Difference between revisions of "Sega Dreamcast"

From Sega Retro
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===Technical specifications===
 
===Technical specifications===
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====CPU====
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{{mainArticle|Sega Dreamcast/Technical specifications}}
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{{multicol|
 
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* Main CPU: [[Hitachi]] [[SH-4]]{{fileref|SH-4 Software Manual.pdf}}{{fileref|SH-4 datasheet.pdf}}
 
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** Operating frequency: 200 MHz
 
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** Features: [[RISC]], 2-way [[wikipedia:Superscalar|Superscalar]],{{ref|[http://web.archive.org/web/20000823204755/computer.org/micro/articles/dreamcast_2.htm Sega Dreamcast: Implementation (IEEE)]}}{{fileref|SH-4 Software Manual.pdf}} parallel [[wikipedia:Instruction pipelining|pipelining]]{{fileref|SH-4 Software Manual.pdf|page=187}}
 
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** Units: 128‑bit [[wikipedia:SIMD|SIMD]] vector unit with graphic functions, 64‑bit [[wikipedia:Floating-point unit|floating‑point unit]], 32‑bit fixed‑point unit, [[wikipedia:Direct memory access|DMA]] controller{{fileref|SH-4 datasheet.pdf}} (frees CPU for other tasks),{{fileref|GamersRepublic US 03.pdf|page=29}} interrupt controller{{fileref|SH-4 datasheet.pdf}}
 
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** 128‑bit vector graphic computational engine ([[wikipedia:SIMD|SIMD]]) @ 200 MHz: Vector unit, geometry processor, [[wikipedia:Digital signal processor|DSP]], graphic functions,{{fileref|SH-4 datasheet.pdf}}{{fileref|SH-4 Next-Generation DSP Architecture.pdf}} 3D capabilities,{{fileref|GamersRepublic US 03.pdf|page=29}} calculates [[wikipedia:Transform and lighting|T&L]] geometry and lighting of polygons, creates [[wikipedia:Display list|display lists]] of polygons for tiling, DMA allows SH4 access to VRAM and PowerVR2 access to Main RAM, store queue mechanism (allowing high‑speed packet transfers between Main RAM and VRAM){{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf}}
 
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** Bus width: 128‑bit internal, 64‑bit external
 
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** Bandwidth: 3.2 GB/s internal, 1.6 GB/s external
 
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* Performance:
 
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** Fixed‑point performance: 360 [[wikipedia:Instructions per second|MIPS]]{{ref|2 instructions per cycle{{fileref|SH-4 Software Manual.pdf|page=5}}|group=gn}}
 
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** Floating‑point performance: 1.4 [[wikipedia:FLOPS|GFLOPS]]{{ref|7 floating-point operations per cycle|group=gn}}
 
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}}
 
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====Graphics====
 
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Graphical specifications of the Dreamcast:{{fileref|Dreamcast Hardware Specification Outline.pdf}}{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf}}{{fileref|PowerVR2DCFeaturesUnderWindowsCE.pdf}}
 
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{{multicol|
 
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* GPU: 2 graphics processors (SH‑4 SIMD, CLX2)
 
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** Cores: 6 cores (SH‑4 SIMD, 5 CLX2 cores)
 
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* GPU Geometry Processor: Hitachi SH‑4 SIMD @ 200 MHz (1.4 [[wikipedia:GFLOPS|GFLOPS]])
 
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* GPU Rasterizer: [[NEC]]‑[[VideoLogic]] [[PowerVR CLX2]] (PVR2DC/HOLLY) @ 100 MHz (PowerVR2 series)
 
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* CLX2 Cores: Tile Accelerator (TA), Image Synthesis Processor (ISP), Texture & Shading Processor (TSP), Triangle Setup [[wikipedia:Floating-point unit|FPU]], [[wikipedia:RAMDAC|RAMDAC]]{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=94}}
 
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** CLX2 units: 50 rendering units (37 ISP units, 10 TSP units, 2 FPU units, 1 RAMDAC)
 
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* TA Tile Accelerator: [[wikipedia:Tiled rendering|Tile renderer]], partitions infinite strip polygon data, divides polygons into tiles, performs tile clipping, generates object lists, retrieves display lists from SH4 (through store queues and DMA), generates ISP/TSP parameters
 
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** Tile buffer: 600 tiles{{ref|32-bit,{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=165}} 2397 [[byte]]s{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=101}}|group=gn}}
 
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* ISP Image Synthesis Processor: Rasterizer, depth‑sorting, parallel‑processing of tiles/pixels/polygons at high speeds, reduces bandwidth requirements{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=96}}
 
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** 37 ISP units: ISP Precalc Unit, ISP PE Array (32 PE), Depth Accumulation Buffer, Span RLC, Span Sorter, ISP Parameter Cache{{ref|[http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~bm/3dcards/3d-cards1.html#CS11 PC 3D Graphics Accelerators FAQ: VideoLogic PowerVR]}}
 
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** ISP PE Array: 32 processor elements (PE), on-chip depth sorting, on-chip Z-buffering, 3D processing of 32 [[pixel]]s/cycle per PE (1024-bit), 32-bit Z-buffer depth data processing{{ref|3 cycles/polygon, 1 tile/cycle{{fileref|PowerVR.pdf|page=3}}{{fileref|Patent US20030025695.pdf}}|group=gn}}
 
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** ISP Parameter Cache: 12 KB
 
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** Span RLC: [[wikipedia:Run-length encoding|RLE]] tile/polygon compression, 32 pixels/cycle, 32-bit{{ref|3.2 [[Pixel|GPixels/s]]|group=gn}}
 
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* TSP Texture & Shading Processor: Shader and texture‑mapping unit{{ref|Avoids shading/texturing overdrawn [[pixel]]s/tiles and back‑facing polygons to maximize bandwidth for on‑screen pixels/tiles and front‑facing polygons, perspective correction for all texture/shading elements (including fog and alpha blending){{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=96}}|group=gn}}
 
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** 10 TSP units: TSP Precalc, Parameter Cache, Texture Cache, Iterator Array, Pixel Processing Engine, Tile Accumulation Buffer, Secondary Accumulation Buffer, Combine & Bump Map Unit, Fog Unit, Alpha Blending Unit{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=110}}
 
