What Kind of Processor Does an Xbox Have?
The original Xbox was built from off-the-shelf computer parts, presumably to save on hardware development costs. Essentially, the Xbox was a heavily subsidized home PC with a specialized operating system.
The Main Processor
The Xbox processor was a 733 megahertz (MHz) Pentium III derivative. Unlike most processors of the time, it was not built in a slot-based form-factor. Instead, the processor was soldered to the motherboard of the Xbox using a BGA (Ball Grid Array) package. The processor was 32-bit, as was the PC version of the Pentium III.
The Processor Cache
The main processor on the Xbox had half the memory cache of the processor it was based on. While a 128 Kb (kilobyte) cache is acceptable for a dedicated gaming console, it was anemic for a desktop processor at the time.
Memory
The Xbox also had 64 MB (megabytes) of system memory, which, unlike a PC, was soldered directly to the motherboard.
The Graphics Processor
The Xbox also had a graphics processor, produced by Nvidia. It was similar to Nvidia's retail offerings at the time, namely the GeForce 3 and GeForce 4 graphics processor lines, in graphics power. It also served as the motherboard's main chipset, similar to how integrated graphics processors on low-end PCs work today.
The Audio Processor
Running the audio processing duties, the Xbox had a derivative of Nvidia's "SoundStorm" processor. This was identical to the sound processor that Nvidia included in its contemporary line of PC motherboards.
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