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In a somewhat surprising move, NEC -- the maker of the PowerVR chipset used in Sega's Dreamcast -- has signed with Nintendo to manufacture the Art-X-designed graphics accelerator for Dolphin. According to NEC's associate vice president, systems integration, Junshi Yamaguchi, the Nintendo graphics chipset will use as low as 8MBs and as high as 16MBs of on-board embedded DRAM. Comparatively, Sony's PS2 features 5MBs on its graphics chip, but also draws upon additional system RAM continuously. It is not yet known just how much system RAM Nintendo's machine will include. The deal with Nintendo marks NEC's first real commercial business for eDRAM, said Yamaguchi. "And if it goes well we will expand eDRAM to use in networking and other applications, so we are making the Nintendo project a strategic priority." The company is currently in the testing stages for its eDRAM technology and is reportedly working feverishly to finalize the manufacturing process in time for Nintendo's deadlines. |