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** Pixel Processing Engine: Texturing/Shading for 32-pixel data processed by ISP{{fileref|PowerVR.pdf|page=3}}
 
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** TSP Parameter Cache: 12 KB{{ref|[http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~bm/3dcards/3d-cards1.html#CS11 PC 3D Graphics Accelerators FAQ: VideoLogic PowerVR]}}
 
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** Texture Cache: 1 KB (64-bit), VQ texture compression/decompression
 
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** Tile Accumulation Buffer: 4 KB (32-bit),{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=111}} 32×32 pixels{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=127}}
 
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** Secondary Accumulation Buffer: 4 KB (32-bit),{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=111}} 32×32 pixels
 
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* Triangle Setup FPU: 2 FPU rendering units, 728 [[wikipedia:MFLOPS|MFLOPS]]
 
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** ISP Setup FPU: 100 MHz, 364 MFLOPS, surface and [[wikipedia:Hidden surface determination|culling]] processing for polygons, 7,142,857 polygons/sec{{ref|14 cycles per polygon, 51 floating-point operations per polygon, 51 floating-point operations per 14 cycles{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=95}}{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=203}}|group=gn}}
 
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** TSP Setup FPU: 100 MHz, 364 MFLOPS, shading and texture processing{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=95}} for tiles processed by ISP{{fileref|PowerVR.pdf|page=3}}
 
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* [[wikipedia:RAMDAC|RAMDAC]]: 230 MHz{{ref|[http://segatech.com/technical/gpu/index.html VideoLogic's 100 MHz PowerVR Series2]}}
 
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* CLX2 Capabilities:
 
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** [[wikipedia:Texture mapping|Texture mapping]]: [[wikipedia:Texture mapping#Perspective correctness|Perspective‑correct]] texture mapping, perspective‑correct [[wikipedia:Mipmap|mipmapping]],{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=98}} [[wikipedia:Environment mapping|environment mapping]], 1×1 to 2048×2048 texture sizes,{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=144}} [[wikipedia:Vector quantization|VQ]] [[wikipedia:Texture compression|texture compression]],{{ref|[http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5471/12172411045_18bfc5912f_c.jpg Hideki Sato Sega Interview (Edge)]}} 12.52% (7.98:1){{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=144}} to 37.5% (2.67:1) texture compression ratios,{{fileref|PowerVR2DCFeaturesUnderWindowsCE.pdf|page=9}} [[wikipedia:Multitexturing|multi‑texturing]],{{ref|[http://yam.20to4.net/dreamcast/index_old.html SEGA Dreamcast: Programming Hints]}} texture clamping/wrapping/mirroring, [[wikipedia:Bump mapping|bump mapping]] (2‑pass),{{fileref|PowerVR2DCFeaturesUnderWindowsCE.pdf|page=11}}{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=120}} [[wikipedia:Normal mapping|normal mapping]] (Dot3 bump mapping)
 
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** [[wikipedia:Texture filtering|Filtering]]: [[wikipedia:Nearest-neighbor interpolation|Point filtering]], [[wikipedia:Bilinear filtering|bilinear filtering]],{{ref|[http://web.archive.org/web/20000823204755/computer.org/micro/articles/dreamcast_2.htm Sega Dreamcast: Implementation (IEEE)]}} [[wikipedia:Trilinear filtering|trilinear filtering]] (2-pass),{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=116}} [[wikipedia:Anisotropic filtering|anisotropic filtering]]{{fileref|Dreamcast Hardware Specification Outline.pdf|page=22}}
 
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** [[wikipedia:Spatial anti-aliasing|Anti‑aliasing]]: [[wikipedia:Supersampling|Super‑sample anti‑aliasing]] (up to 4× SSAA),{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=98}} [[wikipedia:FSAA|full‑scene anti‑aliasing]] (FSAA), edge anti‑aliasing{{fileref|Dreamcast Hardware Specification Outline.pdf|page=22}}
 
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** [[wikipedia:Alpha blending|Alpha blending]]: 256 levels of transparency, multi‑pass blending, per‑pixel translucency sorting, [[wikipedia:Order-independent transparency|order-independent transparency]],{{ref|[http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms834190.aspx Optimizing Dreamcast Microsoft Direct3D Performance (1999-03-01)] ([[Microsoft]])}} translucent polygons/textures, realistic translucent effects (e.g. flames, water splashes, lens flare),{{fileref|PowerVR.pdf|page=3}} multiple layers of translucency{{ref|[http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~bm/3dcards/3d-cards1.html#CS11 PC 3D Graphics Accelerators FAQ: VideoLogic PowerVR]}}
 
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** [[wikipedia:Shading|Shading]]: Perspective‑correct ARGB [[Gouraud shading]], flat shading, shadows, [[wikipedia:Shadow mapping|shadow volume generation]],{{fileref|PowerVR.pdf|page=4}} post-processing,{{ref|[http://yam.20to4.net/dreamcast/index_old.html SEGA Dreamcast: Programming Hints]}} [[wikipedia:Phong shading|Phong shading]]{{fileref|PowerVR.pdf|page=3}}
 
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** [[wikipedia:Rendering (computer graphics)|Rendering]]: [[wikipedia:Render output unit|ROP]] (render output unit), on-chip 32‑bit floating‑point [[wikipedia:Z-buffering|Z‑buffering]],{{fileref|Patent US20030025695.pdf}} 256 [[wikipedia:Distance fog|fog effects]], vertex fog, per‑pixel table fog, darkness,{{fileref|PowerVR.pdf|page=3}} hardware clipping to viewport
 
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** [[wikipedia:Computer graphics lighting|Lighting]]: [[wikipedia:Specular highlight|Specular highlighting]],{{fileref|Dreamcast Hardware Specification Outline.pdf|page=22}}{{ref|[http://www.ludd.luth.se/~jlo/dc/ta-intro.txt Tiling Accelerator Notes]}} [[wikipedia:Per-pixel lighting|per‑pixel lighting]],{{ref|[http://ign.com/articles/2000/01/22/zombie-revenge-3 Zombie Revenge (21 January 2000)]}} light volume generation,{{fileref|PowerVR.pdf|page=4}} parallel light source, point source, environmental light, illumination for circular and non-circular sections{{fileref|PowerVR.pdf|page=3}}
 
