Sony PlayStation 2 vs Sony PlayStation 3

Every spec side by side, from each maker's published figures.

Better figure, where one is clearly better

PlayStation 2 compared with PlayStation 3
SonyPlayStation 2SonyPlayStation 3
Overview
ReleasedNovember 2000March 2007
Performance
TypeHome consoleHome console
CPUEmotion Engine, 294.912 MHzCell Broadband Engine, 3.2 GHz
GPUGraphics Synthesizer, 147.456 MHzRSX Reality Synthesizer
Memory36 MB512 MB (better)
Storage–60 GB
Disc driveYesYes
CPU128-bit Emotion Engine at 294.912 MHz (Sony)Cell Broadband Engine at 3.2 GHz, with one PowerPC-based core and seven active synergistic processing elements (Sony)
GPUGraphics Synthesizer at 147.456 MHz with 4 MB of embedded video DRAM (Sony)RSX graphics processor, codeveloped by NVIDIA and Sony
Memory detail32 MB Direct RDRAM main memory, 4 MB embedded video DRAM, 2 MB I/O processor memory and 2 MB sound memory (Sony)256 MB XDR main RAM and 256 MB GDDR3 video RAM
Storage detailDVD-ROM and CD-ROM drive; saves on 8 MB MagicGate memory cards (two slots). An expansion bay at the back takes a network adaptor60 GB 2.5-inch Serial ATA hard drive, user-replaceable; Blu-ray, DVD and CD drive (read only)
Storage expansion–Memory Stick, SD and CompactFlash card slots; USB storage
Design and power
Weight2,200 g (better)5,000 g
Power use50 W (220–240 V)–
ColoursBlackBlack
Display and video
Maximum output–1080p
Built-in screenNo built-in screenNo built-in screen
Video outputAV Multi Out for analogue video, including composite, S-Video, RGB SCART and component with suitable cablesHDMI out; AV Multi Out (composite, S-Video, component); 576i, 576p, 720p, 1080i and 1080p on the UK model
AudioSPU2 sound processor; analogue stereo; DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL) with Dolby Digital and DTS for DVD filmsDIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL); Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1 and up to 7.1-channel linear PCM over HDMI (Sony)
Connections
PortsFront 2 × controller ports, 2 × memory card slots, 2 × USB, 1 × S400 i.LINK; back AV Multi Out, DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL), expansion bay4 × USB 2.0, HDMI out, AV Multi Out, DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL), Gigabit Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T), memory card slots
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth–Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 b/g), Bluetooth 2.0 (EDR); up to 7 Bluetooth controllers
ControllerDUALSHOCK 2 analogue controllerSIXAXIS wireless controller at launch; later bundles came with DUALSHOCK 3
Backward compatibilityMost original PlayStation games and PlayStation controllers and memory cardsPlayStation games; the UK and European model plays some PS2 games through partial software emulation (its PS2 Emotion Engine chip was removed)

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