Insane and Unbelievable Info On New CELL WorkStations (Must Look At This PDF)

[Evi]

http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/release/pdf/041129be.pdf

This is frocking insane.

I can\'t wait to hear the PS3 specs come February 2005. This is making me ancy like a little school girl waiting for summer break so I can go shopping at the mall with all my friends (don\'t ask)...

Had seen this over at beyond3d and to me it doesn\'t mean that much as far as we\'re concerned.  That figure is for a rack of cell processors, doesn\'t even mention how many makes a rack, and you\'ll only see that kind of performance in super computers.

We don\'t even know how many cell processors are gonna make it into the PS3 at this point.

[Evi]

I just realized it didn\'t specify how many are in the rack...how gay. I guess I\'ll just wait until February :rolleyes:

you\'ll only see that kind of performance in super computers.

That\'s essentially what the PS3 will be (the CELL aspect), a super computer on a chip.

My head hurts

[Evi]

Here\'s an article:

IBM, Sony Corporation, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (Sony Corporation and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. subsequently referred to as Sony Group) and Toshiba Corporation today unveiled, for the first time, some of the key concepts of the highly-anticipated advanced microprocessor, code-named Cell, they are jointly developing for next-generation computing applications and digital consumer electronics.

The four companies also announced that they would reveal technical details of Cell at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) to be held from February 6-10, 2005 in San Francisco.

Specifically, the companies confirmed that Cell is a multicore chip comprising a 64-bit Power processor core and multiple synergistic processor cores capable of massive floating point processing. Cell is optimized for compute-intensive workloads and broadband rich media applications, including computer entertainment, movies and other forms of digital content.

Other highlights of the Cell processor design include:

    * Multi-thread, multicore architecture.
    * Supports multiple operating systems.
    * Substantial bus bandwidth to/from main memory, as well as companion chips.
    * Flexible on-chip I/O (input/output) interface.
    * Real-time resource management system for real-time applications.
    * On-chip hardware in support of security system for intellectual property protection.
    * Implemented in 90 nanometer (nm) silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology.

Additionally, Cell uses custom circuit design to increase overall performance, while supporting precise processor clock control to enable power savings.

IBM, Sony Group and Toshiba will disclose more details about Cell in four technical papers scheduled for presentation at the International Solid State Circuits Conference.

"Less than four years ago, we embarked on an ambitious collaborative effort with Sony Group and Toshiba to create a highly-integrated microprocessor designed to overcome imminent transistor scaling, power and performance limitations in conventional technologies," said Dr. John E. Kelly III, senior vice president, IBM. "Today, we\'re revealing just a sampling of what we believe makes the innovative Cell processor a premiere open platform for next-generation computing and entertainment products."

"Massive and rich content, like multi-channel high-definition broadcast programs, as well as mega-pixel digital still and movie images captured by high-resolution CCD/CMOS imagers, require a huge amount of media processing in real-time. In the future, this digital content will fuse and converge on the broadband network, and start to explode," said Ken Kutaragi, executive deputy president and COO, Sony Corporation, and president and Group CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "To access and/or browse content freely in real-time, a more sophisticated graphical user interface (GUI) within the 3D world will become key in the future. The current PC architecture is nearing its limits, in both processing power and bus bandwidth, for handling such rich applications."

"The progressive breakdown of barriers between personal computers and digital consumer electronics requires dramatic enhancements in the capabilities and performance of consumer electronics. The Cell processor meets these requirements with a multi-processor architecture/design and a structure able to support high-level media processing. Development of this unsurpassed, high-performance processor is well under way, carried forward by dedicated teamwork and state-of-the-art expertise from Toshiba, Sony Group and IBM," said Mr. Masashi Muromachi, Corporate Vice President of Toshiba Corporation and President & CEO of Toshiba\'s Semiconductor Company. "Today\'s announcement shows the substantial progress that has been made in this joint program. Cell will substantially enhance the performance of broadband-empowered consumer applications, raise the user-friendliness of services realized through these applications, and facilitate the use of information-rich media and communications."

Cell provides a breakthrough solution by adopting a flexible parallel and distributed computing architecture consisting of independent floating point processors for rich media processing. Cell supports multiple operating systems, including PC/WS operating systems, as well as real-time CE/Game operating systems. In addition, the Cell processor is scalable and can be utilized in a variety of applications — from small digital CE systems within the home to entertainment applications for rendering movies, to scientific applications, such as supercomputers.

