Nintendo64EVER - Nintendo 64's technical specifications
Nintendo64EVER, the Nintendo64 reference over the net!
Not yet a member? Please come register yourself on our new board

Technical specifications

  1. Main processor : NEC VR4300 (93.75 MHz), based on RISC processor, MIPS R4300i-series.
    • L1 Cache: 24 KB, splitted in 16KB for instructions and 8KB for data.
    • No L2 cache.
    • Manufactured by NEC, 35 µm precision.
    • 32bit busses (addresses and data).
    • Instruction set : MIPS R4000 64-bit.
    • Adressable memory : 4GB (up to virtual 1TB).
    • 4.6 million transistors.
    • 5-stage scalar pipeline with integrated FPU.
    • Capacity to execute 93 million opérations per second.
    • Bandwith : 250MB/s (not DMA).
    • Microprocessor can't access directly the RAM.
  2. Graphic processors : SGI 62.5 MHz 64-bit RCP ("Reality" co-processor), with 2 sub-processors.
    • RSP (Reality Signal Processor), which controls 3D graphics and audio functionalities.
      • 8-bit vector processeur based on MIPS R4000.
      • Programmable using microcode (µcode). Possibilities to add or modify existing functions.
      • Transformation, clipping, lighting, triangle setup, and audio decoding (audio can also be done using main CPU).
      • Displayable polygons : initially about 100000 polygons per second, without quality loss. Some more recent games could display more thanks to graphic processor microcode optimization.
    • RDP (Reality Drawing Processor), rasterizer handles all pixel drawing operations in hardware.
      • Z-buffering : spatial relationship between 3D objects (is the hero in front of the house or behind?)
      • Anti-aliasing : smoothes jagged lines and edges (reduces "stair-effetc").
      • Texture mapping : places textures and images over shapes.
      • Bilinear filtering : prevents texture blockiness by blurring when resizing.
      • Mip-mapping : creates distance textures of varying degress of fidelity.
      • Trilinear mip-map interpolation : filters mip-maps and textures smoothly without blockiness. Nintendo 64's filtering is not entirely accurate, its precision was reduced to lower mathematical demands.
      • Perspective-correct texture mapping : keeps textures from "warping" when viewed at different angles.
      • Environment mapping.
      • Gouraud shading, fillrate of about 30 millions pixels per second when Z-buffering is enabled.
    • 128-bit internal data bus between RSP and RDP. Bandwith of about 1Gb/sec.
    • Resolution : from 256 x 224 to 640 x 480 pixels.
    • Color depth : 16.7 million colors, 32768 simultaneous on screen.
  3. RAM : 4 MB RDRAM (upgradable to 8 MB while using Expansion Pak).
    • Data path : 9-bit width at 500 MHz
    • Potential Memory Bandwidth : 562.5 MB/s.
    • RAM latency about 640ns.
  4. Sound :
    • 16-bit Stereo. ADPCM-support. Some games used MP3 audio (software-driven).
    • Channels: 100 PCM (max, 16-24 avg.). Each channel consumes about 1% CPU time.
    • Sampling: 48.0 kHz (max, 44.1 kHz is CD quality)
  5. Media : cartridges from 32Mb (4MB) to 512Mb (64MB).
  6. Dimensions :
    • Length : 260mm
    • Width (depth) : 190mm
    • Height : 73mm
  7. Weight : 1.1 kg
  8. Controller connectors : 4
  9. Controller : 1 analog stick, 2 lateral triggers, 1 digital cross, 6 action buttons, 1 start button, and 1 digital trigger.
French