CellBlogNews

Five minutes with: Dan Greenberg on plans for Cell

2005-09-11T02:32:00.000+02:00

New interview at IBM developerWorks:

dW: Does the Cell Broadband Processor Architecture differ from the existing Power Architecture technology?

DG: The central processor in the Cell Broadband Engine is 100% 64-bit "Power Architecture Classic" compatible. For example, that means you can take software that runs on a PowerPC® 970 and run it on the Power Architecture core of Cell Broadband Engine and vice versa -- assuming of course, that the code does not leverage Cell's Synergistic Processing Units. This cross-leverage will allow us to build an ecosystem for Cell much faster than we might otherwise and, we expect, will increase interest in the Power Architecture ecosystem due to the broad awareness of Cell.

IBM lead architect: Cell CPU could take PS3 beyond gaming, into Linux

2005-08-31T21:42:00.000+02:00

New story at Tom's Hardware Guide:

More than just co-processors, Dr. Hofstee said, the SPEs are fully-capable processing units that are capable not only of running threads spawned off from a main program, but also running "single-core," scalar programs in their entirety - not only multithreading, but multitasking.
But also, in making that distinction, Dr. Hofstee wanted to make certain we recognized the Cell as a powerful general-purpose processor.

Cell Broadband Engine @ SCEI

2005-08-27T13:13:00.000+02:00

New official page of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. on Cell:

By opening up a wide set of technical specifications to software developers, business partners, academic and research organizations, and potential customers, SCEI, Sony, Toshiba and IBM continue their work to aggressively stimulate the creation of Cell-based applications. The goal: establish a thriving community of interest and innovation around Cell, allowing all interested parties to rapidly evaluate and utilize Cell technology.

Cell Broadband Engine Architecture from 20,000 feet

2005-08-25T21:55:00.000+02:00

New article at IBM developerWorks:

The Cell Broadband Engine Architecture (CBEA, or, informally, "Cell") defines a new processor structure based upon the 64-bit Power Architecture™ technology, but with unique features directed toward distributed processing and media-rich applications. The Cell architecture defines a single-chip multiprocessor consisting of one or more Power Processor Elements (PPEs) and multiple high-performance SIMD Synergistic Processor Elements (SPEs). While each SPE is an independent processor running its own application programs, a shared, coherent memory and a rich set of DMA commands provide for seamless and efficient communications between all Cell processing elements. This article provides a concise view inside the Cell's architecture.

Cell companion chip gets hot demo

2005-08-16T12:36:00.000+02:00

News at ZDNet:

Toshiba showed off a "super companion chip," or SCC, for the Cell that can record 48 separate MPEG 2 streams at once.

The chip, detailed at the Hot Chips conference taking place at Stanford University this week, is part of an effort by developers of the SCC and the Cell--IBM, Toshiba and Sony--to get the Cell into as many types of devices as possible.

The SCC is essentially a versatile, high-speed input-output port, according to Takayuki Mihara, an engineer with Toshiba. It receives regular and high-definition TV signals, audio and other data from set-top boxes, hard drives and similar items, and then forwards it to the processor.

Cell Microprocessor: An In-Depth Look at the Future

2005-08-08T11:08:00.000+02:00

New article at CoolTechZone:

Nothing has created more media hype and anticipation than the next generation of gaming consoles from Microsoft (Xbox 360) and Sony (PlayStation 3). At the recently concluded E3 tradeshow, both of these devices were showcased to the audience and amazing promises were made to potential buyers.

Unlike most times however, this time there were solid facts behind the marketing hoopla and it seems both Sony and Microsoft have what it takes to truly bring powerful gaming consoles. The advancements in the hardware inside these consoles are nothing short of path breaking. We take a look below the bonnet and check out what makes these consoles tick.

PS3 to revolutionize personal computing, Sony says

2005-08-03T01:04:00.000+02:00

News at LinuxDevices.com

Kutaragi says the Cell processor's separation and partitioning of each OS level will permit programmers to concentrate on their targeted areas of concern, without worrying about other levels, according to the EETimes Asia.

Signs Licensing Deal With Ageia Over Physics Library

2005-07-24T12:31:00.000+02:00

News at Softpedia:

The AGEIA PhysX SDK is the leading next-generation solution for creating compelling in-game physics and has been widely adopted by various game engines, such as the Unreal Engine 3 by Epic Games. Its multi-threaded capability makes the AGEIA PhysX SDK ideally equipped to leverage the power of the Cell processor.

Cell Architecture Explained Version 2

2005-07-23T14:57:00.000+02:00

New article by Nicholas Blachford:

6 months ago I wrote an article describing this new processor based on the original Cell processor patent application from 2002. Since that original document was written the Cell design evolved considerably in both hardware and software. The Cell was revealed at ISSCC in February 2005 and since then a great deal of information has been revealed about the final architecture in various articles, papers and interviews.

This new version has been almost completely rewritten to cover the Cell as it is today. New sections have also been added to cover Cell software development and the reasons behind the choice of a relatively simple architecture.

