Gekko (microprocessor)
IBM Gekko processor
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| Produced | From 2000 to 2007 |
|---|---|
| Designed by | IBM and Nintendo |
| Common manufacturer(s) | |
| Max. CPU clock rate | 486 MHz |
| Min. feature size | 180 nm |
| Instruction set | Power Architecture |
| Microarchitecture | PowerPC ISA 1.10 |
| Cores | 1 |
| L1 cache | 32/32 kB |
| L2 cache | 256 kB |
| Predecessor | NEC VR4300 |
| Successor | Broadway |
| Application |
Nintendo GameCube Triforce Arcade Board |
| Variant | |
Gekko is a superscalar out-of-order 32-bit PowerPC microprocessor custom-made by IBM in 2000 for Nintendo to use as the CPU in their sixth generation game console, the Nintendo GameCube, and later the Triforce Arcade Board.
Gekko's role in the game system was to facilitate game scripting, artificial intelligence, physics and collision detection, custom graphics lighting effects and geometry such as smooth transformations, and moving graphics data through the system.
The project was announced in 1999 when IBM and Nintendo agreed to a one billion dollar contract for a CPU running at approximately 400 MHz. IBM chose to modify their existing PowerPC 750CXe processor to suit Nintendo's needs, such as tight and balanced operation alongside the "Flipper" graphics processor. The customization was to the bus architecture, DMA, compression and floating point unit which support a special set of SIMD instructions. The CPU made ground work for custom lighting and geometry effects and could burst compressed data directly to the GPU.
IBM's customization led to performance that exceeded Nintendo's specifications. The Gekko is considered to be the direct ancestor to the Broadway processor, also designed and manufactured by IBM, that powers the Wii console.
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