From: ptkwt@... (Phil Tomson)
Date: 2005-02-12T23:00:08+09:00
Subject: Re: [OT] The IBM/Sony/Toshiba Cell Processor

In article <EAENKKNOJPMNCDMLDOMLOEPBHMAA.curt@hibbs.com>,
Curt Hibbs <curt@hibbs.com> wrote:
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>Conclusion
>
>The first Cell based desktop computer will be the fastest desktop computer
>in the industry by a very large margin. Even high end multi-core x86s will
>not get close. Companies who produce microprocessors or DSPs are going to
>have a very hard time fighting the power a Cell will deliver. We have never
>seen a leap in performance like this before and I don't expect we'll ever
>see one again, It'll send shock-waves through the entire industry and we'll
>see big changes as a result.
>
>The sheer power and low cost of the Cell means it will present a challenge
>to the venerable PC. The PC has always been able to beat competition by
>virtue of it's huge software base, but this base is not as strong as it once
>was. A lot of software now runs on Linux and this is not dependant on x86
>processors or Microsoft. Most PCs now provide more power than is necessary
>and this fact combined with fast JIT emulators means that if necessary the
>Cell can provide PC compatibility without the PC.
>
>It will not just attack the PC industry but expect it to be widely used in
>embedded applications where high performance is required. This means it will
>be made in numbers potentially many times that of x86 CPUs and this will
>reduce prices further. This will also hurt PC based vendors' desires to
>enter the home entertainment space as PC based solutions [Entertainment]
>will be more complex and cost more than Cell based systems.
>
>This is going to prove difficult for the PC as CPU and GPU suppliers will
>have essentially nothing to fight back with. All they can hope to do is
>match a Cell's performance but even that is going to be incredibly difficult
>given the Cell's aggressive Cray-esqe design strategy.
>
>Cell is going to turn the industry upside down, nobody has ever produced
>such a leap in performance in one go and certainly not at a low price. The
>CPU producers will be forced to fight back and irrespective of how well the
>Cell actually does in the market you can be sure that in a few short years
>all CPUs will be providing vastly more processing resources than they do
>today. Even if the Cell was to fail we shall all gain from it's legacy.
>
>Not all companies will react correctly or in time, this will provide
>opportunities for newer, smaller and smarter companies. Big changes are
>coming, they may take years but the Cell means a decade from now the
>technology world is going to look very different.
>

<drool>Looking forward to a Cell-based linux box (or OSX box - Apple 
should be all over this CPU ;-)  
I suspect people will have Linux running on PS3's pretty soon after 
they're introduced.
</drool>

.....I just hope it lives up to half of the hype.

Phil