New PS3 with 45nm RSX GPU is more reliable, uses 15% less po

If you have been holding off buying a PS3 Slim console then it may be worth waiting a little bit longer. Sony, as usual, has been updating the internal hardware of its console and is about to release a new model. The good news is it comes with both power savings and improved reliability.
The major update to the PS3 Slim internals is a revised RSX graphics processor. Until now Sony has been using a 60nm RSX, but the revised version is 45nm. That means less heat being produced and therefore a more reliable machine with less cooling requirements. It also means a 15% power saving, which equates to the following examples of power use reduction:

• XMB Menu (Still wallpapers) 76W reduced to 67W
• XMB Menu (Main Theme) 83-86W reduced to 71W
• FFXIII game event scene 96-107W reduced to 78-83W
• FFXIII game menu 83-84W reduced to 74W
• BD playback 88-91W reduced to 77-78W
• Power Off (Remote Play Stand-by) 9W stays at 9W

Because of the power reduction and cooler running Sony has been able to make savings by having a smaller heatsink and a smaller power supply. Manufacturing costs have also been saved by selecting to use two 128MB XDR RAM chips instead of four 64MB chips.
Those wanting the latest model should look for the model number CECH-2100A. The current PS3 Slim model which is widely available carries the model number CECH-2000A. You can see a teardown of the 2100A on Japanese website PocketNews.