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** [[wikipedia:Tiled rendering|Tiled rendering]]: Screen partitioning into 32×32 tiles, tile/strip/line buffer (framebuffer compression), each tile rendered in internal 32×32 buffer in register memory before being copied to main framebuffer, increases [[fillrate]] significantly{{ref|[http://mc.pp.se/dc/pvr.html PowerVR (Dreamcast Hardware)]}}
 
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** [[wikipedia:Deferred shading|Deferred rendering]]: [[wikipedia:Hidden surface determination|Hidden surface removal]] (32‑bit floating‑point), [[wikipedia:Back-face culling|back‑face culling]], culling of tiny polygons
 
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** Polygons: [[wikipedia:Triangle mesh|Triangle polygons]], [[wikipedia:Polygon mesh|quad polygons]], [[sprite]] polygons, opaque polygons drawn at high speed{{ref|32 pixels per cycle{{ref|[http://web.archive.org/web/20000823204755/computer.org/micro/articles/dreamcast_2.htm Sega Dreamcast: Implementation (IEEE)]}}{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=96}}|group=gn}}
 
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** Depth sorting: Alpha test in tile buffer, hardware front-to-back translucency sorting, increases fillrate for opaque and translucent polygons, on-chip Z-buffering{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf}}{{fileref|Patent US20030025695.pdf}}
 
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** GMV (general modifier volumes): Light beams, shadows, lasers, glowing suns,{{ref|[http://www.gamepilgrimage.com/DCPScompare.htm Dreamcast Comparison]}} dynamic lighting, dynamic colored lighting,{{ref|[http://planetdc.segaretro.org/features/editorials/edit006/index.html Quake III Arena vs Unreal Tournament (IGN)]}} dynamic shadows, light bloom, [[wikipedia:Tessellation (computer graphics)|tessellation]],{{ref|1=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCLXIaVSQcw Dreamcast homebrew - winter terrain and light bloom]}}{{ref|1=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p04FTA6izck Dreamcast homebrew engine: More dynamic shadows and lighting]}} motion blur,{{ref|1=[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0blSBgpRUg DF Retro: Shenmue - A Game Ahead Of Its Time (Digital Foundry)]}} [[wikipedia:Volumetric lighting|volumetric]] effects (shadows, [[wikipedia:Lens flare|lens flare]], etc.),{{ref|[http://www.segatech.com/archives/february1998.html PowerVR: The Second Generation (February 21, 1998)]}} volumetric fog,{{fileref|GamersRepublic US 03.pdf|page=29}} [[wikipedia:Shadow volume|stencil volume shadows]].{{ref|[http://yam.20to4.net/dreamcast/index_old.html SEGA Dreamcast: Programming Hints]}}
 
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** Other features: Flicker filtering,{{fileref|Dreamcast Hardware Specification Outline.pdf|page=23}} accurate collision detection, [[wikipedia:Level of detail|LOD]] (Level of detail){{fileref|PowerVR.pdf|page=3}}
 
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* Display [[Resolution]]: 320×240 to 800×608 [[pixel]]s, interlaced and progressive scan, TV and [[Dreamcast VGA Adapter|VGA]]
 
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** Internal resolution: 320×240 to 1600×1200 pixels{{ref|[http://segatech.com/technical/gpu/index.html VideoLogic's 100 MHz PowerVR Series2]}}
 
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** Texture map resolutions: 8×8 to 2048×2048 [[texel]]s{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=144}}
 
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* Refresh rate: 30–60 Hz (NTSC/PAL60), 25–50 Hz (PAL50){{fileref|Dreamcast Hardware Specification Outline.pdf|page=23}}
 
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** Maximum frame rate: 60 FPS (NTSC/PAL60), 50 FPS (PAL50)
 
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* Color Depth: 16‑bit RGB to 32‑bit [[wikipedia:RGBA color space|ARGB]],{{fileref|Dreamcast Hardware Specification Outline.pdf|page=22}} 65,536 colors (16‑bit color) to 16,777,216 colors ([[wikipedia:24-bit color|24‑bit color]]) with 8‑bit (256 levels) [[wikipedia:Alpha compositing|alpha blending]], [[wikipedia:YUV|YUV]] and [[wikipedia:RGB color space|RGB color spaces]], [[wikipedia:Chroma key|color key]] overlay{{ref|[http://web.archive.org/web/20070811102018/www3.sharkyextreme.com/hardware/reviews/video/neon250/2.shtml Neon 250 Specs & Features]}}
 
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* [[wikipedia:Framebuffer|Framebuffer]]: Optional (raster method can be used with tile buffer){{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=13}}{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=93}}
 
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** Strip/Tile buffer: 32×32×16‑bit (4 KB) to 32×32×32‑bit (8 KB) in local tile buffer cache memory{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf}}
 
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** Full framebuffer: 320×240×16-bit (300 KB) to 1600×1200×24‑bit (5625 KB) or 2048×2048×16‑bit (8 MB) in VRAM (optional){{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=93}}
 
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** Note: Due to deferred rendering, framebuffer only needs to be filled once per fram{{ref|For opaque polygons, while translucent polygons can overdraw with up to 100 MPixels/s (200–300 MB/s)|group=gn}}
 
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* [[VRAM]]: 8 MB (unified framebuffer and texture memory, effectively 21–63 MB with texture compression){{fileref|Dreamcast Hardware Specification Outline.pdf|page=18}}{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf}}
 
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** Framebuffer: 300–5625 KB (optional){{ref|Average 1200 KB (640×480, 16-bit color, double-buffered)|group=gn}}
 
