That was my understanding too, and it was totally incorrect actually. Just on its own, the processor is ungodly fast, in part because if it's multi core architecture.
I expect to hear much more about this paradigm shift in computing soon. "The Cell Processor This is a 9 core processor, one of these cores is something similar to a PowerPC G5 and acts as a controller. The remaining 8 cores are called APUs and these are very high performance vector processors. Each APU contains it's own block of high speed RAM and is capable of 32 GigaFlops (32bit). The APUs are independent processors and can act alone or can be set up to process a stream of data with different APUs working on different stages. This ability to act as a "stream processor" gives access to the full processing power of a Cell which is more than 10 times higher than even the fastest desktop processors. In addition to the raw processing power the Cell includes a high performance multi-channel memory subsystem and a number of high speed interconnects for connecting to other Cells or I/O devices." "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." -Gel -----Original Message----- From: Jim Davis [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Discover CFTicket - The leading ColdFusion Help Desk and Trouble Ticket application http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=48 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:143946 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
