IBM and Nintendo have revealed that the Espresso processor is a
PowerPC-based microprocessor with three cores on a single chip to reduce power consumption and increase speed. The CPU and the graphics processor are placed on a single substrate as a
multi-chip module (MCM) to reduce complexity, increase the communication speed between the chips, further reduce power consumption, and reduce cost and space required. The two chips were assembled to the complete MCM by Renesas in Japan. Espresso itself was manufactured by IBM in its 300 mm plant in
East Fishkill, New York, using
45 nm SOI-technology and
embedded DRAM (eDRAM) for
caches. While unverified by Nintendo,
hackers, teardowns, and unofficial informants have since revealed more information about the Espresso, such as its name, size and speed. The microarchitecture seems to be quite similar to its predecessors the
Broadway and
Gekko, i.e.
PowerPC 750 based, but enhanced with larger and faster
caches and
multiprocessor support. Rumors that the Wii U CPU was derived from IBM's high-end
POWER7 server processor proved false, as it would potentially increase the manufacturing and retail cost of the system, and require a larger form factor. Espresso shares some technology with POWER7, such as eDRAM and general instruction set similarities, but those are superficial similarities. == Specifications ==