14 DAY TRIAL // Even despite rumors implied that the creators of Cell chips, chips used in game consoles, would stop making such processors, IBM, at least, seems bent on trying its hand on a hybrid version that will eventually become part of the power-series roadmap.
The three original makers of the Cell processors were Toshiba, Sony and IBM, which made it viable for multiple applications.
IBM processors are now found in not just supercomputers, but also the Sony PlayStation 3 game console, as well as the Nintendo Wii and the Microsoft Xbox 360.
IBM intends to keep developing hybrid chips, namely Cell-based heterogenous microprocessors for future game consoles.
One Cell uses a Power core, along with eight synergistic processor engines that focus on floating point operations. There is also a Rambus XDR memory controller.
"I think you'll see [Cell] integrated into our future Power road map. That's the way to think about it as opposed to a separate line - it will just get integrated into the next line of things that we do,” said Jai Menon, chief technology officer of IBM's systems and technology group,
“But certainly, we are working with all of the game folks to provide our capabilities into those next-generation machines," Mr. Menon added.
IBM even expects that its future hybrid chips, thanks to their raw performance, will even find their way into cloud data centers.
"Some of this consumer stuff is also a cloud play. There are giant servers out there that provide some of the gaming capability. Some of that will come through cloud-based offerings as well," said the IBM CTO.
Considering the current direction that the other companies on the chip market have taken, it is not surprising that IBM would be considering a hybrid and multi-core chip strategy.
Advanced Micro Devices is one of the more prominent examples of a CPU maker that is about to release a chip with both general-purpose data processing and integrated graphics.