Difference between revisions of "Supercomputer on a chip"
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Not long ago the world had a first glimpse of the new processor by the STI group, which is intended for the upcoming Sony Playstation 3. The processor called “Cell” has been called to have a revolutionary new architecture and given the new architecture it also has astonishing computing power. It is not unusual that the “Cell” processor is also nick named a supercomputer on a chip, because it can deliver 256Gflops | Not long ago the world had a first glimpse of the new processor by the STI group, which is intended for the upcoming Sony Playstation 3. The processor called “Cell” has been called to have a revolutionary new architecture and given the new architecture it also has astonishing computing power. It is not unusual that the “Cell” processor is also nick named a supercomputer on a chip, because it can deliver 256Gflops at a clock speed of 4 GHz. | ||
The need for new and better computing power is not only been a trend in the recent year for the PC industry, but also a lot in the gaming industry. Games have become more power consuming, because the systems have better audio/video possibilities, but also need better security and creating high quality 3D graphics. So the need for faster processors will only increase. | The need for new and better computing power is not only been a trend in the recent year for the PC industry, but also a lot in the gaming industry. Games have become more power consuming, because the systems have better audio/video possibilities, but also need better security and creating high quality 3D graphics. So the need for faster processors will only increase. | ||
Revision as of 18:33, 16 March 2005
Description:
Not long ago the world had a first glimpse of the new processor by the STI group, which is intended for the upcoming Sony Playstation 3. The processor called “Cell” has been called to have a revolutionary new architecture and given the new architecture it also has astonishing computing power. It is not unusual that the “Cell” processor is also nick named a supercomputer on a chip, because it can deliver 256Gflops at a clock speed of 4 GHz. The need for new and better computing power is not only been a trend in the recent year for the PC industry, but also a lot in the gaming industry. Games have become more power consuming, because the systems have better audio/video possibilities, but also need better security and creating high quality 3D graphics. So the need for faster processors will only increase.
Enablers:
- Need for more computing power
- High Definition Imagery and Sound
- A/V decoding
- Digital Signal Processing (DSP)
- Multi-functionality
- Complex encryption for security
Inhibitors:
- Government regulations
- Power consumption
- Competitors
Paradigms:
Experts:
Blachford, Nicholas (2005) Cell Architecture Explained: Introduction
Timing:
Sega: 1985 - Master system: Z80 8-Bit @ 3.6 MHz 1989 - Mega Drive: Motorola 68000 16-bit @ 7.61 MHz 1995 - Saturn: Two Hitachi SH2 32-bit RISC @ 28.6MHz 1998 - Dreamcast Hitachi SH-4 RISC 128-bit @ 200 MHz Nintendo: 1986 - NES: Motorola 6508 8-bit @ 1.79 MHz 1989 - Super Nintendo: Motorola 68000 16-bit @ 7.61MHz 1996 - Nintendo 64: MIPS R4300i 64-bit @ 93.75MHz 2001 - Gamecube: IBM PowerPC "Gekko" @ 485MHz TBA - Revolution: IBM "Broadway" @ xxxx MHz Sony: 1995 - Playstation: MIPS R3000A @ 33.86 MHz 2000 - Playstation 2: 2x Toshiba & Sony Emotion Engine @ 294.9MHz 2006 - Playstation 3: IBM Cell processor @ xxxx MHz Microsoft 2001 - Xbox: Intel Pentium III @ 733MHz 2006 - Xbox 360: 3x IBM PowerPC-cores @ 3.0GHz
Web Resources:
http://www.blachford.info/computer/Cells/Cell0.html http://www.apple.com/support/export/ http://www.elecdesign.com/Articles/Index.cfm?AD=1&ArticleID=9707