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** Polygons: Stored in double-buffered display lists,{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=102}}{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=152}} 22 bytes per shaded triangle,{{ref|Flat/Gouraud shading, 43 bytes double-buffered|group=gn}} 31 bytes per textured triangle,{{ref|Gouraud shading, 62 bytes double-buffered|group=gn}} 36 bytes per bump-mapped triangle,{{ref|Textured, Gouraud shading, bump mapping, 72 bytes double-buffered|group=gn}} 38 bytes per volume-modified triangle,{{ref|Textured, Gouraud shading, modifier volumes, 75 bytes double-buffered|group=gn}} 96 bytes per [[sprite]]{{ref|Sprite, quad, 192 bytes double-buffered|group=gn}}{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=199}}
 
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** Textures: 32 KB{{ref|8×8 texture, 16 colors|group=gn}} to 8 MB (effectively 21–63 MB with texture compression),{{fileref|PowerVR2DCFeaturesUnderWindowsCE.pdf|page=9}}{{ref|Average 5 MB{{ref|[http://segatech.com/technical/polygons/index.html How Many Polygons Can the Dreamcast Render?]}} (effectively 20–30 MB with texture compression){{ref|[http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5471/12172411045_18bfc5912f_c.jpg Hideki Sato Sega Interview (Edge)]}}|group=gn}} 32 bytes{{ref|8×8×4-bit|group=gn}} to 386 KB{{ref|1024×1024×24-bit{{fileref|PowerVR2DCFeaturesUnderWindowsCE.pdf|page=9}}{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=144}}|group=gn}} or 1026 KB{{ref|2048×2048×16-bit{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=144}}|group=gn}} per texture
 
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** VRAM bandwidth: 800 MB/s (effectively up to 2.1–6.3 GB/s with texture compression)
 
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** Note: Main RAM also used to store polygon display lists. Textures transferred directly to VRAM. Main RAM can also optionally be used to store textures.
 
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* Floating-Point Performance: 2.1 GFLOPS
 
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** SH-4 SIMD: 1.4 GFLOPS geometry
 
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** CLX2: 728 MFLOPS rendering
 
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* Rendering [[Fillrate]]:{{ref|[http://web.archive.org/web/20000823204755/computer.org/micro/articles/dreamcast_2.htm Sega Dreamcast: Implementation (IEEE)]}}{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf}}
 
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** 3.2 [[Pixel|GPixels/s]]: Maximum fillrate for opaque polygons{{ref|32 pixels per cycle,{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=96}} 1 pixel per PE (processor element){{fileref|PowerVR.pdf|page=3}}{{fileref|Patent US20030025695.pdf}}|group=gn}}
 
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** 500 [[Pixel|MPixels/s]]: Average fillrate for [[wikipedia:Alpha blending|translucent]] and opaque polygons{{fileref|Edge UK 067.pdf|page=11}}{{ref|5 pixels per cycle, 6 PEs (processor elements) per pixel|group=gn}}
 
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** 100 MPixels/s: Minimum fillrate for translucent polygons with hardware sort depth of 60{{ref|60 layers depth, 1 pixel per cycle, 32 PEs per pixel|group=gn}}
 
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** 100 MPixels/s to 3.2 GPixels/s, depending on translucency and depth of polygons{{ref|1–60 layers depth, 1–32 pixels per cycle,{{fileref|PowerVR2DCFeaturesUnderWindowsCE.pdf}} 1–32 PEs per pixel|group=gn}}
 
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* Texture Fillrate:{{ref|Same as pixel rendering fillrate|group=gn}}
 
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** 3.2 [[Texel|GTexels/s]]: Maximum fillrate for opaque polygons
 
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** 500 [[Texel|MTexels/s]]: Average fillrate for translucent and opaque polygons
 
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** 100 MTexels/s: Minimum fillrate for translucent polygons with hardware sort depth of 60
 
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* SH-4 Polygon [[wikipedia:Transform and lighting|T&L]] Geometry: 1.4 GFLOPS{{ref|[http://web.archive.org/web/20000823204755/computer.org/micro/articles/dreamcast_2.htm Sega Dreamcast: Implementation (IEEE)]}}{{fileref|SH-4 Software Manual.pdf|page=151}}
 
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** Matrix transformations: 50 million vertices/s{{ref|4 cycles per matrix transformation{{fileref|SH-4 Next-Generation DSP Architecture.pdf|page=12}}|group=gn}}
 
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** Perspective transformations: 16.6 million vertices/sec,{{ref|12 cycles per vertex (12 cycles division latency){{fileref|SH-4 Software Manual.pdf|page=211}}
 
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*4 cycles matrix transformation{{fileref|SH-4 Next-Generation DSP Architecture.pdf|page=12}}
 
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*5 cycles perspective division: 2 multiplies, 1 divide, 2 FLDI1{{ref|[http://gamedev.allusion.net/docs/kos-current/matrix_8h.html Dreamcast: Basic matrix operations (KallistiOS)]}} (1 MAC per cycle,{{fileref|SH-4 Next-Generation DSP Architecture.pdf|page=4}} 1 divide per cycle,{{fileref|SH-4 Software Manual.pdf|page=211}} 1 cycle per FLDI1){{fileref|SH-4 Software Manual.pdf|page=295}}|group=gn}} 16 million polygons/s{{ref|N [[wikipedia:Triangle strip|triangle strips]] per N+2 vertices{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=91}}|group=gn}}
 
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** 1 light source: 14.2 million vertices/s,{{ref|14 cycles per vertex: 4 cycles matrix transformation, 5 cycles perspective division, 1 cycle surface normal, 4 cycles lighting matrix{{ref|1=[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=iAvHt5RCHbMC&pg=PA96 ''Design of Digital Systems and Devices'' (page 96)]}}{{fileref|SH-4 Software Manual.pdf|page=151}}{{fileref|SH-4 Next-Generation DSP Architecture.pdf|page=31}}|group=gn}} 14 million polygons/s{{ref|N triangle strips per N+2 vertices|group=gn}}{{ref|[http://web.archive.org/web/20000823204755/computer.org/micro/articles/dreamcast_2.htm Sega Dreamcast: Implementation (IEEE)]}}
 
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** 4 light sources: 6.89 million vertices/s,{{ref|29 cycles per vertex: 4 cycles matrix transformation, 5 cycles perspective division, 4 surface normals (4 cycles), 4 lighting matrices (16 cycles)|group=gn}} 6.8 million polygons/s
 
