PlayStation 3 chip nears completion

Cell, a radical new processor designed by IBM, Sony, and Toshiba, could enter production in 2004.

Collaborating engineers from IBM, Sony, and Toshiba have wrapped up the design for the inner workings of a mysterious new chip called "Cell." The new multimedia processor, touted as a "supercomputer on a chip," is well on its way to completion, IBM says. The chip could end up inside the PlayStation 3, and elements of its design will be seen in future server chips from IBM.

Cell has nearly "taped out"--an industry term meaning that the chip's pen-and-paper design and layout have been completed. Soon the design will be handed over to engineers in manufacturing, who will craft samples. Meanwhile, engineers have been testing various subelements of the processor, both separately and together, before the manufacturing unit connects them inside actual Cell chips. At this rate, commercial production of Cell could begin as soon as the end of 2004.

While details remain vague, Cell will differ from existing microprocessors in that it will have multiple personalities. The chip will not only perform the heavy computational tasks required for graphics, but it also will contain circuitry to handle high-bandwidth communication and run multiple devices, sources say. This multifaceted approach is possible because a single chip will contain multiple processing cores (hence the name "Cell"). Communications features expected to be in the chips will also allow devices to form powerful, peer-to-peer-like networks, some analysts believe.

While the processor's design is still under wraps, the companies say Cell's capabilities will allow it to deliver 1 trillion calculations per second (teraflop) or more of floating-point calculations. It will have the ability to do north of 1 trillion mathematical calculations per second, roughly 100 times more than a single Pentium 4 chip running at 2.5GHz.

Cell will likely use between four and 16 general-purpose processor cores per chip. A game console might use a chip with 16 cores, while a less complicated device like a set-top box would have a processor with fewer, said Peter Glaskowsky, editor in chief of influential industry newsletter Microprocessor Report. Some of these cores might perform computational functions, while others could control audio or graphics. But not everyone thinks this approach is groundbreaking, given that some processors already use inter-chip multiprocessing. "I just don't see that Cell is revolutionary, except in its marketing impact," Glaskowsky said.

While Cell's hardware design might be difficult, it's creating software for the chip that will be the trickiest part of establishing it in the market. "It's going to take an enormous amount of software development," said Richard Doherty, analyst with Envisioneering. "We believe the chip architecture is going to be on time and ahead of the software wizardry that is going to really make it get up and dance."

Furthermore, creating an operating system and set of applications that can take advantage of the Cell's multiprocessing and peer-to-peer computing capabilities will be the key to determining if Cell will be successful, he said.

Knowing this, the three chip partners have so far set a goal of crafting Cell as a system, creating an operating system and application software alongside the Cell hardware. Cell's designers are engineering the chip to work with a wide range of operating systems, including Linux.

But the chip triumvirate is also developing a purpose-built Cell operating system and applications, which Cell's developers will use to test the chip's various features, such as its multimedia-processing capabilities. They are also likely to form the basis of a Cell software development kit and also the Cell OS and applications for end devices, such as game systems, sources said.

While much of the work on Cell is complete, there's still a lot left to do. Together, the hardware and software teams will continue testing the chip's inner workings. The last stage of development work, which still lies ahead, includes completing circuit layout and then eventually testing actual sample chips.

IBM is expected to begin manufacturing Cell as soon as 2004 or possibly early 2005. But Jim Kahle, director of broadband processor technology and a research Fellow at IBM, confirmed only that the Cell project is on track to meet its 2005 release schedule, which was set forth at its initial announcement. The rest of the chip's schedule is a secret, at least for now, he said.

By John G. Spooner, News.com

[PS3 Prehype] I heard that this chip will have more power than 6 supernova suns [/PS3 Prehype]

I remember all the hype about "Emotion" too: It'll cure cancer! It'll clean up after your dog! It'll talk to your wife about her day so you don't have to!

hot hot hot!

[ahnoold] Cell becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th... in a panic, they try to pull the plug [/ahnoold]

Now I hope they don't forget to engineer a state of the art heatsink so this thing won't break down after 1/2 hour of continuous use.

But are the games any good?

Here's an early prototype of what the console will look like





Gotta love the Sony Hype Machine!

For those of you who didn't read the article, this would be IBM hyping the chip, not Sony. Infact, the only mention of Sony and the PS3 would be at the beginning of the article when it is mentioned that Sony is part of the team. The rest of the article is IBM talking about what it will do and what not.

So chill the **** out with the "Sony Hype Machine" and try reading the article before you comment.

Read it closer...

Example:

Have you ever worked in the business world? What am I saying, of course you haven't. Of course it says "companies" because it is a partnership, and a representative from either of the three companies would represent the partnership. It just so happens that the guy they quoted is from IBM (who represents the companies, btw). I know this may be a shock that one person could represent three whole companies, but I assure you it can be done, and was done here.

I haven't seen this much over-reaction to a thread since somebody suggested that From Justin to Kelly might bomb.

Oh God no.. but peple won't care cause they won't be playing as this dinky little blonde kid with a sword.

I think I will quote the great words of Keanu Reeves for my reaction to this..."WHOA!"

There is no way this chip is ever gonna taste better than Cool Ranch Doritos.

joshd2012 ,

Do you work work for Sony?
Own stock in them?

No. I just hate all the crap that Sony gets in this forum. Sony is always one big hate target. If a single unkind word is said about Microsoft, you get banned for life. I am just requesting that people interpret the article for what it is and not what they want it to be.

LMAO, I think that needs to be in quotations with credit given to menaz

If Nintendo gets his hands on it, I'm sure people will be.

Hey, I'm a big Sony guy, but I remember all the Emotion Engine garbage we were fed in the year prior to launch. It could render Toy Story in real time. It should be banned from China since the technology was so advanced, etc. etc. Somehow I doubt that right now there's a bunch of guys in a North Korean weapons lab meticulously studying the innards of a PS2.

The biggest hurdle in my mind is how difficult it will be for programmers to write for it. It sounds pretty tough. And if the PS3 will be one of the first things to use it, it could be risky, as they might have several delays, which no console can afford for the next debut.

Correction, no console besides the PS3 can afford for the next debut. Sony can take as long as they want because both Microsoft and Nintendo have already gone on record as saying their next consoles will appear very close to the launch of the PS3. If Sony doesn't get their console out until 2006, you can bet that Nintendo and Microsoft will not either.

I disagree. If Nintendo or Microsoft could get a year jump start on the PS3 they will. I doubt this cell chip will really end up in the PS3 though.

Nintendo and Microsoft will not take a year jump for one reason: DreamCast. The DC was an excellent system which was killed by Sony Hype (mostly from owners). The Sony fanbase is now larger and you can bet that hype will prevent any console released before it from being sucessful. Nintendo's and Microsoft's only chance is to release a console at the same time and make consumers choose. That is why you saw Xbox and GC sales so similar for the first few critical months.

As for the Cell being in the PS3, that has already been confirmed. The Cell will be in the PS3.