| rafichamp said: well can you atleast predict how much it would cost to manufacture a ps3? After the new chips roll in. |
The PS3 launched with an estimated manufacturing cost of about $850 for the 60GB unit. Back in October the PS3 was estimated once again to have a manufacturing cost of about $450 for an 80GB unit. In other words, Sony manage to reduce the cost of producing a PS3 by about $400 in two years. As far as we know, the PS3 has recieved 3 major revisions since it was released.
August 2007: Removed PS2 CPU.
October 2007: Switched from 90nm Cell chips to 65nm. Removed PS2 GPU. Removed 2 USB ports. Removed SACD support. Removed Flash card readers.
August 2008: Switched from 90nm RSX chips to 65nm.
Of those revisions, the switching of the Cell and RSX chips account for the majority of the reductions in cost. The PS2 components couldn't have accounted for more than about $50 and I'd be surprised if the 2 USB ports, SACD support and Flash card readers amounted for even $100. So that leaves about $250 left with the large majority directly from the chip revisions.
I'd estimate that with the upcoming 45nm Cell revision coming some time around July this year, the PS3 could be anywhere from $75 to $125 cheaper to manufacture.