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* CLX2 Polygon Rendering:{{ref|[http://web.archive.org/web/20000823204755/computer.org/micro/articles/dreamcast_2.htm Sega Dreamcast: Implementation (IEEE)]}}{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=199}}
 
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** 16 million vertices/s{{ref|14 ISP FPU cycles per 3 vertices,{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=95}} 192 pixels per vertex|group=gn}}
 
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** 7.1 million polygons/s: Lighting, Gouraud shading{{ref|14 ISP FPU cycles per polygon,{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=95}} 119,000–187,000 polygons per scene, 450 pixels per polygon|group=gn}}
 
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** 7–7.1 million polygons/s: Lighting, texture mapping, Gouraud shading{{ref|116,000–130,326 polygons per scene, 70 texels per polygon|group=gn}}
 
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** 7 million polygons/s: Lighting, texture mapping, shadows{{ref|[http://segatech.com/technical/gpu/index.html VideoLogic's 100 MHz PowerVR Series2]}}{{ref|116,000–116,667 polygons per scene, 71 texels per polygon|group=gn}}
 
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** 7 million polygons/s: Lighting, texture mapping, trilinear filtering{{ref|1=[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=wZnpAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA277 ''Vintage Game Consoles: An Inside Look at Apple, Atari, Commodore, Nintendo, and the Greatest Gaming Platforms of All Time'' (Page 277)]}}{{ref|116,000–116,667 polygons per scene, 71 texels per polygon|group=gn}}
 
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** 5–6.4 million polygons/s: Lighting, texture mapping, Gouraud shading, shadows, modifier volumes, bump mapping{{ref|83,000–107,736 polygons per scene, 78–100 texels per polygon|group=gn}}
 
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** 4.13 million polygons/s: Lighting, texture mapping, anisotropic filtering{{ref|68,832 polygons per scene,{{ref|1=[http://dknute.livejournal.com/27148.html?thread=286988 Homebrew Test]}} 121 texels per polygon|group=gn}}
 
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** 3.12 million polygons/s: Lighting, texture mapping, Gouraud shading, shadows, modifier volumes, bump mapping, anisotropic filtering, translucent polygons{{ref|50,000–56,000 polygons per scene, 32 texels per polygon|group=gn}}
 
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* 2D [[sprite]] capabilities: Sprites rendered as textured translucent quad polygons{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=103}}
 
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** Colors per sprite: 16 colors (4-bit color) to 16,777,216 colors (24-bit color){{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=138}}
 
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** Sprite sizes: 8×8 [[texel]]s (224 bytes) to 2048×2048 texels (1026.2 KB){{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=98}}{{fileref|PowerVR2DCFeaturesUnderWindowsCE.pdf|page=9}}
 
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** Sprite fillrate: 100 MTexels/s
 
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** Maximum sprites per frame: 26,041 sprites (8×8, 60 FPS), 31,250 sprites (8×8, 50 FPS)
 
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** Maximum texels per scanline: 6944 texels (NTSC/PAL60), 8333 texels (PAL50)
 
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** Maximum sprites per scanline: 868 sprites (NTSC/PAL60), 1041 sprites (PAL50)
 
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* Full Motion Video: MPEG decoding, video compression, 320×240 to 640×320 and 320×480 video resolutions, 3D polygons can be superimposed over FMV video{{ref|[http://web.archive.org/web/20000823204755/computer.org/micro/articles/dreamcast_2.htm Sega Dreamcast: Implementation (IEEE)]}}
 
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}}
 
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=====Notes=====
 
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<small>{{multicol|
 
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<references group="gn" />
 
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}}</small>
 
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====Memory====
 
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{{multicol|
 
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* System [[RAM]]: 26.125 [[Byte|MB]]
 
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** Main RAM: 16 MB [[wikipedia:SDRAM|SDRAM]]{{ref|[[wikipedia:Hyundai|Hyundai]] HY57V161610D{{fileref|HY57V161610D datasheet.pdf}}
 
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* Can be used for storing textures and polygon display lists, accessible by SH4 and PowerVR2 (via SH4 DMA){{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf}}
 
−
|group=mn}}
 
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** [[VRAM]]: 8 MB SDRAM{{ref|Unified framebuffer and texture memory{{fileref|Dreamcast Hardware Specification Outline.pdf|page=18}}
 
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* Accessible by Power VR2 and SH4 (via DMA and store queues)
 
−
|group=mn}}
 
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** Sound RAM: 2 MB SDRAM
 
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** [[GD-ROM]] buffer RAM: 128 KB{{fileref|Dreamcast Hardware Specification Outline.pdf}}
 
−
* Internal Processor Cache: 91.326 KB{{ref|93,518 [[byte]]s|group=mn}}{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf}}
 
−
** SH4 [[wikipedia:CPU cache|CPU cache]]: 25.564 KB{{ref|26,178 bytes: 8 KB instruction cache, 16 KB data cache, 64 bytes store queue cache,{{fileref|SH-4 Software Manual.pdf|page=25}} 1538 bytes registers|group=mn}}
 
−
** CLX2 [[wikipedia:GPU cache|GPU cache]]: 33.75 KB{{ref|34,560 bytes:
 
−
* Register memory: 8.25 KB{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=17}} (2397 [[byte]]s TA tile buffer,{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=101}}{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=165}} 509 bytes fog table, 4093 bytes palette RAM){{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=37}}
 
−
* ISP cache: 12.25 KB (12 KB ISP Parameter Cache,{{ref|[http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~bm/3dcards/3d-cards1.html#CS11 PC 3D Graphics Accelerators FAQ: VideoLogic PowerVR]}} 128 bytes Depth Accumulation Buffer, 1024-bit ISP PE Array){{fileref|PowerVR.pdf|page=3}}
 
−
* TSP cache: 13 KB (4 KB TSP Parameter Cache,{{ref|[http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~bm/3dcards/3d-cards1.html#CS11 PC 3D Graphics Accelerators FAQ: VideoLogic PowerVR]}} 1 KB Texture Cache,{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=96}} 4 KB Tile Accumulation Buffer,{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=127}}{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=111}} 4 KB Secondary Accumulation Buffer){{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=111}}
 
