Details on the much hyped Cell Processor released

Details on the much hyped Cell Processor released

A brand new processor named Cell has been developed in collaboration by IBM, Sony, and Toshiba. The companies initially aimed at developing this brand new processor technology for the gaming consoles. However, the processor now is capable of being used in much wider applications. We would see the first implementation of Cell processor in the upcoming gaming console from Sony, Playstation 3 expected to be out sometime next year.

The companies have released some technical details and documentations on this processor to generate the market buzz as they are looking towards enhancing its image in the market enticing other companies to show interest in using it in their products. In addition, they want the developers to adopt for this platform to generate products for the future for products running this processor.

Cell chips have been developed from scratch to deliver supercomputer-grade processing power to digital-entertainment hardware. Other than powering next generation gaming devices, it would offer native support for multiple systems, including Linux and consumer-electronics applications. The three partners claims that that a Cell-based workstation will reach a processing-performance level of 16 teraflops.

The documentation released by the companies consist of 750 pages full of extended descriptions of Cell components, such as the Cell Broadband Engine architecture, a control processor based on IBM’s Power technology and an instruction set for the Synergistic Processor Unit designed to support media and streaming applications. Some of the markets, where companies sees implementation of Cell processor viable are medical, aerospace and defense industries.