Wii U System Specs leaked?

[garyopa]

To support 8 threads, 20X faster than Wii, 2 GB RAM



Apparently, the new CPU is said to be 20X faster than the chip found in the original Wii console and around 50% more powerful than Current Gen Systems...

According to Wii U Daily, the Wii U CPU is said to support 8 threads, to be 20X faster than Wii and it should be at least 50% faster than the PS3 and Xbox 360.

Here's what the site learned about the processor:

A report obtained by Wii U Daily suggests that the Nintendo Wii U CPU is based on the IBM 710 Express chip, but is underclocked at 3 GHz and comes with 4 cores and 8 threads. The new CPU is said to be 20X faster than the chip found in the original Wii console.

Wii U Daily’s Japanese source, which originally leaked the Wii U system specs, now elaborates on the main processor. The Wii U CPU, as we know from Nintendo, is made by IBM and is based on their POWER 7 architecture, and will be built on 45nm. The new details reveal that the Wii U CPU is modeled after the 710 Express IBM server processor, which as standard has 6 cores and runs at speeds of up to 3.7 GHz. The 710 Express chip can also execute 4 threads per core at the same.

In order to save on production costs, Nintendo has scaled down the processor for the console. The Wii U version of the CPU will scale down the cores to 4, the clock frequency to 3 GHz, and threads per core will go down from 4 to 2. This means the Wii U CPU will be able to execute 8 threads at the same time. The current Xbox 360 CPU, also made by IBM, can execute 6 threads at the same time.

On paper it looks like the Wii U is “around 50% more powerful than current gen systems” as analysts suggested last year, but in reality, the console is likely to be much faster than the raw numbers suggest. This is due to the new features and the architectural improvements of the POWER 7 design. Overall, the Wii U CPU is said to be 20X faster than the IBM Broadway chip found in the Wii.

So, to summarize things, these are the -current- Wii U system specs that some sites are reporting, which are pretty similar to what Wii U Daily posted:

* Quad Core, 3 GHz PowerPC-based 45nm CPU, very similar to the Xbox 360 chip. The CPU features two threads per core, 2-4 MB L3 cache, and 256B of L2 cache per core

* 2 GB of RAM, with 560 MB of RAM dedicated to the main OS

* AMD Radeon HD 6770 chipset

* 25 GB Blu-ray based disc

* 8 GB internal flash memory

* Custom, Nintendo-made Wii U operating system that runs on a separate, ARM-based processor."

There's nothing official, and we all know Nintendo won't reveal any CPU or hardware details at E3. So, it looks like we'll have to wait for some games to see if those are real.

If those are indeed the real deal, what do you think?

* UPDATE:

Also, take a look at some of the rumored Wii U functionalities:

- Video Chat is available, but must be from the main menu of the system (not while playing a game).
- Voice Commands are available (similar to this rumor we heard about the 3DS maybe?)
- Facial Recognition (similar to features of the Xbox Kinect)
- Ability to suspend games, similar to 3DS.
- Ability to share achievements with friends by sending videos or screenshots with drawings on them.
- Watch a friend play online
- Multitasking (example: keep a text or video walkthrough open from ZI while playing the game, swap back and forth as needed)

NEWS SOURCE #1: News Article #3017 (via) EurAsia
NEWS SOURCE #2: Wii-U CPU said to support 8 threads is 20x faster than Wii (via) Wii U Daily

Our thanks to 'Gauss' for this news item!

[Diztructor]

50% powerfuller than this current gen hmmm so nothing that special then, looks like this sytem after a few years wont be able to push much further.

lets see what 720/ps4 specs are

[DEDDOA]

Thats very not bad even by PC standards, thats a mid range gaming machine level, tho as I've said before, optimisation for one configuration will mean it will likley perform on a par with high end PC setups, definetly a step up from the Wii and head and shoulders above the PS3 and 360 in GPU alone. If they are the genuine specs then it should be a very capable machine in a nice small case. I'd go as far as saying that that is pretty much on a par when compared to PC's spec wise as the 360 and PS3 were when they lauched (the 360 has a precursor to the Radeon HD 3000 series, and the Ps3 has a custom Geforce 7 card tho Sonys refusal to allow the true specs out kind of proves they want to hide the likley fact that it's not a top end geforce 7 as some would like to believe).

i doubt the next Xbox and PS4 will do any better without a much larger console as they will need all that space just for the extra cooling of higher level GPU's and CPU's, along with the much higher price tag no doubt.

[kneehighspy]

the wiiu will be the first console that I will not be breaking out to get in line and fight for for the holiday. I've done that for every other console (360, ps3, wii, etc). as much use as my daughter gave the wii, it's not worth the hassle. I think the wii lasted her interest for like 6 months then that was it. I pretty much ended up with it, so I went ahead and modded it, put a bunch of games on a USB hd, and now it just sits in a box without nary a care.

I will be out for the ps4 and 720, but I think I have purchased my last Nintendo console and handheld. I purchased a 3ds with intentions of a rom card eventually being released. I had purchased a vita from newegg with uncharted and a 32gb mem card, but it (vita) kept locking up and crashing, so I sent it back and havent bothered with getting another. I think I'm done with handheld consoles. I have my iPhone, iPad 3 and my pandora handheld, so I'm good.

anyone really looking forward to the wiiu?

[billysastard]

anyone really looking forward to the wiiu?

me

i'm not too fussed about how powerful it is as long as it can run 1080p@60fps and play all new well known franchises, i'm mostly looking forward to seeing how devs make uses of the extra facilities offered by the upad.

the big question is how much more powerful can sony or ms afford to make their systems, sony are hampered by their massive losses and the vita millstone and simply wont dare to push another $599 console, microsoft are including kinect 2 next time so again that restricts what they can afford to add whilst still keeping at a price that is reasonable and competitive especially given the fact that by the time they launch chances are wii u will be in a position to have a price cut.

[Xenogears V]

In these days I am reading a lot of specs for new console, but this seems most realistic.

[JonathanD]

me

i'm not too fussed about how powerful it is as long as it can run 1080p@60fps and play all new well known franchises, i'm mostly looking forward to seeing how devs make uses of the extra facilities offered by the upad.

the big question is how much more powerful can sony or ms afford to make their systems, sony are hampered by their massive losses and the vita millstone and simply wont dare to push another $599 console, microsoft are including kinect 2 next time so again that restricts what they can afford to add whilst still keeping at a price that is reasonable and competitive especially given the fact that by the time they launch chances are wii u will be in a position to have a price cut.

Count me in too, Wii-U will be fun

Waiting to see what Sony and MS will offer but they can't change my mind about buying a Wii-U, the only thing they can change my mind about is if my Wii-U sits alone or has a friend to play with.

[Ahmed_p800]

Seems legit!

6770 is not bad, not bad at all!
But previous rumors said the GPU would be 4850? hmmm comparing benchmarks, 6770 is more powerful with up-to-date tech!

This makes me happy

I don't think it will face issues running unreal 4.