Powerhouse Consortium Unveils New Digital Media Processor
December 03, 2004
San Francisco, CA - Key concepts of a highly-anticipated advanced microprocessor, code-named Cell, developed for next-generation computing applications and digital consumer electronics, have been unveiled by IBM, Sony Corporation, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (Sony Corporation and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., referred to as Sony Group) and Toshiba Corporation.
The four companies will reveal technical details of Cell at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) to be held February 2005 in San Francisco.
Saying that future media applications, such as multi-channel high definition broadcast programs, as well as megapixel digital still and motion images captured by high-resolution CCD/CMOS imagers, will require a huge amount of media processing in real-time that may be beyond the capacity of current PC processing systems, the companies are working on new processor architectures to handle the loads.
Specifically, the companies confirmed that Cell is a multicore chip comprising a 64-bit Power processor core and multiple synergistic processor cores capable of massive floating point processing. Cell is optimized for computer-intensive workloads and broadband rich media applications, including computer entertainment, movies and other forms of digital content.
Other highlights of the Cell processor design include:
Multi-thread, multicore architecture.
Supports multiple operating systems.
Substantial bus bandwidth to/from main memory, as well as companion chips.
Flexible on-chip I/O (input/output) interface.
Real-time resource management system for real-time applications.
On-chip hardware in support of security system for intellectual property protection.
Implemented in 90 nanometer (nm) silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology.
Additionally, Cell uses custom circuit design to increase overall performance, while supporting precise processor clock control to enable power savings.
Cell provides a breakthrough solution by adopting a flexible parallel and distributed computing architecture consisting of independent floating point processors for rich media processing.
Cell supports multiple operating systems, including PC/WS operating systems, as well as real-time CE/Game operating systems. In addition, the Cell processor is scalable and can be utilized in a variety of applications -- from small digital CE systems within the home to entertainment applications for rendering movies, to scientific applications, such as supercomputers.
A team of engineers from IBM, Sony Group and Toshiba are collaborating on the design and implementation of Cell which is expected to deliver vast floating point capabilities, massive data bandwidth and scalable, supercomputer-like performance. The design work is taking place at a joint development lab the three companies established in Austin, Texas, after the project was announced in 2001.
IBM plans to begin pilot production of Cell microprocessors at its 300mm wafer fabrication facility in East Fishkill, NY during the first half of 2005. The first computing application IBM plans for Cell is the Cell processor-based workstation it is developing with SCEI.
Sony Corporation expects to launch home servers for broadband content as well as high-definition television (HDTV) systems powered by Cell in 2006.
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. also expects to launch its next generation computer entertainment system powered by Cell to revolutionize the experience of computer entertainment.
Toshiba Corporation envisions diverse applications for Cell and expects to launch its first Cell-based product, a high-definition television (HDTV), in 2006.
"Less than four years ago, we embarked on an ambitious collaborative effort with Sony Group and Toshiba to create a highly-integrated microprocessor designed to overcome imminent transistor scaling, power and performance limitations in conventional technologies," said Dr. John E. Kelly III, senior vice president, IBM. "Today, we're revealing just a sampling of what we believe makes the innovative Cell processor a premiere open platform for next-generation computing and entertainment products."
"Massive and rich content require a huge amount of media processing in real-time. In the future, this digital content will fuse and converge on the broadband network, and start to explode," said Ken Kutaragi, executive deputy president and COO, Sony Corporation, and president and Group CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "To access and/or browse content freely in real-time, a more sophisticated graphical user interface (GUI) within the 3D world will become key in the future. The current PC architecture is nearing its limits, in both processing power and bus bandwidth, for handling such rich applications."
"The progressive breakdown of barriers between personal computers and digital consumer electronics requires dramatic enhancements in the capabilities and performance of consumer electronics. The Cell processor meets these requirements with a multi-processor architecture/design and a structure able to support high-level media processing. Development of this unsurpassed, high-performance processor is well under way, carried forward by dedicated teamwork and state-of-the-art expertise from Toshiba, Sony Group and IBM," said Mr. Masashi Muromachi, Corporate Vice President of Toshiba Corporation and President & CEO of Toshiba's Semiconductor Company. "Today's announcement shows the substantial progress that has been made in this joint program. Cell will substantially enhance the performance of broadband-empowered consumer applications, raise the user-friendliness of services realized through these applications, and facilitate the use of information-rich media and communications."
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