Kutaragi Speaks Out on SCE's Cell Processor Plans

2005-07-19T21:38:00.000+02:00

News from Gamasutra:

Kutaragi also gave an explanation of the Cell's strengths as a processor for laymen: " The model image for the Cell-based network may be the Internet: Servers around the world form one virtual 'computer,' and each PC accesses it." High security measures are built into the processor to prevent malicious code from infecting connected clusters of Cell-based machines; to prevent direct access to the processor itself, said the executive, "Application programs can no longer directly access the hardware; instead they will have to be written in high-level, object-oriented language."

Spufs: The Cell Synergistic Processing Unit as a virtual file system

2005-06-28T13:02:00.000+02:00

New doc at IBM DeveloperWorks:

Base platform support for Linux on the Cell has been established and is currently on its way into the mainstream Linux kernel tree. Read about the Cell's unique architecture and the SPU file system interface that allows Linux to run on it.

Cell Linux port aims for mainstream kernel tree

2005-06-28T12:59:00.000+02:00

News from LinuxDevices.com:

IBM, Sony, and Toshiba have jointly ported Linux to the Cell processor, and hope to merge their patches into the next major Linux kernel release, 2.6.13. The port includes a 64-bit PowerPC Linux kernel, and a filesystem enabling the kernel to exploit the chip's multiple independent vector processing units.

New Use for IBM’s Cell

2005-06-28T12:58:00.000+02:00

News from Red Herring:

Mercury Computer, a public company based in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, plans to create Cell-based designs for defense and medical device products like radar, sonar, MRI, and X-ray. The company’s customers include Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, GE Medical Systems, and Siemens Medical Systems.

PS3's Potential Still Not Finalized

2005-06-25T11:09:00.000+02:00

New story at Neoseeker:

"ITmedia revealed that the Cell chip used in Sony's PS3 developer's kit is running at only 2.4GHz, just 75 percent of the machine's final spec of 3.2GHz. The report also reconfirms that the graphics processor unit used in the E3 machine was not the RSX chip that will be used in the final product but is another Nvidia GPU, possibly the just-announced GeForce 7800 GTX."

A Tech Trio's Hard Cell

2005-06-24T12:32:00.000+02:00

News at BusinessWeek online:

IBM, Sony, and Toshiba hope designers will master new skills to tap the full potential of their jointly developed chip. History says that's a big "if".

Jobs's game plan has everyone guessing

2005-06-13T12:59:00.000+02:00

New article at International Herald Tribune - Technology:

As it happens, Intel's was not the only alternative chip design that Apple had explored for the Mac. An executive close to Sony said that last year Jobs had meetings in California with Nobuyuki Idei, then Sony's chairman and chief executive, and Kenichi Kutaragi, the creator of the PlayStation.
Kutaragi tried to interest Jobs in adopting the Cell microprocessor, which is being developed by IBM for use in the coming PlayStation 3, in exchange for access to certain Sony technologies. Jobs rejected the idea, telling Kutaragi that he was disappointed with the Cell design, which he believed would be even less effective than the Power PC.

Playstation 3 hard disk to run Linux

2005-06-11T12:54:00.000+02:00

News at The Inquirer:

"We're positioning the PS3 as a supercomputer", he says, "But people won't recognize it as a computer unless we call it a computer, so we're going to run an OS on it. In fact, the Cell can run multiple OSes. In order to run the OSes, we need a hard disk. So in order to declare that the PS3 is a computer, I think we'll have [the hard disk] preinstalled with Linux as a bonus.
Kutaragi said the PS3 will run operating systems as applications. "The kernel will be running on the Cell, and multiple OSes will be running on top of that as applications. Of course, the PS3 can run Linux. If Linux can run, so can Lindows. Other PC Operating Systems can run too, such as Windows and (Mac OS) Tiger, if the publishers want to do so. Maybe a new OS might come out," he adds.

IBM sells new chip design

2005-06-09T20:20:00.000+02:00

News at Australian IT:

IBM will expose intimate details of its eight-core Cell microprocessor to the open source development community to try and simulate interest in producing new, Cell-based computer designs.

IBM will open architecture of 'Cell' chip to developers

2005-06-08T12:33:00.000+02:00

News at The Arizona Republic:

IBM Corp. is planning to reveal key details of its highly anticipated "Cell" microprocessors today as part of the company's effort to support open-source computing designs.
The specifications were due to be released in Barcelona, Spain, to encourage a deep pool of developers to create applications that can work with Cell when it is released next year.

The Cell Processor Programming Model

2005-06-07T12:49:00.000+02:00

A presentation about Cell on Linux from LinuxTag 2005:

Only the kernel is able to directly communicate with an SPU and therefore needs to abstract the hardware interface into system calls or device drivers. The most important functions of the user interface including loading a program binary into an SPU, transferring memory between an SPU program and a Linux user space application and synchronizing the execution. Other challenges are the integration of SPU program execution into existing tools like gdb or oprofile.

The CELL project at IBM Research

2005-06-05T11:43:00.000+02:00

New project published at IBM Research's site:

The CELL Architecture grew from a challenge posed by Sony and Toshiba to provide power-efficient and cost-effective high-performance processing for a wide range of applications, including the most demanding consumer appliance: game consoles. CELL - also known as the Broadband Processor Architecture (BPA) - is an innovative solution whose design was based on the analysis of a broad range of workloads in areas such as cryptography, graphics transform and lighting, physics, fast-Fourier transforms (FFT), matrix operations, and scientific workloads. As an example of innovation that ensures the clients' success, a team from IBM Research joined people from IBM Systems Technology Group, Sony and Toshiba, to lead the development of a novel architecture that represents a breakthrough in performance for consumer applications. IBM Research participated throughout the entire development of the architecture, its implementation and its software enablement, ensuring the timely and efficient application of novel ideas and technology into a product that solves real challenges.

