Why did yall bring up the GBA when he asked about the DS?
Now if I am not mistaken the DS is powered by an Arm7 and an Arm9 for bottom and top respectively. And I believe they are clocked at 33 and 67mhz. Like racketboy said the Saturn is powered by two Super H2s at just under 30mhz. So on primary processors the DS has the Saturn beat, but the Saturn has some trips up its sleeves with six other processors handling those unimportant task like geometry and sound. The Saturn is a beast of a machine, its kinda like a beowolf cluster in a box - ok its not but it sounds cool to say it that way.
Video of Contra 4 on the DS
You can't say because the DS has an ARM9 at 67 mhz means it's faster. The ARM series chips are designed to be low power chips. True, they are modern designs and newer than the SH2, but the SH2 is a much more robust processor series. I'm going to be talking about MIPS scores here and it's important to remember that MIPS performance is only integer performance and doesn't include FPU functions. It often neglects some of the extra functions or special workflow enhancements of chips if they don't contribute directly to increased integer function.
A little research on benchmark scores reveals that with the ARM7 series the MIPS performance is a little lower than the mhz rating, so the ARM7 in the GBA and DS probaby gets 28 - 30 MIPS. The ARM9 exceeds slightly the mhz in MIPS rating, meaning the 67 mhz ARM9 in the DS probably rates between 67 and 70 MIPS. That gives the total system approximately 100 MIPS to work with. I do not know how load distribution is handled between the ARM7 and the ARM9 but I imagine since they are disparate processors that they do not run in a full parallel arrangement, meaning the ARM7 is probably a little limited in how it contributes.
The Saturn's 2 SH2 CPUs, running at ~29 mhz each, score, independently, about 50 MIPS. Right there you can see that the processors are more efficient. Now, the CPU parallel arrangement in the Saturn is less than optimal due to the way the system handles memory access, but if we're giving the DS 100 MIPS we can give the Saturn 100 MIPS as well. So if both systems are optimally programmed for it seems you can theoretically get 100 MIPS out of the CPUs alone, meaning great integer function. However, I would be willing to wager than the SH2 has better FPU functionality. The Saturn also has several co-processors. Hell, the 68EC000 that drives the sound hardware gets 1.5 MIPS by itself. Further, the 2 VDPs enable further capabilities.
The DS, on the other hand, does not have much additional specialized hardware. I believe audio and graphics functions are handled in part by the CPU, draining cpu time that could be used for other things.
So what you are left with is the Saturn is likely a decent bit more powerful than the DS. The DS has a more modern design and is likely more efficient at some things, but overall the Saturn is a bigger, badder beast of a machine. The fact that the DS has to operate on batteries means it has to be leaner. The Saturn can suck power all day.
A little research on benchmark scores reveals that with the ARM7 series the MIPS performance is a little lower than the mhz rating, so the ARM7 in the GBA and DS probaby gets 28 - 30 MIPS. The ARM9 exceeds slightly the mhz in MIPS rating, meaning the 67 mhz ARM9 in the DS probably rates between 67 and 70 MIPS. That gives the total system approximately 100 MIPS to work with. I do not know how load distribution is handled between the ARM7 and the ARM9 but I imagine since they are disparate processors that they do not run in a full parallel arrangement, meaning the ARM7 is probably a little limited in how it contributes.
The Saturn's 2 SH2 CPUs, running at ~29 mhz each, score, independently, about 50 MIPS. Right there you can see that the processors are more efficient. Now, the CPU parallel arrangement in the Saturn is less than optimal due to the way the system handles memory access, but if we're giving the DS 100 MIPS we can give the Saturn 100 MIPS as well. So if both systems are optimally programmed for it seems you can theoretically get 100 MIPS out of the CPUs alone, meaning great integer function. However, I would be willing to wager than the SH2 has better FPU functionality. The Saturn also has several co-processors. Hell, the 68EC000 that drives the sound hardware gets 1.5 MIPS by itself. Further, the 2 VDPs enable further capabilities.
The DS, on the other hand, does not have much additional specialized hardware. I believe audio and graphics functions are handled in part by the CPU, draining cpu time that could be used for other things.
So what you are left with is the Saturn is likely a decent bit more powerful than the DS. The DS has a more modern design and is likely more efficient at some things, but overall the Saturn is a bigger, badder beast of a machine. The fact that the DS has to operate on batteries means it has to be leaner. The Saturn can suck power all day.
I was going to say something to that effect as well.marurun wrote:So what you are left with is the Saturn is likely a decent bit more powerful than the DS. The DS has a more modern design and is likely more efficient at some things, but overall the Saturn is a bigger, badder beast of a machine. The fact that the DS has to operate on batteries means it has to be leaner. The Saturn can suck power all day.
Keep in mind the Saturn needs to put out higher resolutions as well which means more horsepower.
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