Several weeks back, we mentioned the new cell processor chip, jointly developed by Sony , IBM , and Toshiba . The chip, slated to be used in next-generation video game hardware and HDTV sets, features HDTV graphics among other things.
Some details have just been released. The chip will have nine processors embedded within it. One of these will be a 64-bit "Power" processor, and the other eight will be "synergistic processing units". The chip will run faster than 4 GHz, and will be capable of 256 gigaflops (a "flop" is a floating point operation per second).
Production of test cell processor chips is scheduled to begin later this year. Once in production, the chip will first be used in graphics workstations and in the Sony PlayStation. Previous announcements indicate that it will also find its way into HDTV sets.
