Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)
Nintendo's 16-bit cartridge console, the Western version of the 1990 Super Famicom, for collectors and anyone comparing it with the Mega Drive, NES or Nintendo 64.
Model history · 2 models, 1986–1992
- 1986Entertainment System (NES)Compare
- 1992Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)
- Type
- Home console
- Output
- –
- Memory
- 192 KB
- Storage
- –
- Weight
- –
Specifications
Report a wrong or missing specPerformance
- Type
- Home console
- CPU
- Ricoh 5A22 (16-bit), 2.68 MHz
- GPU
- Nintendo S-PPU1 and S-PPU2
- Memory
- 192 KB
- Disc drive
- No
- CPU
- 16-bit 65816-based Ricoh 5A22 with a variable clock; Nintendo UK lists 2.68 MHz
- GPU
- 16-bit graphics processor with Mode 7 background effects and up to 256 colours on screen (Nintendo UK)
- Memory detail
- 128 KB work RAM plus 64 KB video RAM (Nintendo UK)
- Storage detail
- Super NES Game Paks (cartridges); some save on the cartridge
Display and video
- Built-in screen
- No built-in screen
- Video output
- Up to 512 × 448 pixels; RF, RGB and S-Video outputs (Nintendo UK)
- Audio
- Sony SPC700 sound chip with eight channels (Nintendo UK)
Connections
- Ports
- 2 × controller ports (Nintendo UK)
- Controller
- Super NES controller with D-pad, A, B, X, Y, L, R, Start and Select
Pros and cons
Pros
- Mode 7 background scaling and rotation, and an eight-channel Sony sound chip
- L and R shoulder buttons on the controller
- 128 KB of work RAM plus 64 KB of video RAM
Cons
- Nintendo lists a 2.68 MHz CPU, slower than the Mega Drive's 68000
- Two controller ports only
- No built-in storage; saves only on some cartridges
Closest rivals
Model | Type | Output | Memory | Storage | Weight | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home console | – | 128 KB | – | – | Sept 1990 | |
| Home console | – | 3 MB | – | – | Sept 1995 | |
| Home console | – | 4 MB | – | – | Jul 1995 |
Previous model: Entertainment System (NES).
Sources
- nintendo.com/en-gb/Hardware/Nintendo-History/Super-Nintendo/Technical-Details/T…
- copetti.org/writings/consoles/super-nintendo
- nintendo.co.jp/corporate/en/history/index.html
Photo: JCD1981NL and Aurora Romes, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