IBM Discloses Cell Based Blade Server Board Prototype

2005-05-27T12:41:00.000+02:00

News at Tech-On!:

The prototype, called the Cell Processor Based Blade Server, measured approximately 23 x 43 cm. Each board featured two Cell processors, two 512 Mb XDR DRAM chips and two South Bridge LSIs. The Cell processors were demonstrated running at 2.4-2.8 GHz. "We are driving the Cell processors at higher rates in the laboratory," said the engineer. "If operated at 3 GHz, Cell's theoretical performance reaches about 200 GFLOPS, which works out to about 400 GFLOPS per board," he added. IBM plans to release a rack product capable of storing seven of these boards.

PS3: The Entertainment Computer

2005-05-26T13:58:00.000+02:00

News at IGN.com:

PS3 is, according to Kutaragi, a "computer for the purpose of entertainment." Kutaragi reveals that he's managed Sony Computer Entertainment under the idea of bringing computing power to entertainment. Brushing off the notion of the "Media Center PC," Kutaragi states, "The PS3 is a computer made in order to realize entertainment. Entertainment is not just games, but has many different elements, and the PS3 offers functionality for all of these."

IBM will unlock door to Cell

2005-05-24T23:40:00.000+02:00

News at EETimes.com:

The three developers of the Cell processor are preparing to release full chip specifications and software libraries in an effort to rally the open-source community around the device that powers the Sony Playstation 3. With the outlook for the multicore chip's use beyond Sony's internal systems cloudy at best, the partners are hoping to spark its uptake in applications ranging from HDTVs to supercomputers.

IBM Processors at Core of Xbox and Playstation 3

2005-05-22T12:49:00.000+02:00

News at Sci-Tech Today:

IBM has developed a revolutionary "Cell" processor in a joint venture with Sony and Toshiba. It has nine "brains," seven more than the dual-core processors being released by Intel and AMD, and will be featured in the PlayStation 3.

Q&A: Epic Games' Mark Rein talks next-gen

2005-05-21T12:09:00.000+02:00

New article at GameSpot:

Mark Rein: We haven't really delved into the Cell all that deeply yet. All we've done is mostly take advantage of just the normal PowerPC core and the RSX graphics, so we really look forward to getting home and tackling all kinds of cool stuff on the Cell. Ultimately, Cell is like a super-MMX processor, and as you know, Unreal was Intel's poster child for MMX many years ago. We're going to be able to do a lot of cool stuff on it. Especially great physics--the NovodeX guys are going to get their API put on it.

E3: SCEE's Phil Harrison talks PlayStation 3

2005-05-20T13:12:00.000+02:00

New interview at GamesIndustry.biz:

Q: It's not just the RSX that drives the graphical quality, then - the Cell can also really be used to improve the graphics.

A: Well, I'll give you a couple of other examples. The terrain rendering demo that was done by STI, which is the people who developed the Cell, doesn't use the graphics chip at all. That 3D landscape was generated in real-time from two input data sources and a software renderer running on the Cell created the final image. All that it does is output as a bitmap straight to the video hardware - it doesn't even create a single polygon, there's no concept of a polygon in that demo.

IBM plant will make game chip

2005-05-19T12:35:00.000+02:00

News at Poughkeepsie Journal:

It's official. What has been one of the microchip industry's least-kept secrets was confirmed Monday in Los Angeles by Sony: IBM will make the next-generation PlayStation microprocessor.
Work will be done at IBM's expanding 300-millimeter chip plant here.

E3 2005: NVIDIA Officially PS3 GPU Provider

2005-05-17T12:49:00.000+02:00

News at IGN.com:

Earlier this afternoon at the SCEE press conference, Mr. Huang offered several demonstrations of the graphic breakthroughs that will become available to current and future end-users of the PlayStation 3 hardware. The presentation offered a variety of real-time demos created by NVIDIA as well as a new demo developed by Epic Games. Each demo offered attendees their first glimpse of the visual excellence, compelling and believe characters, and experience beyond what was previously thought possible. In short, the PlayStation 3 will look absolutely remarkable.

Let the Battle Begin

2005-05-16T13:01:00.000+02:00

News at Time Magazine:

Like Microsoft, Sony—whose next-generation PlayStation might not hit store shelves until next spring—hopes its machine will become a home-entertainment hub. Sony is banking on the muscle of the PlayStation's new Cell processor, which the company has called "a supercomputer on a chip" with 10 times the power of the latest PC processors. The new console may employ Sony's new high-density "Blu-ray" DVDs, allowing for longer and more cinematic games. But Sony's online strategy remains unclear.

Sony Empire Strikes Back ... Playstation 3 in 2005 with iTunes features

2005-05-14T12:35:00.000+02:00

News at Gamer Lounge:

RUMOR: Sony and Apple working together on PlayStation 3

OFFICIAL STATEMENT: "For the year end sales season, simultaneously building up both the PlayStation Portable system in America and Europe as well as the next generation PlayStation is one option that we have." Stated Sony Chief Financial Officer Takao Yuhara.

