Reports suggest that the PlayStation 3 will be getting a smaller, 65nm RSX graphics processor from next month - a move that could result in lower production costs for Sony. Additionally, it looks like by 2009 the PS3 may feature an even smaller graphics chip using a 45nm process.
The report comes from Japanese newspaper,
The Nikkei. It suggests that Toshiba will switch to a 65nm process for the chip - replacing the 90nm process that has been used since the console launched. Tosh recently reached an agreement with Sony that it would take over the Fab 2 facility, which manufactures the PS3's RSX graphics processor and had previously been jointly owned by the two companies.
The move will
mean lower production costs thanks to a higher yield in the manufacturing process. This should, of course, in turn increase Sony's profit margin on the PS3 and potentially enable further price cuts down the line.
It has been speculated that a
move to a 65nm process for the cell processor was what enabled Sony to drop the cost of the PS3 so dramatically when it introduced the 40GB model.