−
* FIFO buffer: 256 bytes
 
−
|group=mn}}
 
−
** AICA audio cache: 32.011 KB{{ref|32,780 bytes: 32 KB sound registers, 8 bytes RTC registers,{{fileref|Dreamcast Hardware Specification Outline.pdf}} 4 bytes FIFO buffer|group=mn}}
 
−
* System [[ROM]]: 2 MB{{fileref|Dreamcast Hardware Specification Outline.pdf}}
 
−
* Flash Memory: 128 KB{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf}}
 
−
* [[GD-ROM]] Drive: 12× maximum speed (when running in Constant Angular Velocity mode){{fileref|Dreamcast Hardware Specification Outline.pdf}}{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf}}
 
−
** Disc formats: GD&#8209;ROM, CD&#8209;ROM, CD&#8209;DA, , Photo CD, Video CD, CD Extra, CD+G, CD+EG
 
−
** Storage capacity: 1 GB per GD&#8209;ROM, 656 MB per CD&#8209;ROM
 
−
}}
 
−
 
 
−
====Bandwidth====
 
−
{{multicol|
 
−
* System RAM Bandwidth: 1.75 [[Byte|GB/s]]{{ref|4 buses, 160-bit bus width{{fileref|Dreamcast Hardware Specification Outline.pdf}}|group=mn}}
 
−
** SH4, PVR2 <‑> Main RAM — 800 [[Byte|MB/s]]{{ref|64‑bit, 100 MHz{{fileref|Dreamcast Hardware Specification Outline.pdf|page=14}}|group=mn}}
 
−
** CLX2 <‑> VRAM  — 800 MB/s{{ref|64‑bit, 100 MHz,{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=42}}|group=mn}}{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=49}} 7 [[wikipedia:Nanosecond|ns]], 2x 32-bit buses{{fileref|Dreamcast Hardware Specification Outline.pdf|page=6}}
 
−
** AICA <‑> Sound RAM — 132 MB/s{{ref|16‑bit, 66 MHz|group=mn}}
 
−
** SH4 <‑> GD‑ROM buffer — 13.3 MB/s{{ref|16‑bit|group=mn}}
 
−
* Internal Processor Cache Bandwidth: 18.8 GB/s{{ref|384‑bit|group=mn}}
 
−
** SH4 CPU cache: 3.2 GB/s{{ref|128‑bit, 200 MHz|group=mn}}
 
−
** CLX2 GPU cache: 15.6 GB/s{{ref|1248‑bit, 100 MHz:
 
−
*Register memory: 1.2 GB/s (32-bit ISP registers, 32-bit TSP registers,{{ref|[http://mc.pp.se/dc/pvr.html PowerVR (Dreamcast Hardware)]}} 32-bit TA tile buffer){{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=165}}
 
−
*ISP PE Array: 12.8 GB/s (1024-bit){{fileref|PowerVR.pdf|page=3}}
 
−
*TSP cache: 1.6 GB/s (64-bit Texture Cache,{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=96}} 32-bit Tile Accumulation Buffer, 32-bit Secondary Accumulation Buffer)
 
−
|group=mn}}
 
−
** AICA audio cache: 256 MB/s{{ref|32‑bit, 67 MHz|group=mn}}
 
−
* System ROM Bandwidth: 20 MB/s{{ref|16‑bit, 10 MHz|group=mn}}
 
−
* Transmission Bandwidth:{{fileref|DreamcastDevBoxSystemArchitecture.pdf|page=42}}
 
−
** SH4 <‑> CLX2 — 800 MB/s{{ref|64‑bit, 100 MHz|group=mn}}
 
−
** SH4IF <-> PVRIF — 400 MB/s{{ref|32‑bit, 100 MHz|group=mn}}
 
−
** SH4 <-> Root Bus — 200 MB/s{{ref|32‑bit, 50 MHz|group=mn}}
 
−
* GD‑ROM Drive: 1.8 MB/s transfer rate, 250 milliseconds access time
 
−
}}
 
−
 
 
−
=====Notes=====
 
−
<small>{{multicol|
 
−
<references group="mn" />
 
−
}}</small>
 
−
 
 
−
====BIOS====
 
−
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
 
−
|+ BIOS Revisions
 
−
|-
 
−
! width="50"| BIOS Version
 
−
! Machine
 
−
! Download
 
−
|-
 
−
| 1.004
 
−
| Sega Dreamcast (Commercial-Early)
 
−
| {{file|Jp_dc_1.004.7z|1.004 (Japan)}}
 
−
|-
 
−
| rowspan="3"| 1.01d
 
−
| rowspan="3"| Sega Dreamcast (Commercial)
 
−
| {{file|Us_dc_1.01d.zip|1.01d (North America)}}
 
−
|-
 
−
| {{file|Eu_dc_1.01d.zip|1.01d (Europe)}}
 
−
|-
 
−
| {{file|Jp_dc_1.01d.zip|1.01d (Japan)}}
 
−
|-
 
−
| 1.011
 
−
| Sega Dreamcast (HKT-0120 Devbox)
 
−
| {{file|Jp_dc_1.011(dev).7z|1.011 (HKT-0120 Devbox)}}
 
−
|}
 
−
 
 
−
====Other specifications====
 
−
{{multicol|
 
−
* Operating Systems:
 
−
** [[Sega]] native operating system
 
−
** Custom [[Windows CE]], with [[wikipedia:DirectX|DirectX 6.0]], [[wikipedia:Direct3D|Direct3D]] and [[wikipedia:OpenGL|OpenGL]] support
 
−
* Inputs: Four ports that can support a digital and analog controller, steering wheel, joystick, keyboard, mouse, and more
 
−
* Dimensions: 189mm x 195mm x 76mm (7 7/16" x 7 11/16" x 3")
 
−
* Weight: 1.9kg (4.4lbs)
 
−
* Modem: Removable; Original Asia/Japan model had a 33.6 Kbytes/s; models released after 9 September 1999 had a 56 Kbytes/s modem
 