In Battle of Consoles, Different Game Plans

2005-05-14T12:34:00.000+02:00

News at latimes.com:

"The chip is wired to play with other devices that also have the Cell processor in it," said Rick Doherty, an analyst at Envisioneering Group. "Because it has eight processors in each chip, the Cell has enough spare hands to be able to do three-dimensional rendering, true high-definition television, multichannel sound, and be able to talk to other devices in the household without having to slow down."

The new PlayStation is expected to have as many as four Cell processors, each potentially running at 4 gigahertz. In addition, it will be able to play so-called Blu-ray DVDs, next-generation discs capable of storing five times as much data as regular DVD discs. Several movie studios, including Walt Disney Co. and Sony Pictures, have said they will release high-definition movies on Blu-ray discs.

Bumpy road ahead for IBM

2005-05-12T12:33:00.000+02:00

News at eChannelLine Canada:

IBM's investment in Cell processors and the concurrent joint investment with other large technology vendors is an example of how the company plans to reshape itself with investments in breakthrough technology combined with software and services.

Sony PS3 Three Times Faster Than Xbox 360?

2005-05-06T12:39:00.000+02:00

News at NForcers HQ:

Word from the geek is that the PS3’s CPU is about three times faster than the Xbox 360’s CPU. While this seems like a clear cut victory for Sony, it does little to end the constant debate about which system will be able to provide better games. The problem with Sony’s super-fast CPU is that not all of its power may actually be usable in games.

Analysts revise rating of Cell chip from "hypeware" to "Hey, would you look at that!"

2005-05-04T13:26:00.000+02:00

A new article at SiliconValley:

No microprocessor since Transmeta's Crusoe has inspired as much hype and bloviating as the IBM/Sony/Toshiba Cell. Though it's been in development for some four years now, very little is known about the Cell, aside from the grand pronouncements of its designers: 10X performance for many applications; supercomputer on a chip.

Toshiba Demonstrates Cell Microprocessor Simultaneously Decoding 48 MPEG-2 Streams

2005-05-02T19:41:00.000+02:00

News at Tech-On:

In the demonstration, Toshiba used an operating system environment it had developed to increase the efficiency of Cell software development. One of the environment's key features is that application software developers can program software without considering which threads will be allotted to each of the different SPEs, because the environment allows the automatically scheduling software to SPEs.

Can Sony Dominate with Cell?

2005-05-01T23:12:00.000+02:00

Article from NE Asia Online:

SCE has begun pushing the Cell microprocessor as its next strategy. If the firm's aim can be realized, the Sony Group could become a semiconductor major.

CELL pictured!

2005-04-29T22:02:00.000+02:00

At IBM Microelectronics Photo Catalog!

Cell processor ‘impressive’, but not an Intel killer

2005-04-28T12:41:00.000+02:00

New article at Ferret.com.au:

The goal of Cell developers was to create a new architecture that could process the next generation of broadband media and graphics with greater efficiency than the traditional approaches. These include ultradeep pipelines and the ganging of numerous complex and power-inefficient, out-of-order RISC or CISC cores, the research firm says.

The chip will be a major part of Sony’s Next Generation Game Console, and may have other applications, but is unlikely to encroach dramatically on Intel’s territory.

The next generation of gaming

2005-04-20T12:34:00.000+02:00

News at The Daily Evergreen:

The Playstation 3 has not released full system specs at this date, but Sony has confirmed the use of the new Cell processor, which should run at speeds above 4 GHz.
This new processor will be able to perform 10 processes at once, while previous processors can only handle two. The PlayStation 3 will be the first mass produced device using the Cell chip, allowing for a much faster and more powerful system.

Sony's Cell to Power Servers and HDTV in 2007

2005-04-14T13:41:00.000+02:00

New story at Neoseeker News:

"Right now, using the Cell processor in our HDTV products would be overkill," he said. The media processor's multi-core structure will shine in a future home server where multiple streams of HD video programs need to be simultaneously transmitted in real time to multiple displays, Nishida explained.

IBM Discovers The Power Of One

2005-04-11T12:46:00.000+02:00

News at BusinessWeek online:

Servers and supercomputers are familiar turf for IBM, but if it can hit a home run with Cell, it could vault into the lead in a promising new market. While the chip was originally conceived for PlayStation 3, due out in 2006, Cell is now aimed at a swarm of consumer devices -- from high-definition TVs to mobile gaming gadgets. The Power technology is well suited to these applications because it's cool-running and, in the Cell design, capable of handling a deluge of demands -- rich graphics, video processing, and real-time communications. If all of these efforts deliver as IBM hopes, the Power processor will finally live up to its name.

Sony gets the E3 jump on Microsoft

2005-04-10T03:14:00.000+02:00

New story at Ferrago:

Sony have announced that the Playstation 3 will now be the first of the next-gen consoles to be revealed to the world. After Microsoft announced that their pre-E3 conference schedule, it was only a matter of time before Sony announced that their own event would kick off just before their competitor's. Sony plans to reveal the PS3 to the assembled press at 15.00 on May the 16th, a scant three hours before Microsoft goes before the world with the first unveiling of the Xbox 2.

Workshops for multi-core Cell processor

2005-04-06T12:58:00.000+02:00

News at ElectronicsWeekly:

The customer can buy a Cell chip and put it on a motherboard, or ask IBM for more help in designing the chip into a system.
IBM has no plans to license the core, which some see as a mistake in a market favouring open systems such as MIPS and ARM.
The other co-developers of Cell, Toshiba and Sony, are keeping quiet about their plans for the chip.

Rambus pushes threading technology for DRAM

2005-04-05T12:36:00.000+02:00

News at PC World:

In order to take advantage of the microthreading architecture, both the graphics chip and memory chips within a system must be tweaked to support this technology, Hampel said. However, the architecture is compatible with existing graphics hardware and software, he said.

Memory chips with this technology could be used in the Playstation 3 gaming console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment, Peddie said. Rambus has already acknowledged its participation in developing memory interfaces for the Cell processor, a joint project of Sony, IBM, and Toshiba, which is expected to be used in the Playstation console.

Cell - IBM Microelectronics

2005-04-03T12:53:00.000+02:00

A new series of tech documents about Cell from IBM:

The first-generation Cell processor is a multicore chip comprised of a 64-bit Power processor core and eight synergistic processor cores, capable of massive floating point processing, optimized for compute-intensive workloads and broadband rich media applications. A high-speed memory controller and high-bandwith bus interface are also integrated on-chip. Cell's breakthrough multi-core architecture and ultra high-speed communications capabilities deliver vastly improved, real-time response, in many cases 10 times the performance of the latest PC processors. Cell is OS neutral and supports multiple operating systems simultaneously.

Transmeta to provide LongRun2 for Sony's Cell processor

2005-04-01T13:04:00.000+02:00

News at Tom's Hardware Guide:

Transmeta presently has three licensees for its LongRun2 technology - NEC, Fujitsu and Sony. The latter two already have paid their fees to Transmeta. Swift also announced that Sony will fund more than 100 Transmeta engineers or about 50 percent of the firm's workforce. According to Swift, Sony will integrate LongRun2 into "derivatives" of the upcoming Cell processor that will make its debut in the PlayStation 3.

IBM Offers Design Services for Cell

2005-03-31T12:50:00.000+02:00

News from ElectronicNews:

“IBM’s new design services could have significant impact on expanding the number of applications that leverage Cell’s unique capabilities,” said Pat Toole, general manager of IBM Engineering & Technology Services (E&TS), in a statement.
IBM E&TS clients using these services will be able to access a Cell software simulation environment through IBM’s Deep Computing Capacity on Demand center in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

IBM Sees Cell Chip for Industry, Not Just Gamers

2005-03-31T12:47:00.000+02:00

News at Reuters:

"It's a little early to tell how Cell will fare. The proof will be in what applications it attracts," said Zeiber, a semiconductor market analyst since 1971 in Silicon Valley.
"There is a boneyard out there of new processors that have never made it," he said.
"But Cell comes with a huge built-in advantage, which is its ties to Sony," Zeiber said. "The game market can give Cell instant volume. You get over the price, performance and manufacturing trade-off that condemns many chips," he said.

IBM offers design services for Cell integration

2005-03-31T12:46:00.000+02:00

News at EE Times:

SAN FRANCISCO — IBM Corp. will offer new design services to help companies integrate Cell microprocessor technology into electronics products, the company said Wednesday (March 30).
IBM said it will target products that rely heavily on imaging, such as aerospace, defense, industrial and medical applications.

Super chip coming our way

2005-03-29T12:40:00.000+02:00

News at Australian IT:

THE Victorian Partnership for Advanced Computing will be the first local user of the Cell microprocessor, dubbed a supercomputer on a chip, under an agreement with IBM.
VPAC, a not-for-profit research consortium involving seven Victorian universities, will evaluate the high-performance computing power of Cell as part of the deal.
"It is a collaborative agreement because we will be doing some development and trying to validate the early Cell system with IBM," VPAC chief executive Bill Appelbe said.

Many Processors in One

2005-03-24T13:23:00.000+01:00

News at PC Magazine:

The new CPU, which the companies claim can offer up to ten times the performance of Intel and AMD chips, has a pushpin-size 90-nanometer design. It uses 234 million transistors and can run at speeds of over 4 GHz.
"It could be the fastest mainstream processor available when they introduce it next year," says Microprocessor Report editor-in-chief Kevin Krewell.

Kutaragi: Still With Sony

2005-03-22T17:38:00.000+01:00

News at IGN.com:

As Kutaragi reveals, he has a number of responsibilities and dreams specifically regarding the Cell processor co-developed with IBM and Toshiba. He comments that his first goal is to place Cell in a game machine -- the PlayStation 3. Following this, he has hopes of placing the chip in televisions, and then home servers.

UK studios already working with PlayStation 3 dev kits

2005-03-22T17:31:00.000+01:00

New article at GamesIndustry.biz:

Details of what exactly is present in the next-generation PlayStation dev kits are sparse, but according to one development source, "they're more advanced than the PowerMac kits [Microsoft] has given us [for Xenon] - they're still prototypes, but they're closer to what'll be in the final console... The graphics chip isn't there, say, but we can get a pretty good idea by taking an NVIDIA 6800 and saying, okay, it'll be like this but faster."

