Editing Nintendo GameCube (section)

== Hardware ==

=== Nintendo's own published specification ===

Nintendo released a specification sheet after Spaceworld 2000. It is the only manufacturer-published set of figures for this machine, and it is the source for most of what follows:<ref name="nwrspec" />

{| class="wikitable styled-table" style="width:95%;"
|+'''Nintendo's published GameCube specification'''
! Item !! Nintendo's figure
|-
| Processor || IBM PowerPC "Gekko", '''485 MHz''', 0.18 µm copper process
|-
| CPU capacity || 925 Dmips (Dhrystone 2.1)
|-
| Caches || L1 32 KB instruction + 32 KB data (8-way); L2 256 KB (2-way)
|-
| External bus || 1.6 GB/s peak &mdash; 32-bit address, 64-bit data, '''162 MHz'''
|-
| System LSI || ArtX "Flipper", '''162 MHz''', 0.18 µm NEC embedded DRAM
|-
| Embedded frame buffer || approx. 2 MB 1T-SRAM, 5 ns latency
|-
| Embedded texture cache || approx. 1 MB 1T-SRAM, 5 ns latency
|-
| Sound processor || "'''Special 16bit DSP'''", '''81 MHz'''; 8 KB RAM + 8 KB ROM instruction memory, 8 KB RAM + 4 KB ROM data memory; '''64 ADPCM channels''' at 48 kHz
|-
| Main memory || '''24 MB''' 1T-SRAM, 10 ns latency or lower
|-
| A-memory || '''16 MB''' 81 MHz DRAM
|-
| Disc drive || CAV, "average access time '''128ns'''", 16 to 25 Mbps
|-
| Media || 8 cm disc based on Matsushita's optical technology, approx. 1.5 GB
|-
| I/O || 4 controller ports, 2 memory card slots, 1 analog AV out, 1 digital AV out, 2 high-speed serial ports, 1 high-speed parallel port
|-
| Power supply || "AC Adapter '''DC12V × 3.5A'''"
|-
| Dimensions || 150 mm (W) × 110 mm (H) × 161 mm (D)
|}

=== Three figures on that sheet worth knowing about ===

'''"Average access time 128 ns" is impossible, and it is what Nintendo printed.'''<ref name="nwrspec" /> A mechanical optical drive cannot seek in 128 nanoseconds &mdash; that is a few clock cycles. The figure is presumably a units error for 128 ms, which is a plausible seek time for a drive of this class, but '''Nintendo never issued a correction''' and no other manufacturer figure exists. It is reproduced here as printed rather than silently fixed, because a reader checking this page against Nintendo's sheet should find them agreeing. Treat it as unusable data, not as a specification.

'''The processor clock is quoted two different ways.''' Nintendo's sheet says '''485 MHz'''; the console's own operating-system globals report '''486 MHz''', and that is the figure the community documentation uses.<ref name="yagcd" /><ref name="nwrspec" /> Both are correct in the sense that both are published; neither is a misprint of the other.

'''The power figure is quoted two different ways too.''' Nintendo's sheet says '''12 V at 3.5 A'''; the '''DOL-002''' adapter's own rating plate says '''12 V at 3.25 A'''.<ref name="dol002" /><ref name="nwrspec" /> When substituting a supply, the rating plate is the one to match.

=== The audio DSP ===

'''Nintendo publishes no manufacturer and no part number for the sound processor.''' Its specification calls it a "Special 16bit DSP" running at 81 MHz with 64 ADPCM channels at 48 kHz, and that is the whole of the official description.<ref name="nwrspec" /> Attributions of this part to a specific semiconductor vendor circulate but are not supported by any manufacturer document this wiki has found; the DSP is integrated into the Flipper package rather than being a separate identifiable chip on the board.

=== Storage ===

The disc is '''8 cm''', Matsushita-derived, with a proprietary copy-protection scheme rather than the CSS used on standard DVDs. Nintendo quotes "approximately 1.5 GB"; the exact usable capacity documented by the community is '''1,459,978,240 bytes'''.<ref name="yagcd" /><ref name="nwrspec" />

Saves go on memory cards in two slots. Nintendo sold three: '''Memory Card 59''' (grey, 512 KB), '''Memory Card 251''' (black, 2 MB) and '''Memory Card 1019''' (white, 8 MB). The numbers are block counts, and the same cards are also advertised as 4, 16 and 64 Mb respectively, which is the same capacity expressed in megabits &mdash; a distinction worth keeping straight when buying replacements.

=== Controller ports ===

'''The controller port has seven pins, not six.'''<ref name="allpinouts" /> This is the single most common error in community documentation of the machine, and it matters if you are rebuilding a port or making a cable. Nintendo published no specification for the connector or its protocol; the pinout, the 3.43 V logic supply, the data pull-up and the bit encoding are all community reverse engineering, documented on the [[Nintendo GameCube Maintenance Guide]].

=== Cooling ===

A single fan over a heatsink, with thermal pads between the heatsink and the chips. '''Nintendo published no thermal pad specification''' &mdash; the thicknesses sold for this machine are community-derived, so measure the standing gap on your own board before buying. See the [[Nintendo GameCube Maintenance Guide#Thermal pads|maintenance guide]].