−
*[[Sega Dreamcast Broadband Adapter]]: these adapters are available separately and replace the removable modem
 
−
** HIT-400: "Broadband Adapter", the more common model, this used a RealTek 8139 chip and supported 10/100mbit
 
−
* HIT-300: "Lan Adapter", this version used a Fujitsu MB86967 chip and supported only 10mbit
 
−
*Storage: "Visual Memory Unit" ([[VMU]]) 128 Kb removable storage device
 
−
*Input devices: (4 custom controller ports)
 
−
**[[Dreamcast Controller|Standard Dreamcast gamepad]] with two add‑on ports
 
−
***Add-ons: VMU, 4x Memory Card, Jump Pack
 
−
**Sega Dreamcast Keyboard
 
−
**Sega Dreamcast Mouse
 
−
**[[Dreamcast fishing controller|Sega Dreamcast Fishing Controller]]
 
−
**Sega Dreamcast Microphone (bundled with Seaman)
 
−
**[[VMU MP3 Player]] (Unreleased)
 
−
**[[Swatch Access for Dreamcast]] (Unreleased)
 
−
*Output devices:
 
−
**Sega Dreamcast RF Unit
 
−
**Sega Dreamcast AV cables (composite)
 
−
**[[Sega Dreamcast VGA Adapter]]
 
−
*Add-ons:
 
−
**Sega Dreamcast Karaoke System (Japan only)
 
−
**[[Dreameye]] (Japan only)
 
−
**[[Dreamcast Zip Drive|Sega Dreamcast Zip Drive]] (Unreleased)
 
−
}}
 
  
 
===Technical comparison===
 
===Technical comparison===

Revision as of 16:36, 20 December 2017

Dreamcast.jpg
Sega Dreamcast
Manufacturer: Sega
Variants: Sega NAOMI, Atomiswave, Sega Aurora
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Dreamcast
JP 		¥29,80029,800 HKT-3000
Sega Dreamcast
US 		$199.99199.99 HKT-3020
Sega Dreamcast
DE 		DM 499,-499,-[5] HKT-3030
Sega Dreamcast
ES 		HKT-3030
Sega Dreamcast
FR 		1,690F1,690[4] HKT-3030
Sega Dreamcast
UK 		£199.99199.99[3] HKT-3030
Sega Dreamcast
AU 		$499.00499.00[6]
Sega Dreamcast
BR 		R$899.00899.00
Sega Dreamcast
KR 		HKT-3010
Sega Dreamcast
AS 		HKT-3010

The Sega Dreamcast (ドリームキャスト) is a home video game console manufactured by Sega as a successor to the Sega Saturn. It was originally released in November 1998, becoming the first machine to be released in what is now known as the sixth generation of video game consoles, sharing a platform with the PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube and the Xbox.

The Dreamcast was Sega's last home video game console, and was discontinued in early 2001. It sold at least 8.2 million hardware units and 51.63 million software units by March 2001,[8] and up to 10.6 million hardware units in total.

An arcade counterpart to the Dreamcast exists as the Sega NAOMI.

Hardware

The Dreamcast is a small, white box with aesthetics designed to appeal to a wide-ranging audience. It was envisioned as an "128-bit" "super console", designed to leapfrog "32-bit" and "64-bit" contemporaries in the form of the PlayStation and Nintendo 64, respectively (although from a technical standpoint, its main processor deals in 32-bit or 64-bit instructions, with the 128-bit figure coming from the graphics hardware). Incidentally the Dreamcast was the last home console to use "bits" as a selling point, with processing capabilities now typically measured in other ways.

Taking design cues from the Nintendo 64 and the Sega Saturn, the Dreamcast contains four control ports, a removable modem, disc drive and an extension port (as well as the expected AV and power inputs). It is not backwards compatible with any prior Sega hardware or software (although its controller derives from the Saturn's 3D Control Pad), and operates in much the same way as the Saturn (and PlayStation) does, with a configurable settings and memory management accessed through a BIOS screen.

The Dreamcast uses a proprietary format of storage called GD-ROMs for games in order to circumvent software piracy, a strategy that ultimately backfired when the first run of discs had a high rate of defects. The format was also cracked fairly quickly (and in some cases, the pirated games were released before the legitimate versions). Sega largely had themselves to blame for the high levels of Dreamcast piracy—their use of the GD-ROM format was completely undermined by the console's support for the Mil-CD format, which allowed the console to boot from a standard CD-R. Mil-CD support was removed from the final Dreamcast revisions toward the end of the console's life.

The GD-ROM format also put the console at a disadvantage when competing against the PlayStation 2 - the PS2 used DVDs, and could therefore run DVD videos making it an inexpensive DVD player as well as a video game console. DVD-ROMs also have more storage space, allowing for bigger games (though the initial run of PS2 games used a blue CD-ROM format). Sega looked into DVD technology during the Dreamcast's development but claimed it was too expensive.

The Dreamcast was the first video game console to ship with a built-in 56k modem, with broadband adapters being made available later on in certain regions. This allowed the system to connect to the internet using a custom, fully-functional web browser and e-mail client. Many games released for the Dreamcast shipped with online play modes, the most popular being Phantasy Star Online and the Sega Sports lineup (now published under the ESPN label). Although other consoles before the Dreamcast had network gaming support, such as the Sega Saturn's NetLink and the Sega Mega Drive's XB∀ND, the Dreamcast was the first game console to include this ability out of the box and is therefore considered the first internet-enabled home game system.

The Dreamcast has a modest hacking enthusiast community. The availability of Windows CE software development kits on the Internet—as well as ports of Linux (LinuxDC) and dreamcast NetBSD operating systems to the Dreamcast—gave programmers a selection of familiar development tools to work with, even though they do not really support the high speed graphics. A homebrew minimal operating system called Kallistios offers support for most hardware, while not offering multi-tasking, which is superfluous for games. Many emulators and other tools (MP3, DivX players, and image viewers) have been ported to or written for the console, taking advantage of the relative ease with which a home user can write a CD which is bootable by an unmodified Dreamcast.

Sega released an arcade board, using the same technology as the Dreamcast, called Sega NAOMI, leading to many Dreamcast-exclusive games with a high level of arcade quality.

