Here’s some technical information on a possible new cell chip for the PS4. We’ve heard about the Cell 3 chip with 32 SPEs and 2 PPEs, well it seems IBM are due to change all that. The new possible chip now is the design for 32 SPEs and 4 PPEs.
Some features of the new chip:
100% backward compatible
Performance on PPE significantly better
Performance per SPE equal or better
Significantly better on applications that benefit from new instructions
Better inter-SPE latency
More on-chip memory
Better main memory latency and bandwidth
Apparently IBM are aiming for 1 TeraFLOPS of performance with this new chip. To put that into perspective the current Playstation 3 Cell chip is only capable of 204 GigaFLOPS.
The new cell is projected for around 2010/2011, with 2011 rumored to be the year we’ll see a PS4 release…coincidence?
Edit: Since publishing this post the download link to the IBM .pdf is now broken. Sadly it seems the .pdf has disappeared entirely from the site, however i have managed to find a number of screenshots from the relevant pages mentioned above – hope that helps.
As part of our rumor round-up here at ps4forums.org, we thought we’d cover some speculation as to the hardware specifics of the Playstation 4.
According Reuters Sony, IBM and Toshiba have all extended their parterships with Sony, pledging to invest even more funds into next-generation chip designs. The next generation chipsets will dramatically smaller and massively more powerful, the focus will be on development of technology below 32-nanometer die sizes – the Playstation 3 currently uses 65-nanometer die sizes to give you an idea of scale.
Whether this Cell technology is intended for the Playstation 4 or an updated Playstation 3 model is not yet known, although it would make a lot of sense for Sony to lay a strong technological foundation for an upcoming console.
In the past Sony’s Phil Harrison has stated, “I’d be amazed if the PlayStation 4 has a physical disc drive”, but can Sony really release the PS4 without a disc drive?
It’s been proven by Microsoft that online downloads can generate a pile of cash, and with broadband getting faster and cheaper will we eventually see titles released purely online?
The PSN Store could literally offer the entire PS/PS2/PS3/PSP back catalog available to anyone with a credit card and a decent internet connection. But with Blu-Ray titles weighing in at upwards of 20 gigabytes each this option would surely only be possible if affordable fiber obtic internet services are widespread come the time of the PS4.
It’s certainly an interest concept, i guess only time will tell which route Sony decide to go down, but with online play and store downloads becoming increasingly more popular it’s surely an inevitable transition, don’t you think?
A recent job posting from Sony Computer Entertainment Japan suggests that the development of the Playstation 4 console has progressed more than we anticipated. The vacant position requires the engineer to implement and optimise emulation software for PS1, PS2, PSP and PS3 games on all formats.
It’s quite surprising that the PS4 development has reached the point where Sony can now start to think about the specific software structure, for example system emulation and backwards compatability.
According to analyst from Wedbush Morgan, Michael Pachter expects no new consoles: Sony PlayStation 4 (PS4) and Xbox 720 before 2013. In 2010 we might see Nintendo’s new Wii HD which features higher definetion.
“We do not expect a “new” console in 2010 (other than the long-rumoured high definition Wii, which is likely to upgrade the Wii to current console technology),” he wrote in an industry newsletter.
“We do not expect the ‘next’ generation to begin before 2013, if at all,” he added.
“We remain convinced that the publishers will resist the introduction of any video game hardware technology that requires a refresh of software, as the publishers have as yet to capitalise on the immense investments made in being competitive in the current cycle.
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According to Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter, it will be four years before we see the next generation of consoles (the next versions of the PlayStation 3 (PS4) and Xbox 360) and one more year before we see Nintendo’s rumored Wii HD.
“We do not expect a “new” console in 2010 (other than the long-rumoured high definition Wii, which is likely to upgrade the Wii to current console technology),” he wrote in an industry newsletter.
“We do not expect the ‘next’ generation to begin before 2013, if at all,” he added.
“We remain convinced that the publishers will resist the introduction of any video game hardware technology that requires a refresh of software, as the publishers have as yet to capitalise on the immense investments made in being competitive in the current cycle.”
more…..
2011 is fast approaching and the talk about the next generation of consoles is already buzzing about the gaming news circuits. Everyone is concerned with how Sony will financially manage a PS4, while another group is concerned with how Microsoft will approach optical media formats and the impervious blockade of Blu-Ray movie content. Well folks, there’s a cost-effective solution for Sony and a content-effective solution for Microsoft and it’s called holography.
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Last week, these amazing images emerged of the top-secret PS4 and XBox 720 and came on the back of game developer Crytek admitting they’ve already begun designing games for the new consoles. Despite that, Sony’s official line is, “There won’t be a PS4 until 2018,” but emails leaked from their Japanese headquarters suggest otherwise. And their newly appointed CEO Howard Stringer added fuel to the fire by announcing more resources will be funnelled into it’s gaming division, despite the global financial crisis.
Conclusion: The PS4 is going to be truly amazing, but you’ll pay for it. It’ll be an impressive media PC and will allow everything from your mobile phone to your TV to interact with it. The OLED touch screen makes its incredible technology user-friendly and it will offer an interactive gaming experience that’ll make the Wii look like the kid’s toy it was designed to be.
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Sony’s always said the PS3 would be their gaming platform for a decade, but SCEE (Sony Computer Entertainment Europe) boss David Reeves said he doesn’t know if it’ll go 8, 9 or 10 years. Not sure this matters, those dates being so far out, but several things come to mind.
It is possible that the point of this “8, 9 or 10 year” statement is to soften up the public for the possibility that the PS4 will come sooner rather than later.
More…..
Follow up the last news on PS4 GPU Will Be Designed by Intel, this news has gone like wild fire and been talked about on various sites. Sony Computer Entertainment has moved quickly to deny this latest rumor that Intel will be producing the GPU for the PlayStation 4 (PS4). To further correct the given rumors, TechRadar actually spoke with a Sony Computer Entertainment Europe representative who clearly stated, “it’s nonsense, and is quite possibly the best work of fiction I’ve read, since Lord of the Rings.”
The report also stated that the next PlayStation console will likely have a CPU which we know nothing about and would seem to be leaning towards x86.
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