IBM, Sony, Toshiba open Cell doors to supercomputing
IBM, Sony, Toshiba open Cell doors to supercomputing
Feb 8, 2005: High maintenance digital media and graphics will now be dealt with more easily and quickly thanks to the development of a new Cell microprocessor, which integrates 234 million transistors and can provide 10 times the performance of the latest PC processors.
The key vendors that were involved with this chip's invention at a joint design centre, established in Austin, Texas, in March 2001, say that it is effectively a "supercomputer on a chip", incorporating advanced multi-processing technologies used in IBM's sophisticated servers, Sony Group's computer entertainment systems and Toshiba's advanced semiconductor technology.
They expect Cell to become the broadband processor used for industrial applications to the new digital home, as well as being able to support multiple operating systems, such as Linux, real-time operating systems and guest operating systems for specific applications.
The prototype chip is also 221 mm and is fabricated with 90 nanometer SOI technology.
William Zeitler, the senior vice president and group executive at IBM systems and technology group, said: "This disclosure of the Cell chip's breakthrough architectural design is a significant milestone in an ambitious project that began four years ago with the creation of the IBM, Sony and Toshiba design lab in Austin, Texas.
"Today we see the tangible results of our collaboration: an open, multi-core, microprocessor that portends a new era in graphics and multi-media performance."
Ken Kutaragi, the executive deputy president and COO of the Sony Corporation, and president and group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., added: "With Cell opening a doorway, a new chapter in computer science is about to begin."
Masashi Muromachi, the corporate vice president of Toshiba Corporation and the president & CEO of Toshiba's Semiconductor company, also said: ""We are proud that Cell, a revolutionary microprocessor with a brand new architecture that leapfrogs the performance of existing processors, has been created through a perfect synergy of IBM, Sony Group and Toshiba's capabilities and talented resources."
"We are confident that Cell will provide major momentum for the progress of digital convergence, as a core device sustaining a whole spectrum of advanced information-rich broadband applications, from consumer electronics, home entertainment through to various industrial systems."
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