The Cell Processor....

[joeorc]

Soleron said:

Scoobes said:

...

1. I was, the GeForce 2 bit was a joke. I thought you might actually work in chip design or something, but now I know its just geekiness :P

2. I think Sony were orginally planning to have it in more hardware than just PS3. Not sure if they've done anything else with it though. Maybe in some Blu-Ray players?

1. I'm still at school. I'm going to do Physics at uni then possibly apply for a chip design job.

2. Yeah, I think they had a grand strategy involving PS3 linked to Sony media players and TVs sharing Cell and PSN and dominating the living room. Since PS3 flopped I think they dropped that and what we're seeing is the broken pieces of that strategy.

I know Toshiba (also a Cell partner) brought out a laptop with a four-SPE Cell derivative specifically for video processing, alongside an actual CPU and GPU.

@joeorc

I concede it isn't a conventional CPU, but it certainly isn't a GPU. The Rage and TNT weren't massively parallel, you're right, but they were all fixed-function units specifically for graphics. CPUs and GPUs will converge, but the Cell isn't (and, importantly, was never intended) to be the first of such hybrids. Intel's Larrabee is the closest I've seen so far, but that'll only be sold as a GPU initially.

though once again i respect you and all. but the fact of the matter is the Cell is infact also a GPU. In your Opinion its not, but the fact's say other wise it is what it is a HYBRID

CPU/GPU. and your right it was never to be the first of such Hybrids the very fact that the major manuf. of chip's were thinking along the same lines in their enbedded chip design's does indeed show the Cell processor was made to be used as such.

Look i respect your Opinion but on the same token I tend to agree with the chiefd designer's of said chip's when they are the one's who made the chip. and they have stated what the chip is. and what the Cell chip is a HYBRID CPU/GPU you cannot get any more clear than that.