CELL Microprocessor Revisited

2005-03-20T01:25:00.000+01:00

In-depth article at Real World Technologies:

The purpose of these articles on the CELL processor is to provide information to interested parties with the necessary knowledge base to independently comprehend and evaluate the subtleties of CELL's design philosophy, not to promote or denigrate the CELL processor. This writer's interest in the CELL processor is purely academic. That is, the CELL processor is interesting because it is different, not because the architecture is particularly new or novel. The architectural concepts contained in the CELL processor are hardly new, nor is the basic idea of shifting the burden of computing from hardware to software a newly discovered concept. As a result, the previous article attempted to balance the descriptions of the hardware capabilities of the CELL processor with sentiments that pointed out the non-trivial issue of CELL's unconventional programming model.

Understanding the Cell Microprocessor

2005-03-19T12:43:00.000+01:00

New article at AnandTech:

A joint venture between IBM, Sony and Toshiba, the Cell microprocessor is the heart and soul of Sony’s upcoming Playstation 3. However, this time around, Sony and Toshiba are planning to use Cell (or parts of it) in everything from consumer electronics to servers and workstations. If you don’t already have the impression, publicly, Cell has been given some very high aspirations as a microprocessor, especially a non-x86 microprocessor.

Key open-source programming tool due for overhaul

2005-03-15T01:22:00.000+01:00

A news from CNET News.com:

One optimization that likely will be introduced in GCC 4.1 is called autovectorization, said Richard Henderson, a Red Hat employee and GCC core programmer. That feature economizes processor operations by finding areas in software in which a single instruction can be applied to multiple data elements--something handy for everything from video games to supercomputing.

Sony unveils next generation PlayStation

2005-03-13T12:39:00.000+01:00

News at Centre Daily Times:

As for gaming, Hirai said he's excited about new opportunities for online games where people could gather in local PSP networks as well as though Wi-Fi hotspots.
Gamers playing wirelessly on their PSP could even compete against people who are on their PS2 or Sony's next-generation PlayStation, which will use powerful Cell processors developed by Sony and IBM Corp.
The new console isn't expected until 2006.

Powerful Cell processor the key to Apple's future Macs?

2005-03-10T12:50:00.000+01:00

News at MacDailyNews:

There are some drawbacks, of course, if Apple adopts the Cell, Knight explains, "The Cell processor is a member of the PowerPC family, and although IBM claims it can run programs written for the PowerPC, that doesn't mean they'll run the same way. While the Cell is very powerful and very efficient, there are differences that will have to be taken into account when optimizing software for the new processor... The Cell needs very, very, very fast memory, and the two architectures supported run at 3.2 GHz (XDR) and 6.4 GHz (FlexIO). That's probably going to mean very expensive memory."

PlayStation 3 to be easy on developers, Sony vows

2005-03-10T12:49:00.000+01:00

News at CNET News:

"The Cell is a complicated piece of machinery," said Mark DeLoura, manager of developer relations for SCEA. "What we can to do to make it easy for you, we'll do...We don't want to make you learn a new API (application programming interface) every time we come out with a new chip."

Sony Talks PS3 Cell at GDC

2005-03-10T12:46:00.000+01:00

News at FileFront:

Additionally, the Cell will support Collada XML for PS3’s art assets interchange, and the OpenGL ES applications programming interface for 3-D graphics. A partnership with NVIDIA will see the graphics card maker begin producing PS3 GPU by the end of 2005.

Kutaragi's ouster won't affect Cell chip development

2005-03-09T12:42:00.000+01:00

News at GameSpot:

TOKYO--While Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi will soon step down from Sony's board of directors, research and development on the Cell processor will continue. Executives at Sony disclosed to the press that work on the Cell, which will power the PlayStation 3, still remains one of the corporation's top priorities.

Future "Cell" Power Processors Can Run OS/400

2005-03-09T12:38:00.000+01:00

New article at IT Jungle - The Four Hundred:

A few weeks ago, IBM and its partners, electronics makers Sony and Toshiba, announced some of the details of its forthcoming "Cell" processor at the International Solid State Circuits Conference in San Francisco. The Cell chip is generating a lot of excitement for a lot of different reasons, but particularly because its architecture embodies the ideals of cyberpunk novels from two decades ago. It also can support OS/400.

Will Big Blue open source the coming Cell chip?

2005-03-04T13:01:00.000+01:00

New article at IT Manager's Journal:

IBM, on the other hand, will "recruit an army of developers" during the first year of Cell production by supplying software development systems -- as many as 100,000 -- to major application developers and large companies, as Trounson told ITMJ.

"Then IBM will publish an open source hardware and BIOS reference design which was used to develop all the application software," he wrote. "IBM will then allow the market to just fight it out. All the existing motherboard manufacturers will produce Cell motherboards. Dell and HP, etc. will assemble systems and sell them through their existing network. If any of the big players hesitate or stumble, someone like me will be right there to take their place.

FAQ: The next video game consoles?

2005-03-03T18:29:00.000+01:00

A news from CNET News.com:

Sony--Sony is promising a brave new world of computing with the multicore Cell processor, a joint project with IBM and Toshiba.

