Detailed Specifications of the Nintendo 64 main unit and architecture
The specifications of the machine are widely available. This page aims to be different so we won't be printing the same stuff that everyone else is. For the benefit of new readers, the N64 has the following capabilities (actual hardware performance is detailed below):
* 235x224 to 640x480 flicker free interlaced screen resolution.
* Hardware Z-Buffering
* Hardware Anti-aliasing
* Hardware Texture Mapping (32x32 pixel texture maps)
* Tri-Linear filtered MIP Mapping
* Perspective Correction (Inverse Texture Mapping)
* Environment Mapping
* 32bit RGBA pixel-colour frame buffer
* 21bit colour output
* Stereo 16bit PCM audio
* Capable of 64 channels at 44KhzThe Nintendo 64 has three main features. Here is the simple picture taken directly from the official Nintendo 64 Introductory Manual (see dev section) that gives names to the various chips:
Main
CPU
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Reality
Co-Processor
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RAMBUS
Unified Memory Architecture
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The Nintendo 64 partitions audio and graphics into separate tasks. The R4300i works as the central controller and interrupt handler. It also handles all high-level audio processing functions (the number of channels depends on what else the CPU is doing).
For example, the R4300i uses the FPU to synthesise high-precision audio wave forms. The RCP handles those jobs where software algorithms alone can't meet the bandwidth requirements. To generate sounds, the R4300i processes a list of musical events (for example, MIDI notes) to determine the resource and timing requirements. It then builds a digital signal processing command list, starts a DMA transfer of data from mass storage to main memory, and then goes to the next task. The RCP parses the command stream and processes the data in main memory. The DMA controller then sends the processed data to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) for sound generation.
For generating graphics, the R4300i can readily create and manipulate models (3-D objects described as a mesh of polygons) for use in game scenes. When the game code needs to update the position and the attributes of the models, the R4300i can handle these updates in real time. The models are next forwarded to the graphics coprocessor, which performs matrix manipulation and renders the image. The R4300i's 64-bit mode gives game developers extra precision for models and other calculations without having to write high-precision algorithms or incurring a performance penalty.
Directly from the Nintendo 64 page at Mips Technologies, Inc.
Nintendo64 has roughly 1,000 times the performance of the computers used to land a man on the moon. (ahhh, those old times...)
The raw computational power inside Nintendo64 could perform the calculations necessary to tabulate the tax returns of 6.5 million people per second (IRS Form 1040, the long form).
The team that was assembled to design Nintendo64 included engineers that had previously designed such diverse products as Silicon Graphics workstations, personal computers, military flight simulators, supercomputer systems, professional electronic music synthesizers, laser printers, home stereo systems, digital cash registers, stadium scoreboard systems, personal computer graphics systems, karoke machines, word processing computers, medical imaging systems, and software systems for NASA.
The Nintendo warehouse prior to the launch ranked #1 as the world's top supercomputer site.
If the Webster's Dictionary was on a Nintendo64 cartridge, the Nintendo64 could read the entire dictionary in a 1/4 of a second.