This just demonstrates that the PS3 architecture has the same scalability as a PC using Crossfire/SLI graphics solutions.

Considering that the same CBE chips currently being used in the PS3 cost about $60 each following the 65nm die shrink, in a few years, 45nm process chips (or whatever the limits of photolithography on silicon is at the time) should be considerably cheaper, making a multi chip CBE cluster on a PS4 motherboard a viable design from both a performance and cost perspective.

Such a design would actually negate the need for a separate GPU.

As for how difficult it would be for programmers to optimize code for such a beast is another issue altogether.

The PS3 doesn't have 8 cores... it's a single core processor with with 8 SPEs... way different that a duo or quad core processor.

A $100 Intel Corel 2 Duo processor is way faster than a PS3 Cell processor...

wait wat? the fail palm its for you. a quadcore maybe but a 1.6ghz dual core isn't.

and the SPE are cpu, they even have 256kb of cache EACH.

from IBM:

All things considered the theoretic 204.8 GB/s number most often cited is the best one to bear in mind. The IBM Systems Performance group has demonstrated SPU-centric data flows achieving 197 GB/s on a Cell processor running at 3.2 GHz so this number is a fair reflection on practice as well.

The kernel and scheduling is distributed across the SPEs. Tasks are synchronized using mutexes or semaphores as in a conventional operating system. Ready-to-run tasks wait in a queue for an SPE to execute them. The SPEs use shared memory for all tasks in this configuration.

in comparison to the 360 CPU:

from IBM:

115.2 GFLOPS theoretical peak performance

Xenon is a Tri-Core CPU PowerPC based better than intel x86 cpus,

by force a very high clocked intel x86 or quadcore cpu is needed to match ps3 or even 360 cpu.

IT'S ALL LIES!

But really, that would be interesting to see.

I see, they are working with Nintendo on this one.

@mm:

i hope you don't want to imply sony copied ninty again !

Sony had this idea in 2005!

Everyone who denies that is biased.

afree_account said: According to TR, even a 2 years old core 2 duo tops at 200 gflops. http://techreport.com/articles.x/10351/4

Did you look at the side of the picture? Those numbers are mflops, not gflops. These again, these don't represent real theoretical maximum, only numbers from test program which is very unoptimized.

Ok I  am maybe wrong but...

If I understand well, they manage (indeed) to display 240 frames in absolute number (4 *60 for each 1/4 of the screen section)... but this isn't one screen refreshed at 240 framerate right ?? It is still one big screen refreshed at 60 fps ?

They used 4 PS3 to add more pixels displayed on the screen (the goal was to present their new big projector), but not multiply the total FPS of the given display.

...

Unlike Wii, PS4 will actually have real duct tape instead of imaginary ones.