New Super Slim PS3 Might Be On The Way

[Saidur_Ali]

Uh... You do know that's a standard feature from the original fat PS3's, correct? But hmm, a 190W PS3, I don't think that drop would indicate that they are using a 28nm process for the RSX chip. I think the wattage drop is part of getting rid of the eject mechanism for the blu-ray drive.

I would be surprised if they did not have any die shrink. The bottom base is quite a bit smaller. It will be a bit of a disappointment if it is just motherboard changes and change of blu-ray drive.

Cell below 45nm is the hard part from what I read a year or so back. Actual power consumption in use, could potentially go down quite a lot if they have die shrinked both the CPU and GPU.

 

[nick09]

I would be surprised if they did not have any die shrink. The bottom base is quite a bit smaller. It will be a bit of a disappointment if it is just motherboard changes and change of blu-ray drive.

Cell below 45nm is the hard part from what I read a year or so back. Actual power consumption in use, could potentially go down quite a lot if they have die shrinked both the CPU and GPU.

Oh yes. Seeing that the current Cell is 45nm and the RSX is 40nm, we could see as much as a 40W drop if they were die shrink. Maybe even a 50W-100W(seeing how there was a 50W drop from 40nm GPU's to 28nm. I think that was when AMD went from the HD 6xxx to HD 7xxx) drop depending on how small they make them. It would be amazing if the chips were shrink down to 28nm.

@Robin: I don't see any signs of an touch button. Nor do I see any way for the higher part to move to the left. It could even be a manual operation to the left or open straight up. Then again these pictures must be taken with a very greasy cellphone lens for all we know and can't tell properly.

 

[Sanji Himura]

@Robin: I don't see any signs of an touch button. Nor do I see any way for the higher part to move to the left. It could even be a manual operation to the left or open straight up. Then again these pictures must be taken with a very greasy cellphone lens for all we know and can't tell properly.

I think that it flips open from the right. Then again, as you said, these pictures were taken by a greasy cellphone lens for all we know and they show no quality.

Oh yes. Seeing that the current Cell is 45nm and the RSX is 40nm, we could see as much as a 40W drop if they were die shrink. Maybe even a 50W-100W(seeing how there was a 50W drop from 40nm GPU's to 28nm. I think that was when AMD went from the HD 6xxx to HD 7xxx) drop depending on how small they make them. It would be amazing if the chips were shrink down to 28nm.

Going off tangent, how small did the Emotion Engine chip get on the PS2?

 

[Ddrizle]

Not that a flip top lid is definate, but I'm reminded of the old-school push-top portable CD players, where no buttons were needed to open the disc cover. Push in the lid and the lid would open. The good old days haha.

 

[Slash]

Not that a flip top lid is definate, but I'm reminded of the old-school push-top portable CD players, where no buttons were needed to open the disc cover. Push in the lid and the lid would open. The good old days haha.

I remember having a Walkman lol

 

[Samus]

I was just mentioning 16GB being the one that might be flash based.

I think there will be a more portable PS3 maybe within a couple of years though but this will do for now I suppose. Question is, have they managed to die shrink the Cell? Power supply rating would suggest not but going by CECH-3000 model, it may not show the true picture. At the moment it looks like just more integration / shrinking of motherboard components and die shrink of RSX to 28nm or maybe Cell 45nm and RSX 28nm combined. Sony thinking behind this, is to keep costs down and make the PS3 still look fresh in the market by the looks of it. If there is a die shrink of both the Cell and RSX, I will most likely buy

What? How many times do you think they're going to do hardware revisions?

 

[Saidur_Ali]

Oh yes. Seeing that the current Cell is 45nm and the RSX is 40nm, we could see as much as a 40W drop if they were die shrink. Maybe even a 50W-100W(seeing how there was a 50W drop from 40nm GPU's to 28nm. I think that was when AMD went from the HD 6xxx to HD 7xxx) drop depending on how small they make them. It would be amazing if the chips were shrink down to 28nm.

@Robin: I don't see any signs of an touch button. Nor do I see any way for the higher part to move to the left. It could even be a manual operation to the left or open straight up. Then again these pictures must be taken with a very greasy cellphone lens for all we know and can't tell properly.

If they only die shrink the RSX to say 28nm/32nm, it will be only drop power consumption by something around 10W. It all depends on what fabrication process they have available to them.

It looks like there is a push eject button a bit like PS2 slim.

What? How many times do you think they're going to do hardware revisions?

It depends on what die shrinks have taken place in this new model PS3 to give an educated guess. I would be surprised if they don't do some kind of hardware revision next year though. It should be more portable in the sense they will make it lighter. There most likely will be a change in case as well, but I think that will be after a few hardware revisions, maybe in 2014.

Microsoft will most likely do hardware revisions with there console too, they don't really need to change case at the moment and they might not change it at all in the future. They can make the PSU internal in the future, who knows, they might do it this year.