A team of engineers from IBM, Sony Group and Toshiba are collaborating on the design and implementation of Cell which is expected to deliver vast floating point capabilities, massive data bandwidth and scalable, supercomputer-like performance. The design work is taking place at a joint development lab the three companies established in Austin, Texas, after the project was announced in 2001.

IBM plans to begin pilot production of Cell microprocessors at its 300mm wafer fabrication facility in East Fishkill, NY during the first half of 2005. The first computing application IBM plans for Cell is the Cell processor-based workstation it is developing with SCEI.

Sony Corporation expects to launch home servers for broadband content as well as high-definition television (HDTV) systems powered by Cell in 2006.

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. also expects to launch its next generation computer entertainment system powered by Cell to revolutionize the experience of computer entertainment.

Toshiba Corporation envisions diverse applications for Cell and expects to launch its first Cell-based product, a high-definition television (HDTV), in 2006.

Full Article

That\'s from, IBM\'s official site. It\'s vague, but has quotes from Ken Kutaragi...

[Paul2]

your link said it can do 16 trillion floating points per second.  PS2 can do 48 billion floating points per second.  That means this "cell" is 333 times more powerful than ps2.

Again, just guessing.

[Evi]

None of that made ANY sense Paully. And that\'s PS3, not PS2. And the PS2 is 6.2 billion, so if that were the case, then it\'d be roughly 8 times more powerful.

Again...none of that made ANY sense

EDIT: Now that I\'ve read your post twice...it makes even less sense. What are you smoking?

uh... EviscerationX, that\'s trillion with a T vs billion with a B

[Evi]

uh... EviscerationX, that\'s trillion with a T vs billion with a B

Um...duh. I already know that. You obviously understand less than he does. Thanks for the useless comment.

[Paul2]

i made some typos.  But the number are still correct.

let me rephrase it.  this "cell" can do 16 teraflop of floating points.  teraflop equal trillions.  That mean 16 trillions of floating points per second.

While ps2 can only do 48 gigabits of floating points per second.  or 48 billion of floating points.

Can someone tell me if teraflop mean trillion of bits, or it\'s trillion of bytes?  I am not sure.

I\'ll bet my brains can do ALOT more !

[GmanJoe]

The only way to solve this argument is which geek can chuck his calculator the farthest. Yes, that means you have to leave yer basement and be outdoors. Um...you geeks DO remember how to throw stuff, right? I don\'t mean like a girl either.

your link said it can do 16 trillion floating points per second. PS2 can do 48 billion floating points per second. That means this "cell" is 333 times more powerful than ps2.

Again, just guessing.

let me rephrase it. this "cell" can do 16 teraflop of floating points. teraflop equal trillions. That mean 16 trillions of floating points per second.

While ps2 can only do 48 gigabits of floating points per second. or 48 billion of floating points.

Can someone tell me if teraflop mean trillion of bits, or it\'s trillion of bytes? I am not sure.

One cell can not do 16 teraflops per second, and yes that\'s trillions.  That figure is for a rack of cell processors.

^I can already see how the Sony hype train begins...

Originally posted by Ginko
I can already see how the Sony hype train begins...

PS3 WILL OWN3RZ TEH XBOX NEXT-BEST!111!11three!11

[GmanJoe]

Originally posted by Ginko
One cell can not do 16 teraflops per second, and yes that\'s trillions.  That figure is for a rack of cell processors.

^I can already see how the Sony hype train begins...

I\'ve already set up camp at the nearest store.

[Evi]

While ps2 can only do 48 gigabits of floating points per second. or 48 billion of floating points.

Dude, Paul...the PS2 can only do 6.2 GFLops...that\'s what I\'m trying to point out.

let me rephrase it. this "cell" can do 16 teraflop of floating points. teraflop equal trillions. That mean 16 trillions of floating points per second.

I know what that means. But they said that a "rack" of CELLs can do 16 Teraflops. If the CELL itself ends up being the "hyped" 1 Teraflop, then that would be 16 CELLs in a rack. But again, they didn\'t specify, so there\'s no way to tell until their official announcement in February.

^I can already see how the Sony hype train begins...

Yes...individuals confused with high numbers can cause hype

I\'ve already set up camp at the nearest store.

:werd: