PRESS RELEASE: IBM, Sony, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and Toshiba Disclose
Key Details of the Cell Chip
07 Feb 13:03
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 7, 2005--
Innovative Design Features Eight Synergistic Cores Together with Power
Based Core, Delivers More Than 10 Times the Performance of the
Latest PC Processors
At the International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) today, IBM, Sony
Corporation, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (Sony and Sony Computer
Entertainment collectively referred to as Sony Group) and Toshiba Corporation
(Toshiba) for the first time disclosed in detail the breakthrough multi-core
architectural design - featuring supercomputer-like floating point performance
with observed clock speeds greater than 4 GHz - of their jointly developed
microprocessor code-named Cell.
A team of IBM, Sony Group and Toshiba engineers has collaborated on
development of the Cell microprocessor at a joint design center established in
Austin, Texas, since March 2001. The prototype chip is 221 mm(2), integrates
234 million transistors, and is fabricated with 90 nanometer SOI technology.
Cell's breakthrough multi-core architecture and ultra high-speed
communications capabilities deliver vastly improved, real-time response for
entertainment and rich media applications, in many cases 10 times the
performance of the latest PC processors.
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,
Cell will become the broadband processor used for industrial applications to
the new digital home.
Another advantage of Cell is to support multiple operating systems, such as
conventional operating systems (including Linux), real-time operating systems
for computer entertainment and consumer electronics applications as well as
guest operating systems for specific applications, simultaneously.
Initial production of Cell microprocessors is expected to begin at IBM's
300mm wafer fabrication facility in East Fishkill, N.Y., followed by Sony
Group's Nagasaki Fab, this year. IBM, Sony Group and Toshiba expect to promote
Cell-based products including a broad range of industry-wide applications, from
digital televisions to home servers to supercomputers.
Among the highlights of Cell released today:
-- Cell is a breakthrough architectural design -- featuring eight
synergistic processors and top clock speeds of greater than 4
GHz (as measured during initial hardware testing)
-- Cell is a multicore chip capable of massive floating point
processing
-- Cell is OS neutral and supports multiple operating systems
simultaneously
"Today's 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," said
William Zeitler, senior vice president and group executive, IBM Systems and
Technology Group. "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."
"Today, we are very proud to share with you the first development of the Cell
project, initiated with aspirations by the joint team of IBM, Sony Group and
Toshiba in March 2001," said Ken Kutaragi, executive deputy president and COO,
Sony Corporation, and president and Group CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
"With Cell opening a doorway, a new chapter in computer science is about to
begin."
"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, "said Masashi Muromachi, corporate vice president of
Toshiba Corporation and president & CEO of Toshiba's Semiconductor Company. "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 various industrial systems."
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