 

[Ddrizle]

 

[Samus]

It depends on what die shrinks have taken place in this new model PS3 to give an educated guess. I would be surprised if they don't do some kind of hardware revision next year though. It should be more portable in the sense they will make it lighter. There most likely will be a change in case as well, but I think that will be after a few hardware revisions, maybe in 2014.

Why? Just because it's technically possible to make it smaller what makes you think they'll keep doing it?

 

[nick09]

Going off tangent, how small did the Emotion Engine chip get on the PS2?

Found a document that says the whole chip was 240mm in size. The die was made of .25um transistors.

@saidur_ali: I was just basing it off of how much wattage that was saved in GPU's. Of course it would be different based on how the chip is made.

Just saw those new clear pictures, looks like they slashed a huge portion off. Also seems like it only has a power button unless the "PS" logo is a power button and that button in the middle is to eject the drive.

 

[ussr]

Nothing special in my opinion. If they can make it smaller, and more resistible to hacking then it's another reason for release new model. There are number of people around the world willing to change their old ps3 to new smaller model. 👍

 

[Saidur_Ali]

A bit cheeky of gamefocus.ca to put there website URL on the image created by a NeoGAF member.

Why? Just because it's technically possible to make it smaller what makes you think they'll keep doing it?

There is a past history of Sony since PS1, PS2, PSP and now PS3 and soon to be PS Vita making numerous hardware revisions. This new PS3 model is the 5th model number since the first slim got announced in 2009. They have done some minor revisions already and still put the effort of getting it out there. If there is a revision where they can reduce costs quite a bit, I would be surprised, if they decide to say, hang on we might as well cost ourselves money because why keep revising it? Microsoft will also revise there consoles for same logical reason of reducing costs. They can drop costs by quite a bit still. Main thing holding Sony back is power consumption regarding case size, and with the fabrication processes coming out, they can potentially half the power consumption. That way they can use smaller heatsinks and fans, smaller PSUs, make logic board smaller, and case smaller and sell it slightly at a cheaper price, while potentially increasing profit margins at the same time.

I think Sony will most likely stop making revisions, a year or two after the PS4 is released though. Also as the parts are low end in a way, they are less likely to hit the limit of new fabrication costing them more money. There might be a time where it might be more expensive but by then, they would be quite a bit in the PS4 cycle.

Found a document that says the whole chip was 240mm in size. The die was made of .25um transistors.

@saidur_ali: I was just basing it off of how much wattage that was saved in GPU's. Of course it would be different based on how the chip is made.

Just saw those new clear pictures, looks like they slashed a huge portion off. Also seems like it only has a power button unless the "PS" logo is a power button and that button in the middle is to eject the drive.

That is for original PS2. Here is a roadmap: PS2 Roadmap

The current PS3 takes about 79W playing games. The RSX 65nm die shrink to 40nm saved about 24W, so it won't be that much reduction if it is just the RSX. Cell die shrink is currently where big potential is left, that hasn't changed since the original PS3 slim in 2009.

 

[Samus]

I'm not talking minor changes in the model, I'm talking completely new models.

For the first Playstation we had the original model and the smaller PSOne model. Two.
For the second Playstation we had the original model and the smaller slimline model. Two.
For the third Playstation we had the original model, the slim and now this model. That's already one more completely new model than for previous generations, now you're suggesting they could make a fourth?

Technology will always move on, they will always be able to improve the design/manufacturer process but there comes a time when it's not worth it in term of R&D costs against sales.

 

[Saidur_Ali]

I'm not talking minor changes in the model, I'm talking completely new models.

For the first Playstation we had the original model and the smaller PSOne model. Two.
For the second Playstation we had the original model and the smaller slimline model. Two.
For the third Playstation we had the original model, the slim and now this model. That's already one more completely new model than for previous generations, now you're suggesting they could make a fourth?

Technology will always move on, they will always be able to improve the design/manufacturer process but there comes a time when it's not worth it in term of R&D costs against sales.

PS2, sort of had three. The final model changed the look of casing and quite a big internal change with PSU being put internally. PSP had three.

PS3 has big potential mainly because of how much more power it consumes and how much it can be reduced in the next two years. It takes more power than the newest models of the PS1, PS2, PSP, and PS Vita combined currently and more. Looking at comparison pictures people have made, it looks like they might have made a change in die shrink of Cell and maybe RSX, but cannot be sure at this moment. I think they will make it more compact the final version, with the sides not sticking out as much. R&D wise the costs will be little in comparison as all they are doing is trying to shrink components that will perform the same and make the case fit for purpose of hardware in there. If they took out the PSU, like they did with the PS2 slim design initially, then I think there will be less likely a change in case as in the future they could make it internal again but they decided not to do that so there is still a chance of change.

The current slim model out, the CECH-3000 is a good example, they changed a bit of internals, logic board components more integrated, some leds removed as well as some other parts changed but still got it out there even if cost savings were minor in comparison to the model/s (2100, 2500) before it saved.

 

[Robin]

@Robin: I don't see any signs of an touch button. Nor do I see any way for the higher part to move to the left. It could even be a manual operation to the left or open straight up. Then again these pictures must be taken with a very greasy cellphone lens for all we know and can't tell properly.

There's a clear recessed area to the left of the disk lid which extends to the edge of the console, I've highlighted it in green on these pictures. I'm pretty sure that's the area the lid slides into which you can see is raised because there's a step in height between the sides. As for the eject/power buttons they can be seen far left and right of the Playstation logo on the front right.

EDIT - ussr's pics have proven it.

I'm not talking minor changes in the model, I'm talking completely new models.

Depends what you mean by a 'completely new model', there are many major hardware changes that have occurred inside the consoles which makes it a new model even though the outside hasn't changed much. When you say minor changes it sounds like you mean purely from a visual standpoint.

The PS1 had 5 revisions.
The PS2 has had 7 revisions.
The PS3 has had 6 including this new one.

 

[Samus]

I'm talking models as in the ones marketed to the public as 'new'. I know each consoles internals have changed many times but to the public there were only two of each up to now. That's what I mean, by all means they may continue to improve the internals but I don't see them marketing a fourth 'new' PS3 console. I hope that makes sense.

 

[Robin]

I'm talking models as in the ones marketed to the public as 'new'. I know each consoles internals have changed many times but to the public there were only two of each up to now. That's what I mean, by all means they may continue to improve the internals but I don't see them marketing a fourth 'new' PS3 console. I hope that makes sense.

I do see what you mean, I think that there possibly could be a 4th when the PS4 comes along as a budget option. By the looks of things it still has plenty of size left to shrink, its certainly not PS2 slim size yet.

 

[Ridox2JZGTE]

I have found this site which shows the new super slim model :

CECH-4000XX A=16GB B=250GB B=500GB
CELL/RSX 32nm/28nm
Watts/MAX 80/180
Release 8/2012

http://www.edepot.com/playstation3.html

Possible source from FCC
https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/GenericSearch.cfm

Enter for Grantee Code: AK8
Enter for Product Code: CEC

If anyone interested, give the site a visit, and search for some new PS3 hardware submitted there.

 

[nick09]

There's a clear recessed area to the left of the disk lid which extends to the edge of the console, I've highlighted it in green on these pictures. I'm pretty sure that's the area the lid slides into which you can see is raised because there's a step in height between the sides. As for the eject/power buttons they can be seen far left and right of the Playstation logo on the front right.

I just meant that it was hard to tell if it could move to the left due to the low quality picture(hard to tell if the mechanism is there at the time).

 

[marchi]

I reckon this'll be out around october. Think i'll buy it too given i've got a 40gb 'now with 120gb hd' from 2008 that I use.

 

[PzR Slim]

Images leaked by a Brazilian website apparently.

Why do Sony continue to make such ugly looking consoles?

 

[MaliciousMD]

Images leaked by a Brazilian website apparently.

Why do Sony continue to make such ugly looking consoles?

I liked the look of the launch PS3 and the current slim. The new slim if its legit is ugly for sure though...

 

[Joie de vivre!]

this pretty much confirms that we won't see ps4 until 2014

 

[BlisteredHand]

this pretty much confirms that we won't see ps4 until 2014

It doesn't effect any PS4 schedule.

 

[Luminis]

It doesn't effect any PS4 schedule.

Not necessarily. It might indicate that they're trying to cover the time until release, though.

Besides, I actually don't think it's that ugly. Better than the fat PS3, at least.

 

[Samus]

The general design looks ok but the corrugated top is awful looking.

this pretty much confirms that we won't see ps4 until 2014

The PS One redesign launched pretty much side by side with the PS2.

 

[Spagetti69]

So there knocking these out at a cheaper cost to make? Or what?

Why?

 

[ch3ng]

this pretty much confirms that we won't see ps4 until 2014

Nope. This doesn't affect the PS4 shedule. I think It is a sign that the PS4 will come in 1-3 years.

Yes i know the Slim was a redesign too, but now we are at the end of the cycle.

Why?

Good question. The can produce with less cost and push the PS3 sells again. And sell the Super Slim for less bucks and this will lead to more sales.

 

[sesselpupser]

So there knocking these out at a cheaper cost to make? Or what?

Why?

My guess would be so they can sell PS3s in countries where selling them at enough profit (or at an acceptable loss) would be prohibitively expensive, or just so they can sell them cheaper everywhere so anyone who said they're too expensive before doesn't have that excuse any more. I hope they release a super budget option here because then I might be tempted to get two more PS3s and two more copies of GT5...

 

[Ibonibo]

^Yeah I found the 40gb fat was a good start, shame they didn't redid it with the slim.