PS3 Disk Subsystem - I/O Operation

[thug]

what does that have to do with what determines the loading time like in a computer it is the processors speed. what determines the loading time on ps2?

[Scott R. Mraz]

what does that have to do with what determines the loading time like in a computer it is the processors speed. what determines the loading time on ps2?

Load times are based on a number of measurements, quite frankly more than I care to get into (due to limited time). However I will give you a quick overview of some of the Major bottlenecks involved in I/O to disk (in this case Optical-Disk (note there is even more granularity involved between different Optical Disk formats- DVD vs CDROM, etc).

Bottlenecks at the Physical Layer:

1. Disk RPM rate, the at which the disk spins.
2. Data layout, the way in which data is mapped to the disk.
3. Laser apature, specifically the breadth of the laser focus.
4. Bus bandwidth, the bus between the disk and main memory.
5. Laser migration speed, the speed in which the laser can span a disk (inner to outer and reverse).

These are just a small fraction of the problems inherent in the disk access medium and this is just at the physical layer. This doesn't even concecntrate on how code is written to handle accesses. At the appilication layer if you have have to many I/0s at once, say for a specific event, instead of pre-pulling an I/O in antcipation of a particular event. Essentailly not handling memory effectively- leaving to much frequently accessed data on disk instead of keeping it resident in main memory, or even in APU cache, etc.

There are so many different bottlenecks associate with disk I/O i could write a 500 pg book the subject. Its quite an extisive issue.

So what i'll do is link to some articles about disk I/O bottleknecks, that should help further eveyones understanding.

This is a great reference for information on Optical Disk.
http://www.pctechguide.com/08cdrom2.htm

Information specific to DVD techonolgy- good intro:
http://www.pctechguide.com/10dvd.htm#Technology

This is a great article pertaining to disk performance, while not specifically Optical Disk performance, some of the concepts are the same:
http://www.pctechguide.com/04disks.htm#Performance

Now if you have any specific questions on optical disks after reading that article, then please post and I will answer any further quandries you have.

[KlawHammer]

Helpful indeed. I always wondered what really determined load times.

[Scott R. Mraz]

Information on future storage technologies:

http://www.wtec.org/loyola/hdmem/toc.htm

http://www.research.ibm.com/journal/.../thompson.html

http://colossalstorage.net/colossal5.htm

http://www.bell-labs.com/org/physica...s/hdhds/1.html

[ps3man]

The ps3 I/O chip will most likely be base on the PS2 Emotion Engine

[Ragnorok]

If content that is playable is stored on the HDD, that will also greatly decrease load speed compared to whatever media ps3 uses.

[KlawHammer]

Yea well the HDD will also have to have a fast interface (bandwidth) of more than your usual 100/133 array. More like RAID/SCSI

[kevin197]

If content that is playable is stored on the HDD, that will also greatly decrease load speed compared to whatever media ps3 uses.

I agree.But then its all depend on the capacity of the HDD.

[Pretzel]

I have a question concerning the new Blu-Ray technology in regards to the PS3. Since the PS3 will be equipped with Blu-Ray that uses a blue laser, will it still be compatible with older red laser forms of media (i.e. PS2 Games, DVD's, etc...)?

I am new here so if this has already been discussed please excuse me and provide a link to the appropriate forum. Thanks.

[imported_The_One]

I have a question concerning the new Blu-Ray technology in regards to the PS3. Since the PS3 will be equipped with Blu-Ray that uses a blue laser, will it still be compatible with older red laser forms of media (i.e. PS2 Games, DVD's, etc...)?

I am new here so if this has already been discussed please excuse me and provide a link to the appropriate forum. Thanks.

Yes, Blue Laser is compatible with reading red laser disc (CD, DVD, HD-DVD, etc..).

[Pappy]

Well i personally can't wait until the PS3 comes out because i own a Xbox and PS2 and with the Xbox, i play 1 game and it stores all the info it needs 2 save the game and continue without waiting and i think because of that the Xbox is faster in gameplay because it can do more processes more than the PS2. Yet i havent bought the HDD for the PS2 i think it should be like what Xbox has, so when you play a game it will do auto-save, faster load/game speed, and all that great stuff. With a HDD, what exact benifits do you get from using Memory Cards or just normal

[Ibanez32]

Well with a HD loader you can aparently transfer your whole collection of games onto the HD and its meant to drematicly improve load times. But not having a hard drive i don't know if it lets you save game saves to it.

[Pretzel]

Yes, Blue Laser is compatible with reading red laser disc (CD, DVD, HD-DVD, etc..).

Are you sure? I have heard a lot of people complain that it doesn't. Do you have a source or a link? I would like to be able to assure these people, but they are not going to believe me just because I said so. Any help would be great.

[Darknight]

Most blue laser assemblies can't read red laser disks (dvd/cd) and vice-versa but Sony have developed an assembly that contains technology that can read both red laser and blu-ray disks (although their assembly will not have any support for HD-DVD).

Linky!

[Pretzel]

Most blue laser assemblies can't read red laser disks (dvd/cd) and vice-versa but Sony have developed an assembly that contains technology that can read both red laser and blu-ray disks (although their assembly will not have any support for HD-DVD).

Linky!

Thanks! That's great news. And of course very understandable that it does not play HD DVD. After all they are competing formats for high def media. (I was never able to find a VHS and Beta player :cry: ) And it could be bad news, if Rlu-Ray ends up being the Beta of this generation.

What are your thoughts on which format will win?

[Darknight]

Thanks! That's great news. And of course very understandable that it does not play HD DVD. After all they are competing formats for high def media. (I was never able to find a VHS and Beta player :cry: ) And it could be bad news, if Rlu-Ray ends up being the Beta of this generation.

What are your thoughts on which format will win?

I think at the moment Blu-ray is showing a much stronger case for itself. The technology itself is more advanced and there are examples of the technology that can be bought by customers. 8)

The blu-ray consortium have all their pieces in place, HD-DVD has to do alot now to avoid being put in checkmate before the race has even started.

[5ysT3m cR45h3r]

We'll have to wait and see which format will come out on top.

[imported_The_One]

We'll have to wait and see which format will come out on top.

Most definately.

[5ysT3m cR45h3r]

Watch, another format will be released, adding to the competition. lol