Multicore "Cell" processor targets consumer electronics, supercomputers

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Dec. 06, 2004

IBM, Sony, and Toshiba have revealed information about an advanced microprocessor they are jointly developing for use in wide range of next-generation computing applications ranging from consumer electronics to supercomputers. The new chip, codenamed Cell, will support multiple operating systems (OSes), including PC, workstation, consumer electronics, and game OSes, the companies say.

Basically, cell is described as a multicore chip that integrates a 64-bit Power processor core along with multiple "synergistic processor cores," that will offer "vast floating point capabilities, massive data bandwidth, and scalable, supercomputer-like performance." Other key features are said to include on-chip hardware support for the security requirements of intellectual property (IP) protection, and processor clock control to enable power savings. The chip will be implemented in 90-nanometer (nm) process silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology.

A growing number of chip vendors have announced multi-core SoC designs in recent months, including Broadcom (MIPS), PMC-Sierra (MIPS), Freescale (PowerPC), Cavium (MIPS), TI (ARM11/DSP), ARM Ltd. (ARM), NEC (ARM), and Centrality (ARM9/DSP).

Cell is said to implement a "flexible parallel and distributed computing architecture" that includes independent floating point processors for rich media processing. The design is optimized for compute-intensive workloads, and broadband rich media applications, including computer entertainment, movies, and other forms of digital content, the companies say.

Cell can integrate between four and 16 processor cores into a single chip, according to reports. Low-end versions with four cores are expected to appear in set-top boxes and other embedded applications. At the high end, Cell chips should be capable of more than a trillion floating point calculations per second, or about 100 times more than a Pentium IV running at 2.4Ghz.

The Cell project was announced in 2001. Since then, IBM, Sony, and Toshiba have been collaborating on the design and implementation of Cell at a joint development lab in Austin, Texas.

IBM says it plans to begin pilot production of Cell processors at its 300mm wafer fabrication facility in East Fishkill, New York, during the first half of 2005. Cell technology will appear first in a workstation under development with Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI), IBM says.

Sony Corp. says it expects to launch home servers for broadband content and high-definition television (HDTV) systems powered by Cell in 2006.

SCEI says its next generation computer entertainment system will be powered by Cell, and will "revolutionize the experience of computer entertainment." Cell is rumored to be the processor selected by SCEI for its upcoming PlayStation 3 game system.

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

Earlier this week, IBM and Sony announced that they had powered-on the first Cell processor-based workstation prototype -- the first computing application planned for the Cell processor. The companies say the Cell workstation will deliver "tremendous computational power," and that the workstation will be capable of "helping digital entertainment content creators generate higher quality content, with richer and more dynamic scenes, much faster than current development systems."

The companies plan to reveal further technical details of Cell at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) to be held Feb. 6-10, 2005 in San Francisco.

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