVER IT!!ps3 has more powerful machine way bigger fanbase,way more features and better games than xflop 1.5

[Aflac]

...o, u can't, too bad. Don't even try to argue without stuff t back u up! gosh! friggin idiot!

[shoota33]

Oh do i have to make you look like an ass, i guess i do.
by features ps3 has blu ray,hdmi 1.3,bluetooth cell/rsx,60 gig hd,wi-fi,standard wireless controllers/hard drive,motion sensing controllers free online,extreamly larger fanbase than xflop,and you already know ps3 is more powerful so there is no need to argue.All of these features are built in the ps3 while you will pay 1000 just to get close to the features of ps3.

[Jay da 2KBalla]

none of those features mean sh!t dumbass. You so damn stupid u mentioned bluetooth and cell and the rsx as a feature. Man you are so retarded. The ONLY feature that matters is the 60 gig harddrive but all that otha stuf is irrelevant fanboy garbage.

[Jay da 2KBalla]

o yea and da wifi

[f1r3waII K1LL3r]

The Ps3 isnt even out yet once it come out we can say what ever we want but for now lets just shut up please this fanboy sh*t is annoying as hell.

[Aflac]

there isn't a single analysis BASED ON HOW HE SYSTEMS WORK, NOT JUST NUMBERS that says the ps3 is more powerful.

[zypher]

how can there be an analysis on how the system works when its specs have only recently been finalized? up until recently most of what's been seen on the system was rendered with beta kits: i count six games (Heavy Rain, Assassins Creed, MGS4, Lair, UT2007 and Heavenly Sword) which look at least as good as the best 360 games to date, and they're done on beta kits. even in one of links you posted it said that the PS3 was unproven because it hadn't really been tested (the only other two links you listed that actually worked was from ign.com, from a Microsoft employee--go figure--and another one from ign talking about PS3's lacked features, not processing power). when you have one developer (from Epic) saying how PS3 is actually marginally superior but that he prefers 360 due to easier development, and many other developers (Sega, Konami, Epic again, Ubisoft, Play Ten, Square, EA, Activision, Midway) say how the PS3 is technically superior and capable of more processing then yes, the PS3 is the superior machine. maybe not the better machine, but definately the superior.

[Jay da 2KBalla]

Heavy rain, UT2007, and Assasins Creed is coming to the 360 and Gears as well as mass effect looked better than everything showed on the ps3. Also the only playable title in that bunch that you mentoned was Hevenly Sword which did not EVEN look better than oblivion or GRAW to me so that was just your opinion. And actually those games were shown on near final dev kits o just to clarify da whole beta thing.

Also you do know that margnally means a little bit right? So let me break it down for you FYI if two consoles have about equal power with one being marginally superior(PS3) that is vey costly and difficult to prgram for anyway and bottlenecks and cant even do anti-aliasing without a hit to the gpu (BTW the 360 does anti-aliasing without a hit to to the gpu and does not bottleneck) and then you have the marginally inferior console(360) that is much easier to program for and is only getting easier with things like direct x10 and whatnot then that makes 360 the all around better platform. So yea in short the ps3 is marginally better but like i said marginally is only a little but the 360s dev tools are far superior to that f ps3s and less costly and devs are more familiar with the technology than the cell which makes ps3s marginal power difference insignificant.

[zypher]

whether or not UT 2007, Assassins Creed and Heavy Rain are coming to the 360 is inconsequential. to date, all three games have been shown only for the PS3; meaning that what's been shown has been rendered on the PS3 console. the 360 may be able to render those graphics tic for tak; but thats just speculation: we have no way of knowing for sure until those games are actually rendered on the 360. and yes, i know what marginal means: just because i prefer Sony doesn't mean that i dislike Microsoft, or that i conjure untruths to further some fanboy agenda. however, i do know for a fact that what a system is capable of rendering (such as in-game cut-scenes) is tantamount to actual gameplay, and that all of whats been shown of those games i've listed is actual in-game footage.

again, just because i PREFER Sony doesn't mean that i have ever diluted myself with hopes that the PS3 was far superior to the 360, though in time i do believe that the differences will become noticable, as many DEVELOPERS (not cynical journalists) have themselves said. you list all these issue with the PS3 (bottlenecking, anti-aliasing effecting the gpu etc), all of which have been conjured in light of E3 2006, meaning that 99% are just rumors to further the anti-Sony sentiment thats been floating around of late. that you would base your argument on such information instead of word-of-mouth from credible developers is quite disturbing...but then again, you seem no different than any other fanboy.

[Jay da 2KBalla]

I would reply but i dont feel like typing another long post. Howwever I will say my argument was not based on anti sony sentiment and I did not say that you disliked Microsoft so stop wit da bullsh!t. Also you attempt t call me a fanboy when several of your previous posts have been complete biased fanboy bs so stop tryna cal me sumtin that you are and that I am not.

[zypher]

just like i asked some other person in another article: can you PLEASE refer to anything i have ever written on this site that was derogatory about either the 360 or the PS3? if Microsoft makes some lame brain decision then yes, as a consumer of theirs i'll make my business to point it out. no different with Sony and their questionable decision to make PS3 $200 more expensive with Blu-ray.

[JIN KAZAMA]

Gametime said it best with all the features, ask anyone to compare both premium consoles, which offers more, its so obvious which is offering more for the buck.

[Jay da 2KBalla]

360 to me.

[Aflac]

are u kidding me? u have to pay 100-200 more for ps3, I'd sure hope it offers more. u can buy (seperately) all that kinda stuff for the 360 with an overall cost equal to or less than ps3.

[MissAubrey]

These Sony fans are saying Xboxers are getting worried. The truth is we're not! Theres too many great games on the 360 and comming, to give a damn about being worried. The only ones getting defensive are the Sony fanboys. Hey and why would'nt they, when all Sony seems to do is drop countless features..... 4ghz down to 2.8ghz what a shame.

[Aflac]

...the ps3's true specs had been finalized only recently yes, but we all know very well that it has only gone downhill from where it was when those analysis were made. The 360 came out to be more powerfull than the ps3 at e3 of 05 - before a single downgrade was made. I don't think it actually lowerd to 2.8 ghz, but it certainly did go down to 3.2ghz. It started off less powerful, and it's coming out even less powerful than before.

[mephixto]

1.- Man that analysis it's from MS, So they are gonna to say that the PS3 and the Xbox3360 are equals? Come on of course not.
2.- They are comparing the 3 PPE of the Xbox360 vs the 1 PPE of PS3, but they MS "forgot" to mention in their analysis that the PS3 have 7 SPE each one runnig at 3.2GHz.
3.- The 3 PPE from the Xbox360 are for "General Pourpose Code" eaqual to he Cell 1 PPE but the 7 SPE are for specialized code.
4.- The GPU of the Xbox360 use Unified Shaders, technology that was recently dropped by ATI in their nwe line of Video Cards, now they are using the RSX technology, Fixed Shaders. because is better.
5.- Nobody knows the finally specs of the RSX.
6.- The PS3 production have already started so the downgrade will not happen.
7.- LINK
http://www.ps3forums.com/vi...
and be a better NOOB!

[JIN KAZAMA]

I dont remember Sony saying that the PS3 will be running at 4Ghz, I am not saiyng they didnt say it, but I dont recall them saying it. I do rememeber that they said, they have clocked the Cell to do 4Ghz+, but not that the PS3 will be using it at 4Ghz. If you guys have links, i would like to see where it says that.