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The latest iteration of Sony’s PS3 Slim, the CECH-2100A, houses a rebuilt RSX chip that cuts both the power consumption and the likelihood of failure for the console.
As has been previously reported, the CECH-2100A is 200g lighter than the generation one PS3 Slim. PlayStation University adds that the new unit’s GPU, also known as the RSX chip or ‘Reality Synthesizer’, has been reduced from the 65nm design seen in earlier models to a new streamlined 40nm.
The result is that the console uses less power than older models and generates less heat, meaning that it is far less liable to suffer problems associated with overheating. Sony has already reduced the size of the Cell processor to 45nm in an earlier redesign.
As a further consequence, the new design also boasts a simplified heatsink, smaller cooling unit and a smaller lighter power supply that is just half the weight (412g) of the PSU found in the launch PS3. A number of chips found in older units have also been removed.
The CECH-2100A uses just 80W of power when playing games. Compare this to the 160W that first generation ‘phat’ PS3s consume when just watching movies.
