Is the GBA more powerful than the SNES???

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Metallica_Band

2[H]4U
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Hey there...I just realized that the SNES is 16-bit and the GBA is 32-bit...does this mean that the GBA is more powerful than the SNES??? Here are the specs for both systems:

GBA:
CPU - 32-Bit ARM with embedded memory
Memory - 32 KB + 96 KB VRAM (in CPU), 256 KB WRAM (external of CPU)
Screen - (diagonal) reflective TFT color LCD
Resolution - 240 x 160 pixels
Color - Can display 511 simultaneous colors in character mode and 32,768 simultaneous colors in bitmap mode
Software - Fully compatible with Game Boy and Game Boy Color Game Paks


SNES:
CPU - 65816 16-bit: 2.68 / 3.58 Mhz 16-bit Picture Processing Unit
Memory RAM - 1 Mbit (128 Kbyte)
Video RAM - 0.5 Mbit (64 Kbyte)
Cart Size's - 2 Mbit - 48 Mbit
Max Resolution - 512 x 448 pixels
Color - 32,768 colors Max Colors at Once: 256
Max Sprite Size: 64 x 64 pixels
Max Sprites: 128 sprites
SOUND Sound Chip: 8-bit Sony SPC700 Sound Channels: 8 FEATURES Mode 7
Some games contain additional Chips to enhace the games.
Mario Kart for instance contains a DSP. Other Titles such as Star
Fox contain the FX chip to help with processing those 3D graphics.


It looks like the GBA is more powerful than the SNES...but I'm not sure...anyone wanna comment??? THANX
C'YA :cool:

P.S.: Should this go in Games or Hardware???
 
Well, considering that SNESAdvance is an SNES emulator that runs on a GBA, I would say yes, a GBA is more powerful than an SNES.
 
The only thing that the SNES has on the GBA is a dedicated sound processor. And one that's notoriously hard to emulate, at that.
 
yeah the sound is weaker, but I believe it is little more powerful on the cpu side.
 
Originally posted by Metallica_Band

GBA:
CPU - 32-Bit ARM with embedded memory
Memory - 32 Kb + 96 Kb VRAM (in CPU), 256 Kb WRAM (external of CPU)
Click to expand...

Gah, your post confused the heck out of me as I kept reading Kb as Kbit instead of KByte. So the whole time I was reading, I'm thinking to myself...

"How can the GBA even come close to the SNES when it only has 4KB + 12 KB memory in the CPU compared to the SNES' 128 KByte!?!?" Then I realized it was KB and not Kb and my world once again continued to exist.
 
GBA is the more powerful system, it can actually handle a really low res 3d engine. Where as SNES cannot. I love my GBA :D
 
A lot of SNES games don't make use of the extra buttons. All you really need is four.
 
Originally posted by heatsinker
A lot of SNES games don't make use of the extra buttons. All you really need is four.
Click to expand...

I dunno. I rather miss my medium punch in Street Fighter... I can't play any of the SF games since the weird hold the button for medium (or hard, whatever it is... I can't get it down) negates any of the combos I try to do... there have been some other games that made me wish there were more buttons as well. (Metroid Fusion/Zero)
 
Originally posted by Ashtaka
I dunno. I rather miss my medium punch in Street Fighter... I can't play any of the SF games since the weird hold the button for medium (or hard, whatever it is... I can't get it down) negates any of the combos I try to do... there have been some other games that made me wish there were more buttons as well. (Metroid Fusion/Zero)
Click to expand...

I understand where you're coming from. I mainly play RPGs on the SNES, so I don't have that same need. :)
 
Originally posted by EarthwormJim
Star Fox anyone?
Click to expand...

Star Fox has a GFX processor on the cart that enables this. It's not an actual part of the SNES itself...
 
Originally posted by Maximus825
Star Fox has a GFX processor on the cart that enables this. It's not an actual part of the SNES itself...
Click to expand...

Ah I can't believe I forgot about that.
 
the GBA indeed has a much faster processor but unfortunatly because of the smaller screen the graphics processor isnt as good as SNES. you would learn of that if you played doom for the GBA (i own it) and the graphics are actually drawn at half resolution and the textures are very poor.
I'm hoping Nintendo's next in the GBA line will have a much more powerful graphics system.
 
I'm ready to see what the PSP can do. Bring on E3!

The DS is intriguing, but it's not going to last.
 
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