128bytes Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 Really. Click if you don't believe me. Snippet: The Department of Energy said Wednesday that it had awarded I.B.M. a contract to build a supercomputer capable of 1,000 trillion calculations a second, using an array of 16,000 Cell processor chips that I.B.M. designed for the coming PlayStation 3 video game machine. The initial phase of the contract will be for $35 million. There will be two more construction phases through the completion and installation of the system in 2008. The total cost is expected to be $110 million. The choice of the Cell chip, which was initially designed with Sony and Toshiba for video game and animation applications, is indicative of how much the computer industry has been transformed in the last decade. It is now being driven largely by technologies originally intended for home and consumer applications. The machine, called Roadrunner, will be installed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and it is intended to safeguard and sustain the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. The contract is one of several initiatives in response to Japan’s plans to build computers intended to break the so-called petaflop supercomputer barrier of 1,000 trillion calculations a second. The Los Alamos system is one of five efforts in the United States to reach petaflop status by 2010. The Roadrunner will use the Sony Cell Broadband Engine as a specialized processor, with a corresponding array of Advanced Micro Devices Opteron microprocessors. This kind of hybrid design is increasingly being used as designers scramble to reach ever-greater computing speeds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atarifever Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 Wow, curing cancer and now controlling nuclear stockpiles which will one day cause cancer. Is there anything it can't do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 A Cell working alongside a pile of Opterons... Mmmmmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bones Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 Wow, curing cancer and now controlling nuclear stockpiles which will one day cause cancer. Is there anything it can't do? Play Mario games? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atarifever Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 Wow, curing cancer and now controlling nuclear stockpiles which will one day cause cancer. Is there anything it can't do? Play Mario games? On occasion. Now to be more on topic: feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpecarne Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 Well, from what I hear the cell architecture is very much like a supercomputer architecture and I'm not surprised that they will create one from the cell. Remember when they would create supercomputers from apple G5s? However, on the other hand, the cell is only good at doing certain things. From what I hear, games and general computing is not great with the cell. That's why PC manufacturers haven't jumped on the cell and why we hear the cell is difficult to program for in the PS3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 From what I hear, games and general computing is not great with the cell. That's why Sony collaborated with Toshiba and IBM to help make it happen, right? Because it is no good for games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow460 Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 (edited) Wow, curing cancer and now controlling nuclear stockpiles which will one day cause cancer. Is there anything it can't do? There is, but I'd get kicked off the forums for vulgarity if I said what it was. Er, no, wait. Can the PS3 wash dishes and clean my house? If so, I'll buy one. No PMS, no crying, no wining and dining...hey, maybe the PS3 isn't such a bad deal at all! Edited September 7, 2006 by shadow460 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+remowilliams Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 Holy crap already. Can everyone who feels the need to do so just change their sig to a format like: I like to (and usually without any real information or basis in reality): Endlessly bash: X Fanatically praise: Y Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atarifever Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 Holy crap already. Can everyone who feels the need to do so just change their sig to a format like: I like to (and usually without any real information or basis in reality): Endlessly bash: X Fanatically praise: Y Y is alright, but it'll never have a cool word like "X-Ray", or be in great catchey words like "Extreme", or the lately more common "eXtreme". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow460 Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 Holy crap already. Can everyone who feels the need to do so just change their sig to a format like: I like to (and usually without any real information or basis in reality): Endlessly bash: X Fanatically praise: Y Sure can! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atarifever Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 (edited) Holy crap already. Can everyone who feels the need to do so just change their sig to a format like: I like to (and usually without any real information or basis in reality): Endlessly bash: X Fanatically praise: Y Sure can! I believe it would work better if you typed "remowilliams likes to (and usually etc...) Endlessly bash: X Fanatically Praise: Y" Edited September 7, 2006 by Atarifever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 Wow, curing cancer and now controlling nuclear stockpiles which will one day cause cancer. Is there anything it can't do? Yeah, outsell the Xbox 360. JR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
128bytes Posted September 7, 2006 Author Share Posted September 7, 2006 I was just thinking that this machine can play one kick-a$$ game of Missle Command... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+remowilliams Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 I believe it would work better if you typed "remowilliams likes to (and usually etc...)Endlessly bash: X Fanatically Praise: Y" OK. I've got every system from the last generation, and just about every generation since a glowing phosphor meant entertainment. I'll have every system of the next generation as well. I've got no love for corporations, and that includes any of the big three in the running now. And so I've got as little a stake as possible in who wins, and who fails. I also believe I've been labeled a fanboy at one time or other here for MS, Sony and Nintendo. I call 'em like I see 'em, and talk about whatever happens to entertain me. I don't post ludicrous speculation (or blind worship), stuff thats just lies or 'facts' that I pull out of my ass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow460 Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 (edited) You're not true zealot, though, until you've been labeled a Philips fanboy. Edited September 7, 2006 by shadow460 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPUWIZ Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 I believe it would work better if you typed "remowilliams likes to (and usually etc...)Endlessly bash: X Fanatically Praise: Y" OK. I've got every system from the last generation, and just about every generation since a glowing phosphor meant entertainment. I'll have every system of the next generation as well. I've got no love for corporations, and that includes any of the big three in the running now. And so I've got as little a stake as possible in who wins, and who fails. I also believe I've been labeled a fanboy at one time or other here for MS, Sony and Nintendo. I call 'em like I see 'em, and talk about whatever happens to entertain me. I don't post ludicrous speculation (or blind worship), stuff thats just lies or 'facts' that I pull out of my ass. 3DO lover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheese007 Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 Hope they aren't the first ones off the line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n8littlefield Posted September 7, 2006 Share Posted September 7, 2006 Hope they aren't the first ones off the line. Well, I would say the Cell chip must be pretty amazing given the different uses we're hearing. But let's be honest, if something were to go bad with early PS3's, it's much, much, much more likely to be with the Sony produced BlueRay drive than the IBM processor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemmi Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 I believe it would work better if you typed "remowilliams likes to (and usually etc...)Endlessly bash: X Fanatically Praise: Y" OK. I've got every system from the last generation, and just about every generation since a glowing phosphor meant entertainment. I'll have every system of the next generation as well. I've got no love for corporations, and that includes any of the big three in the running now. And so I've got as little a stake as possible in who wins, and who fails. I also believe I've been labeled a fanboy at one time or other here for MS, Sony and Nintendo. I call 'em like I see 'em, and talk about whatever happens to entertain me. I don't post ludicrous speculation (or blind worship), stuff thats just lies or 'facts' that I pull out of my ass. 3DO lover. did someone call me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Ragan Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 I'll see your 3DO and raise you a Gizmondo! Actually, I wouldn't say I'm a blindly devoted fan of the system. Then again, buying one is probably as close as anyone ever gets to that point. JR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 I believe it would work better if you typed "remowilliams likes to (and usually etc...)Endlessly bash: X Fanatically Praise: Y" OK. I've got every system from the last generation, and just about every generation since a glowing phosphor meant entertainment. So what exactly do you have against LCDs, you shameless CRT fanboy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atarifever Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 I believe it would work better if you typed "remowilliams likes to (and usually etc...)Endlessly bash: X Fanatically Praise: Y" OK. I was just taking you literally. I wasn't claiming you were any kind of fanboy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tan Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 good thing Europe isn't relying on Sony's Cell chips to manage their nuclear stockpiles, it may be awhile unless they import them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubersaurus Posted September 9, 2006 Share Posted September 9, 2006 CDI 4 l1f3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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