The Cell will have nine independent processing units that can divide up complex computing tasks or loan processing power to other systems. The initial version of the chip--the one likely to run the PlayStation 3--will run faster than 4GHz, be capable of 256 billion calculations per second and have built-in security systems to prevent illegal copying of games and other content.

Cell chips at rivals

2005-03-02T12:46:00.000+01:00

Net article at Herald Sun:

"It's very flexible," says Jim Kahle, IBM's director of cell technology.
"We support many operating systems with our virtualisation technology so we can run multiple operating systems at the same time, doing different jobs on the system."

Design View: SoC Engineer Scrutinizes Large-Scale Development

2005-03-01T12:42:00.000+01:00

New article at Nikkei Electronics Asia Online:

Saito revealed some of his experiences and lessons learned about managing large-scale chip development projects at the 8th Systems IC Workshop, held November 29 to December 1, 2004, at the Kitakyushu International Conference Center in Japan. His lecture discussed the Emotion Engine project, which involved about 100 engineers, and he mentioned that the knowledge gained from that is being utilized in the CELL development effort, a project with about 300 engineers.

Cell chip may be 'faster' -- but at exactly what?

2005-03-01T12:40:00.000+01:00

New analysis at IT Manager's Journal:

PCs are designed for random access performance. It is assumed that the next request will not necessarily be adjacent to the previous request. The Cell appears to optimized for video (as evidenced by plans to use it in Sony's PS3 and some TVs), which is a sequential access application. So if a device is video-heavy in its use, then the Cell may be "better."

IBM throws weight behind multi-OS push

2005-02-25T12:52:00.000+01:00

News ZDNet:

IBM has released source code for its Research Hypervisor, or rHype, on its Web site, letting anyone examine the approach of a company renowned for its expertise in the field. One distinguishing feature: rHype works with multiple processor varieties, including IBM's Power family, widely used x86 chips such as Intel's Xeon, and the new Cell microprocessor codeveloped by IBM, Sony and Toshiba.

Chip off the old block for new era

2005-02-23T13:50:00.000+01:00

New article at The Age:

The Cell is not just a new type of chip, it needs a new type of software. For that reason it is not likely to be used in applications used by today's chips, at least in the short term. Sony will use it in the next-generation PlayStation and Toshiba will use it for the new breed of digital multimedia devices. The Cell's ability to perform multiple tasks simultaneously makes it eminently suitable for today's "digital convergence" environments.

Expect to hear a lot more about the Cell. It has already had more publicity than any chip since the first Pentium. It contains 1.72 billion transistors and has a clock speed of 4 GHz, and can carry up to 10 multiple instructions simultaneously - compared to two on Intel's new chip.

PS3 Powerhouse Hits Cellular Snag

2005-02-23T13:48:00.000+01:00

News at Kotaku:

Right now it looks like they are trying to really push the envelope with the PS3, jumping well beyond the four SPUs many predicted and trying to stuff six or eight of these sub-chips into the version of the Cell that will be in the PS3—just like the chip they showed off last month. Sadly, IBM, who is manufacturing the chips for Sony is having problems fabbing an eight-SPU version of the chip for the console.

A whole other group of people are feverishly working to finish the external design of the Playstation 3 in time for a super secret internal whoop-de-do being held in March.

Will your PS3 be a Supercomputer

2005-02-23T13:47:00.000+01:00

News at GrabaGeek:

As for Cell which is a joint venture between Sony, Toshiba and IBM, I am not sure of cooling requirements for these chips and if the speed of the chips would increase. Sony is talking about putting 4 of these chips in their PS3 due for release in 2006, classifying your gaming console as a supercomputer. Toshiba wants to put these chips in their high definition tv's and IBM has tested these with Linux. So far there have been no speed comparison's between Intel and Cell as such, but Cell has more power making it "faster".

Is There a Cell Processor in Apple's Future?

2005-02-23T13:44:00.000+01:00

New article at eWeek:

IBM and Apple declined to comment on Apple's possible use of the Cell, but IBM spokesman Glen Brandow emphasized the compatibility between the Cell and the PowerPC.

"User applications for PowerPC will run on the Power Processor Element on Cell," said Brandow. "The Power Architecture remains compliant with applications written for previous, 32-bit, PowerPC processors. The Linux operating system for Cell extends the work for Linux on Power that already exists."

How will Cell chip stack up against x86 computing?

2005-02-22T13:36:00.000+01:00

New article at IT Manager's Journal:

There is agreement that the architecture of the much-hyped Cell chip from IBM, Sony, and Toshiba will provide the high bandwidth and low heat required for some serious home media computing, particularly gaming and multimedia content that includes high-speed video. And while there is more uncertainty about the Cell chip -- set to power the next-generation Sony PlayStation3 -- beyond those applications in industrial and enterprise computing, it is worth noting that the processor may also supplant x86 architecture and further IBM's Power preference for Linux.

IBM declined to discuss its strategy with Cell, indicating that it is still too early to tell how or where it will be put to use by manufacturers or put to the neck of x86 chip technology from rivals Intel and AMD. Nevertheless, the company recently indicated, according to a source attending an IBM briefing at LinuxWorld, that nearly 40 percent of its revenue from Linux was from non x86 chips.

