well, I guess it boils down to being speculation if PS3 will have something at this speed or not. Before I go to bed myself though, one thing I wanted to point out:
Intel may be faster again [clock-speed wise] when PS3 launches, but that doesn\'t mean it\'s better. Look at PS2 - when it launched, you were already able to get close to 1 GHz processors at the time, yet the EE is clocked at a modest 300 MHz. Still, one has to see that the chip, despite its low clock speed, has an incredible performance. 300 MHz @ 128 bit is quite remarkable - now imagine 5 GHz at 128 bit and you\'ll get something equal impressive. Who knows, maybe my first estimate is way off, but I strongly believe it won\'t be the "MHz" number that will be so relevant. I\'d be rather argueing over CPU design and what not - I think the clock speed is rather unimportant if you look at a chip and what other factors may be relevant.
Also last point is: MHz alone will not make a good system. The last thing I want Sony to see doing is making a system that is not well balanced. While processors themselves might be heading for a giant leap (like to 150 GHz clock speeds), I don\'t see all the other parts advancing that fast. In other words, Sony/Toshiba will surely be going with a balanced system, so it\'s a given that the CPU must be on par with the other units within the console. Who knows if memory, storage medium, harddrives, etc will be able to cope with that speed...
150 GHz is what will *might* be in 2 years. PS2 is too launch soon after (speculative: march 2005 in Japan). That means, dev kits must be out a few months in advance, so indeed it will be a close one. Also, you need to factor in mass production, costs to produce said chips above, testing etc... So while we don\'t know what technology will be available in 2+ years time, we do know that if the PS3 is to launch then, the system must be finalized a few months in advance to secure the launch date. Factoring in all the above mentioned points and I am even more sceptical we\'ll see a chip with that clock speed. Dunno, maybe 10 GHz or so.. but not 15 times more... :nut: