Source: Nintendo 3DS Hardware Specifications Revealed

by Mike Bendel September 21, 2010 @ 5:13 pm


While a 2010 release of Nintendo’s dazzling 3DS handheld still remains up in the air, a source close to IGN has outed the hardware specifications. The 3DS’ clamshell design will reportedly house a pair of “266MHz ARM11 CPUs, 133MHz GPU, 4MBs of dedicated VRAM, 64MBs of RAM, and 1.5GBs of flash storage.”

Although modest in the CPU and RAM department, these specs certainly trample over that of its predecessor. The original DS sports a mere 4MB RAM, along with an ARM9 and ARM7 clocked at 67 MHz and 33 MHz respectively. For the DSi, Nintendo upped the ARM9 clockspeed to 133 MHz.

Considering 3DS devkit material was recently sent to Nintendo partners, it’s not surprising to see information on the hardware innards finally surface. ARM11-based processors have been used in several popular mobile devices, including the Zune HD. Additionally, 1.5GB of flash storage represents a significant jump, up from 256MBs on its previous generation sibling, the DSi. 3DSWare, anyone?

Despite retailer listings indicating that the 3DS may make its debut in November, Nintendo’s official word remains that it will hit “sometime before March 2011.” Read our impressions of the device here.

Follow this author on .