Cell break-out rings alarm at Intel

2005-02-22T13:34:00.000+01:00

Comment at vnunet.com:

Clearly, millions of words will be written about Cell - the new parallel processor chip design from the collective brains of IBM, Sony and Toshiba.

The words "pioneering parallel computing microprocessor", or something pretty close to that, will be used in many articles. But those same words were used some 25 years ago about the Transputer microprocessor from the small startup company Inmos, funded by the UK government.

Hard Cell: details of new chip unveiled

2005-02-21T12:55:00.000+01:00

Official news (well, from some days ago...) at the IBM website:

Billed as a "supercomputer on a chip," Cell features multi-core architecture and ultra high-speed communications capabilities. As a result, the chip will deliver superior responses in entertainment and media uses. In many cases, Cell delivers 10 times the performance of the latest PC processors.

The cell of a new machine

2005-02-18T23:48:00.000+01:00

Article at The Economic Times:

Since chunks of software are able to roam around looking for the best place to be processed, the performance of a Cell-based machine can be increased by adding more Cells, or by connecting several Cell-based machines together.

New chip puts Pentium's reign in jeopardy

2005-02-17T12:48:00.000+01:00

New article at New Scientist:

The supremacy of the Pentium is to be challenged by a revolutionary chip with massive processing power. But experts are divided over whether the Cell, which was launched last week, will be enough to end Intel's 20-year domination of the PC market. Some see the new chip as the future of personal computing: others say that the huge quantity of software designed to run on Intel's chips has made the company's position unassailable.

The Cell is a joint effort by IBM, Sony and Toshiba. Unlike the Pentium, it is a parallel-processing chip that contains no fewer than nine high-power microprocessors that communicate with each other using supercomputer-like links.

Once the design is perfected, says IBM, a single Cell chip will be capable of processing data at 256 billion floating point operations per second (256 gigaflops), which makes it roughly an order of magnitude faster than today's Pentium 4 chips.

Apple stock climbs on Sony partnership predictions

2005-02-17T12:47:00.000+01:00

News at Macworld UK:

Milunovich thinks that Apple could introduce products based on the IBM/Sony/Toshiba Cell processor, specifically "a high-performance Apple workstation using Cell for video editing".

He also speculated on potential Apple/Sony partnership including an iTunes-like iMovie Store online using the H.264 codec and streaming Sony and Pixar content, and a network-centric TV with computing for handling the next-generation of entertainment feeds.

PlayStation 3 set to make its debut ahead of E3

2005-02-13T20:27:00.000+01:00

News on Eurogamer.net:

Sony's next-generation home console will be revealed to the world before the E3 show in Los Angeles this May, representatives of the company have confirmed, with rumours strongly hinting at a late March unveiling.
In the wake of the official public debut of the Cell microprocessor which will power the console earlier this week, speculation has been rife about Sony's plans for revealing more precise details of the platform itself.

Sony/Toshiba/IBM's CELL Revealed

2005-02-12T02:09:00.000+01:00

Article at Ace's Hardware:

IBM, Sony, and Toshiba have presented details on their CELL processor at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference, revealing for the first time specific details as to the configuration of the chip's many cores and memory/IO interfaces. While it is an ambitious design for a game console, Sony is no stranger to parallel hardware. CELL can be thought of as a more general purpose, multi-threaded, and much faster successor to the Emotion Engine found in the Playstation 2.

Lighting Up the Cell

2005-02-12T01:59:00.000+01:00

Article at Electronic News:

IBM’s collaboration with Sony and Toshiba to create the Cell processor -- being billed as a supercomputer on a chip -- has resulted in an interesting technology. It even gets the gee-whiz award for the year.

ISSCC 2005: The CELL Microprocessor

2005-02-12T01:10:00.000+01:00

Article at Real World Technologies:

The CELL processor presents an intriguing alternative in its pursuit of performance. It seems to be a forgone conclusion that the CELL processor will be an enormously successful product, and that millions of CELL processors will be sold as the processors that power the next generation Sony Playstation. However, IBM has designed some features into the CELL processor that clearly reveals its ambition in seeking new applications for the CELL processor.

Introducing the IBM/Sony/Toshiba Cell Processor -- Part II: The Cell Architecture

2005-02-09T01:07:00.000+01:00

Article on ArsTechinica:

Part 2 of Hannibal's coverage of the new Cell processor from IBM, Sony, and Toshiba looks at its basic architecture.

Introducing the IBM/Sony/Toshiba Cell Processor — Part I: the SIMD processing units

2005-02-08T00:58:00.000+01:00

Article on ArsTechinica:

IBM, Sony, and Toshiba took the wraps off of their new Cell processor today, and our CPU Editor Hannibal was there to report on the unveiling and give a rundown on its inner workings.

Cell Architecture Explained: Introduction

2005-01-21T12:02:00.000+01:00

A piece by Nicholas Blachford based on the interpretation of the original 2002 patent application by Masakazu Suzuoki and Takeshi Yamazaki.

Designed for the PlayStation 3, Sony, Toshiba and IBM's new "Cell processor" promises seemingly obscene computing capabilities for what will rapidly become a very low price. In these articles I look at what the Cell architecture is, then I go on to look at the profound implications this new chip has, not for the games market, but for the entire computer industry. Has the PC finally met it's match?