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IBM's Next Cell Processor is Dead in the Water

Paul Lilly — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:00:50 -0600

Talk of the technology behind the PlayStation 3 console always turns to the Cell processor, an innovative chip architecture which, in the PS3, contains essentially 9 processors on single chip (one PowerPC chip and eight Synergistic Processing Elements, or SPEs). And up until now, there was no reason to believe Sony wouldn't once again go with a Cell processor in its PlayStation 4 console, but there now lingers some doubt if the chip truly is "dead in the water, as David Turek, IBM's VP of Deep Computing, supposedly said.

The quote comes from German webiste Heise Online, which goes on to claim that the planned successor to the current chip, which is slated to have two PowerPC processors and 32 SPEs, is no longer going to be released.

What exactly that means isn't entirely clear at the moment. So far, there's no evidence that IBM is halting development on Cell processors, only that the specifically planned successor has been canned. If we're to take a glass half-full approach, that could mean the PS4 will utilize an even more power Cell processor, though it's far to early to tell.

Image Credit: dlb-network.com

Building a Rig? Don't Forget the Playstation 3 Cell Processor Add-In Card!

Paul Lilly — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:22:00 -0500

One of the high points with the technology used in Sony's Playstation 3 console is the Cell processor technology. A similar concept could be coming to the PC, and you'll have Toshiba to thank, not Sony.

Toshiba's SpursEngine is based on the same Cell processor technology as found in the PS3 and is used to process HD video with its four Cell cores. The technology makes easy work out of encoding and decoding HD content and can upscale standard-definition video to high-definition video without bogging down the CPU. Toshiba is already using the technology in its Qosmio G50 and F40 notebooks and hopes to expand to the desktop market via add-in cards by the end of the years.

LeadTek and Thomson are already on board with plans to release a SpursEngine card within the next few weeks. LeadTek's version is expected to debut this month at about $286 and its Winfast PxVC 1100 card has already been shown at the Ceatec Exhibition in Japan. Thomson is targeting a November release in the $375 to $400 range

Image Credit: Leadtek

Toshiba's Qosmio Notebooks with Cell-based Chip to Debut in Japan

Pulkit Chandna — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:24:17 -0500

The Cell processor hasn’t been featured in any daily-use tech gadgets save the PS3. But Toshiba has put the powerful Cell into a notebook and most certainly pulled off a coup. The Qosmio G50 and F40 machines Tosh notebooks will feature its Cell-derived SpursEngine SE1000 chip, which is essentially a co-processor supposed to handle heavy-duty processing fare like real-time graphics.

The two new notebooks will land on Japanese store shelves in July, though one can only speculate about the time it will take for them to sail to North American shores.

The SpursEngine will be able to perform some unprecedented tasks like upscaling SD video to HD. Its real-time graphics processing capabilities and face navigation features have also elicited a lot of curiosity. Just imagine controlling a computer application by deft hand gestures. The Qosmio G50 and F40 will respectively be priced $2,700 and $2,500.

Image Credit:Notebook Italia