Nintendo DS: Difference between revisions

 

=== Specifications: ===

* Two ARM [[CPU|CPUs]]. The main processor runs at 67 MHz, and handles the [[Polygonal Graphics]] alongside with its GPU. The secondary processor is a more advanced version of the GBA's processor, and runs at 33 MHz. The DSi's main processor is clocked at 133 MHz.

** The reason for this split is partly to keep GBA compatibility through the secondary processor, and partly because running 3D graphics on both screens would split the processing between them. So having 3D on one screen and 2D on the other is the best compromise.

* The DS does not have the processor from the [[Game Boy Color]], making it impossible to play original Game Boy or GBC cartridges. While the system is capable of emulating the games, [[Revenue Enhancing Devices|Nintendo will only let you run an emulator]] [[Compilation Rerelease|if you repurchase a game with it]].

* The ARM 7 CPU does audio processing, control input and wireless communications. It can process 16 "voices" at once, with support for ADPCM, 8-bit and 16-bit PCM. Streamed audio, through either PCM or audio codecs are possible. Virtual surround is also possible with certain games.

* The DS has 4 MB of RAM, similar to the N64, but it's not Rambus DRAM, partly because of the latency, but mostly because of the increased power consumption it would cause. This has been quadrupled in the DSi to 16 MB.

** The original DS and [[DS Lite]] allows one to expand the RAM by slotting a special cartridge into the GBA game slot. Most notably, the DS Browser cart uses it.

* Carts have been 8 MB (e.g. ''[[Polarium]]'') through 256 MB (e.g. ''[[Professor Layton and the Unwound Future]]''), and a couple Japanese games are 512 MB. The price of the larger carts is, well, [[Captain Obvious|price]] and slower data transfer speeds, but games have not been adversely affected by them, so it's more like a speed bump than a bottleneck.

* The DSi comes with 256 MB of built-in flash memory storage for downloadable games and content.

* Resolution is 256×192 per screen, which means this handheld can almost match Nintendo's home systems, finally.

** Sadly for ports, just like the GBA, this is ''still'' smaller than the industry standard 320×240 size used by nearly every classic gaming platform.

* Textures are a different story. Not only does the system allow huge textures (1024x1024 apparently with a max size of 512K, though you are not going to fit anything good after that due to 656K of total VRAM.), but the system also has [[Texture Compression]] built in. Though, this is more likely to save cart space than for motherboard bandwidth. Although the system only supports point texture filtering, possibly resulting in blocky textures up close, the greatly improved texture resolution and color depth negates this disadvantage.

* The DS also keeps the GBA 2D hardware and also improved it, which can be used by DS games.

* Either version of the DS could have about 18 hours of battery life on the lowest settings, and about 10 hours on the highest. The DSi features about 14 hours of playtime at the lowest brightness settings, and around 3 hours at the highest, which is even brighter than any model of DS before the DSi.

* All versions on the DS have wireless capabilities, allowing systems to link up together without the need for any Game Link cables at all. This also allows the DS to play games over the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, playing with people all around the world (as long as you have a wireless router). The lack of WPA encryption is a bit of a sore point for some users. The DSi has more sophisticated wireless capabilities, allowing it to connect to many WPA networks for [[DSiWare]], but retail packaged games have been developed with WEP in mind.

* The slot for GBA games can include extra devices for DS games. This could include a rumble pack or even a camera. This slot is sacrificed for an [[SD Card]] slot and cameras on the DSi, however.

** Which completely eliminates the backwards compatibility necessary for certain features in some games, such as 4th generation ''[[Pokémon]]'' games (though that issue was fixed in [[Pokémon Gold and Silver|the remakes of Gold and Silver]]), and outright makes the ''[[Guitar Hero]]: On Tour'' series unplayable.

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=== Games: ===