The Dreamcast's PowerVR CLX2 was the first GPU for a home system with hardware capabilities such as bump mapping, volumetric effects,[9] order-independent transparency, and Dot3 normal mapping.[10]

Models

Main article: Dreamcast consoles.

  • Japanese model

  • North American model

  • European model

Japanese Dreamcasts can be identified by the triangle at the front of the unit. Though the power LED is identical across all regions, the piece of plastic attached to the lid of the Japanese model is transparent, while in North America it is grey.

For a full list of special edition Dreamcasts, see Special Dreamcast Models.

Technical specifications

Main article: Sega Dreamcast/Technical specifications.

Technical comparison

Main article: Sega Dreamcast/Hardware comparison.

History

Main article: History of the Sega Dreamcast.

Games

Main article: Sega Dreamcast games.

Magazine articles

Main article: Sega Dreamcast/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Print advertisements

  • UK (the British)

  • UK (the French)

  • UK (the Germans)

  • UK (the Spanish)

Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Official Dreamcast Magazine (US) #1: "September 1999" (1999-08-24)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Official Dreamcast Magazine (US) #1: "September 1999" (1999-08-24)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Official Dreamcast Magazine (US) #1: "September 1999" (1999-08-24)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Official Dreamcast Magazine (US) #1: "September 1999" (1999-08-24)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Arcade (UK) #10: "September 1999" (1999-07-27)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Computer & Video Games (UK) #213: "August 1999" (1999-07-14)
also published in:
  • DC-UK (UK) #1: "September 1999" (1999-09-02)[11]
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Official Dreamcast Magazine (UK) #preview: "Taster" (1999-xx-xx)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Consoles Max (FR) #2: "Juillet/Août 1999" (1999-0x-xx)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Dreamcast: Le Magazine Officiel (FR) #5: "Juillet/Août 2000" (2000-0x-xx)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Dreamcast: Le Magazine Officiel (FR) #5: "Juillet/Août 2000" (2000-0x-xx)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Dreamcast: Le Magazine Officiel (FR) #5: "Juillet/Août 2000" (2000-0x-xx)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Dreamcast: Das Offizielle Magazin (DE) #1: "Oktober 1999" (1999-10-14)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Dreamcast: Das Offizielle Magazin (DE) #1: "Oktober 1999" (1999-10-14)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in MAN!AC (DE) #1999-11: "11/99" (1999-10-06)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in MAN!AC (DE) #1999-12: "12/99" (1999-11-03)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Gamers (BR) #44: "Ano 6 No. 44" (xxxx-xx-xx)
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in SuperGamePower (BR) #89: "Agosto 2001" (2001-xx-xx)
Logo-pdf.svg

Retailers

Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Arcade (UK) #10: "September 1999" (1999-07-27)
Logo-pdf.svg

Television advertisements

  • UK (launch)

  • UK (the British)

  • UK (the French)

  • UK (the Germans)

  • JP (Campaign)

Other advertisements

  • PlayStationBestBefore DC UK Advert.jpg

Artwork

Hardware diagrams

  • Dreamcast Diagram1.svg
  • Dreamcast Diagram2.svg

Logos

  • Japanese/North American logo

  • European/Australian logo

Patents

  • USD412940

References

  1. ↑ Press release: 1999-09-02: Sega Dreamcast Launch Titles and Peripherals
  2. ↑ File:CVG UK 216.pdf, page 52
  3. ↑ File:CVG UK 215.pdf, page 59
  4. ↑ File:ConsolesMicro FR 01.pdf, page 15
  5. ↑ File:NextLevel DE 1999-0910.pdf, page 6
  6. ↑ File:Hyper AU 071.pdf, page 29
  7. ↑ Dreamcast (Tectoy) (Wayback Machine: 2000-03-03 16:07)
  8. ↑ File:AnnualReport2001 English.pdf, page 16
  9. ↑ File:GamersRepublic US 03.pdf, page 29
  10. ↑ [PC Magazine, December 1999, page 193 PC Magazine, December 1999, page 193]
  11. ↑ DC-UK, "September 1999" (UK; 1999-09-02), page 27
Sega Home Video Game Systems
83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11
SG-1000 SG-1000 II Mega Drive Mega Drive II
SC-3000 Mega-CD Mega-CD II Genesis 3
Sega Mark III 32X Dreamcast
Master System Master System II
AI Computer Game Gear
Saturn
Pico Beena


Sega Dreamcast
Topics Technical specifications (Hardware comparison) | History (Development | Release | Decline and legacy | Internet) | List of games | Magazine articles | Promotional material | Merchandise
Hardware Japan (Special) | Western Europe | Eastern Europe | North America | Asia | South America | Australasia | Africa
Add-ons Dreamcast Karaoke | Dreameye
Controllers Controller | Arcade Stick | Fishing Controller | Gun (Dream Blaster) | Race Controller | Maracas Controller (Third-party) | Twin Stick | Keyboard | Mouse | Third-party
Controller Add-ons Jump Pack (Third-party) | Microphone | VMU (4x Memory Card | Third-party)
Development Hardware Dev.Box | Controller Box | Controller Function Checker | Sound Box | GD-Writer | C1/C2 Checker | Dev.Cas | GD-ROM Duplicator
Online Services/Add-ons Dreamarena | SegaNet | WebTV for Dreamcast | Modem | Modular Cable | Modular Extension Cable | Broadband Adapter | Dreamphone
Connector Cables Onsei Setsuzoku Cable | RF Adapter | Scart Cable | S Tanshi Cable | Stereo AV Cable | VGA Box

Dreamcast MIDI Interface Cable | Neo Geo Pocket/Dreamcast Setsuzoku Cable | Taisen Cable

Misc. Hardware Action Replay CDX | Code Breaker | Kiosk | MP3 DC | MP3 DC Audio Player | Official Case | Treamcast
Third-party accessories Controllers | Controller converters | Miscellaneous
Unreleased Accessories DVD Player | Zip Drive | Swatch Access for Dreamcast | VMU MP3 Player
Arcade Variants NAOMI | Atomiswave | Sega Aurora
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