Re: OtherOS removed in Firmware update 3.21
Posted: 04 Apr 2010, 17:28
sirgrinalot wrote:I thought this article was very interesting.
http://www.ironstarmovement.com/profile ... update-321Meowmmm writes; “Update 3.21 which Sony described as a security update
and removes installing another OS is a lie. Apparently Sony had
claimed that the 8th SPE was not used to increase production yields,
when in fact it was reserved for running the "Other OS". Update 3.21
by Sony is in fact an advanced strike by Sony to hide the fact that
the 8th SPE is needed to process the "Move Controller/s" without
sacrificing existing graphics and game play.
I thought we had access to all the spe's?
I've never heard anything like that statement before. Here's the truth - at least as far as I know it.
The Cell has 8 SPEs, but as used in the Playstation 3, only 7 are enabled. The 8th is locked out in silicon. This makes for cheaper chips, since you only have to verify that 7 work. Also your chip yields are higher since there's a good chance that 7 work as opposed to all 8 working. The 8th may or may not be working - but since it's locked out, you can't know.
From there, the OtherOS reserves 1 SPE for the key vault feature - this is the SPE running in isolation that provides hardware encryption. This leaves 6 SPEs for general use. We can see these SPEs as the small Fixstars logos at boot-time. (Or mini-penguins if you're running older builds of YDL).
That's what I know. The blog quoted is either the best scoop of all time, or totally unfounded speculation.
Cheers,
Paul