AVIDAC, Argonne's first digital computer, began operation in January 1953. It was built by the Physics Division for $250,000.
Posted on 02/08/2005 6:28:53 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
Toshiba and Sony expect dramatic gains in electronics for entertainment.
SAN FRANCISCO – IBM Corp. on Monday formally unveiled what it describes as a "supercomputer on a chip" that promises to dramatically increase the computing power in video-game systems, televisions and other consumer electronics.
At an engineering conference here, semiconductor designers from IBM and partners Sony Group and Toshiba Corp. said their new "Cell" processor has 10 times more computing power than traditional chips in handling some applications.
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Cell is said to run at clock speeds greater than 4 gigahertz, which would top the 3.8 GHz of Intel's current top-speed chip.
The chip has features for handling video and Internet applications, and Sony and Toshiba are betting it will give them an edge over personal-computer makers in the ongoing battle to create digital entertainment hubs for consumers' living rooms.
The chip is capable of giving Sony's next-generation Playstation 3 game console as much computing power as supercomputers used in high-end research projects. With that sort of power, characters would appear in photo quality and move in real "human time," Kahle said, without the short delays inherent in today's video games.
Playstation 3 console and Toshiba's TVs will probably be the first devices to include the chips.
(Excerpt) Read more at ocregister.com ...
To me it's not looking good as a chip for general computing PCs, meaning I doubt it'll be in the next G5 or G6. But I can see it in a media PC or set top device, and all three gaming consoles will be using them next time around.
AVIDAC, Argonne's first digital computer, began operation in January 1953. It was built by the Physics Division for $250,000.
From the old to the new: Jim Kahle, IBM director of technology for Cell technology, holds up a new Cell chip during a news conference in San Francisco Monday, Feb. 7th, 2005.
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