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OriginalMarkedMotherboard Showing the 'Xenon' revision (the first one), taken from my model from 2005. Xenon motherboards are also famous for being defective by design (they get too hot to play games with!). Remaining GDDR3 chips are found on the back.Motherboard with important parts labelled A quick introductionReleased a year before its main competitor, the Xbox 360 was already claiming technolo

A quick introductionThe internal design of the Game Boy Advance is quite impressive for a portable console that runs on two AA batteries. This console will carry on using Nintendo’s signature GPU. Additionally, it will introduce a relatively new CPU from a British company that will surge in popularity in the years to come. CPUMost of the components are combined into a single package called CPU AGB

A quick introductionAt first glance, the NES appears to be just another 6502 computer, with a sophisticated case and a controller. And while this is technically true, let me show you why the CPU is not the central part of this system. Models and variantsA typical Betamax recorder. This and similar appliances influenced the international design of the NES. I spotted this particular one at The Centr

A practical analysis by Rodrigo CopettiLooking at the evolution of video game consoles is fascinating. While conventional PCs tend to evolve ‘incrementally’, new generations of consoles introduce completely new ways of working. What you see here is a series of articles that will hopefully uncover the rationale behind the latest trends in technology. They will also demonstrate why each system can’t

ARM7TDMIARM7 structure and components.Starting with the more familiar one, the ARM7TDMI is the same CPU found on the Game Boy Advance but now running at ~34 MHz (double its original speed). It still includes all its original features (especially Thumb). Now for the changes: Because Nintendo’s engineers placed the ARM7 next to most of the I/O ports, this CPU will be tasked with arbitrating and assi

OriginalMarkedMotherboard Showing first revision. Controllers are plugged using a separate daughterboard. Missing SDRAM chips are on the back and there are four unpopulated SDRAM slots.Motherboard with important parts labelled A quick introductionIt seems that Microsoft has decided to pick up where Sega left off. Their offer? A system with familiarities appreciated by developers and online service

OriginalMarkedMotherboard Showing revision 'GH-001' from model SCPH-10000 only released in Japan. Thanks to the donations received, I was able to purchase this model and take a proper photo to allow me to identify most of the chips. I presume the chip at the bottom right corner is the 4 MB BIOS ROMMotherboard with important parts labelled A quick introductionThe PlayStation 2 was not one of the mo

A quick introductionSony knew that 3D hardware could get very messy to develop for. Thus, their debuting console will keep its design simple and practical… Although this may come with a cost! CPUThis section dissects the Sony CXD8530BQ, one of the two big chips this console houses. It’s what we would call a ‘System-on-Chip’ in today’s world. The originsThe main processor is one of those ‘x designe