PS3 Power consumption

According to Sony, their launch model i.e. PS3 60 GB which is based on a 90 nm Cell processor and 90 nm RSX graphics chip consumes 380 Watts.

The PS3 40 GB model which was launched in late 2007 uses a 65 nm Cell processor.

It is reported that 90 nm Cell consumes 200W. On the other hand, the 65 nm Cell consumes 135 watts. It is also reported that 40 GB motherboard is only 2/3 the size of the a 60 GB model motherboard. This is probably attributable to a lack of backward compatibility with PS2 in the 40 GB motherboard, the adoption of 65 nm Cell and the redesign on the circuit board within.

In early February 2008, IBM announced that it will be producing a 45 nm Cell. It is definitely a much more environmentally and electricity bill friendly chip as it only consumes 80 W.

IT enthusiaist knows that a very powerful GPU is power hungry and can draw as much as 80% of the energy from the power supply unit. Therefore PS3 powerful RSX chip which is based on the 90 nm technology is likely to consume lots of power. It can also generate lots of heat which causes the PS3 to get heated internally rapidly. Prolonged exposure to such hot temperature is certainly not good for a PS3.

I'm sure lots of us would love to see the RSX being produced on a sub 90 nm technology. We should not have to wait long as Nvidia is already using the 65 nm technology to produce the current 9xxx series GPUs. With that we are likely to see another corresponding decrease in the power consumption of the PS3.

A 40-inch full HD LCD TV draws about 240 Watts of power. And the PS3 draws another 380 watts. So it can caused a significant dent on your utility bill if your PS3 game over a pronlonged period of time.

However, PS3 uses a 45 nm Cell processor and a 65 nm RSX chip, the PS3 that once used to consume 380W is likely to consume less than 220W. With rising energy costs, we certainly look forward to Sony leading the way with a more energy efficient PS3.