usefulidiot316
07-13-2006, 12:11 PM
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=3295
The Cell processor is so complex that IBM even accepts chips that have only four out of the eight cores working.
You might think that 4 cores would still be enough to make a super fast machine, but consider that Xbox360 has 3 cores with SMT making a total of 6 cores, the extra amount of money spent on the PS3 doesn't really seem justified.
When asked what would happen if a 7-core PlayStation 3 ends up losing another core during operation, Reeves stated that the user would simply send the unit back for replacement. Unfortunately, this only applies if the console is still under warranty -- if it isn't, the console is dead.
As if the $600 weren't bad enough, if your PS3 happens to break through no fault of your own, you're out $600. Not to mention that old rumor about Sony trying to make it so that a single game can't be played on more than just one PS3 via copyright protection, you'll also have to buy new licenses to play the games that you all ready have.
Other news in that article suggests IBM gets 20% yields from using 4 core cell processors. That means that of all the Cells they expect to get from a silicon wafer, they end up with only 20% working at half capacity. Silicon wafers don't come cheap, and processors aren't built fast, either. If IBM or Sony can't do anything about the problem with the Cell, it's likely the PS3 will go up in price again, be delayed, or just drop off the face of the planet.
The Cell processor is so complex that IBM even accepts chips that have only four out of the eight cores working.
You might think that 4 cores would still be enough to make a super fast machine, but consider that Xbox360 has 3 cores with SMT making a total of 6 cores, the extra amount of money spent on the PS3 doesn't really seem justified.
When asked what would happen if a 7-core PlayStation 3 ends up losing another core during operation, Reeves stated that the user would simply send the unit back for replacement. Unfortunately, this only applies if the console is still under warranty -- if it isn't, the console is dead.
As if the $600 weren't bad enough, if your PS3 happens to break through no fault of your own, you're out $600. Not to mention that old rumor about Sony trying to make it so that a single game can't be played on more than just one PS3 via copyright protection, you'll also have to buy new licenses to play the games that you all ready have.
Other news in that article suggests IBM gets 20% yields from using 4 core cell processors. That means that of all the Cells they expect to get from a silicon wafer, they end up with only 20% working at half capacity. Silicon wafers don't come cheap, and processors aren't built fast, either. If IBM or Sony can't do anything about the problem with the Cell, it's likely the PS3 will go up in price again, be delayed, or just drop off the face of the planet.