In article <POSdneLmG5-nLxnYnZ2dnUVZ_tHinZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxx>,
Maverick <Sun@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I posted this fact that the PS3 was already running YellowDog Linux and
> that Steve Jobs jumped the gun on moving to Intel and should've waited.
> As usual, it wasn't welcome there. I even posted the IBM url for the
> facts regarding the Cell broadband engine having a Power series
> processor at the core with 8 auxilliary processors alongside of it. Plus
> it runs 10x faster than current PCs. Not welcome at all.
> :D
For running a general purpose OS, the Cell processor is much slower than
an Intel Core Duo or Core 2 Duo. The 7 auxiliary processors (there are
8 on the die, but one is disabled to increase yield) are essentially
DSPs. They do not share memory with the PowerPC core. To use them, you
have to load them with the programs you want them to run, use a DMA
operation to transfer data to them, and when they finish, you DMA the
results out.
The Cell was designed for things like game consoles and media players,
and will also be very useful in certain specialized scientific
calculation. At these things, it is fast. As a desktop computer
processor, though, it is around mid-range G5 level.
--
--Tim Smith
|
|
