STI cell processor
Next generation processors

According to this website STI Cell Processor, a very sophisticated and advanced microprocessor is being jointly designed by 3 giant companies of microelectronics: Sony, Toshiba and IBM. The processor will be used for 21th century applications such as multimedia in living room, game console and other applications that may require broadband access.

The interesting thing from this story is that the broadband access will be more widely used in households not only for entertainment equipments, but also appliances such as smart microwave, smart refrigerator, or smart HVAC (Heat, Ventilation and Air Conditioning). This string of applications will definitely require a powerful microprocessor, not only for general computation as on PCs today but also for many real-time processes in embedded systems.

Many impressing nanoelectronic technology breakthroughs and inventions will be implemented on to this microprocessor. Among other things are SOI (Silicon on Insulator); 65-nm EUV (Extreme Ultra Violet) lithography; Cell architecture (similar to how human brain works); low-k (low dielectric) which means more silicon components (transistors, diodes, etc.) can be packed into a small die; copper wire.

This $400-million project will definitely change the way we think about a "PC" as the processor is considered as "supercomputer-on-a-chip". According to the site, the processor will even be more powerful than IBM's Big Blue supercomputer, one of the fastest computer in this universe. Not only because the processor will do Tera Floating Operation Per Seconds (Tera-FLOPS), but also because it will have about 20 "mini-cores" which work independently but in coherent and can be grouped all together programmably through software.

Another interesting part is that Sony will use this processor for its next generation game console, PS3. If we look at how amazing the NVidia 6800 Ultra performs but yet with much lower FLOPS compared to this Cell processor, you can imagine how good it can be with this "Tera FLOPS" Cell processor.

Utilizing massive data bandwidth and vast floating point capabilities, coupled with a parallel processing architecture, the Cell processor based development environment is expected to deliver quantum-leap innovation to entertainment applications. Cell-based workstations will be designed to expand the platform for creating digital content across future movie and video game entertainment industries.

Many applications, especially in multimedia and gaming, will be very boosted in performance by this chip. Video rendering processes which now might take hours, even days, can be done in minutes or even seconds. Ultra clear super surround sound, hyper-realistic 3D animation and other unimaginable possibilities and capabilities with current processors will be easily achieved by computers using these chips.

I believe the era of "WinTel" will soon dim, and new era of computing will shine. One thing I want to underline is that I believe the first operating system to support this chip is Linux. Believe me!

Confusing DRAM nomenclatures

Just figured out the different term for different kind of DRAM as listed in the following table:

Standard	Speed/Clock	Name
DDR	266 MHz	PC2100
DDR	333 MHz	PC2700
DDR2	400 MHz	PC3200
DDR2	533 MHz	PC4200
DDR2	675 MHz	PC5400

What is CORBA?

I just get started to learn more about this architecture. CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) is a new paradigm of interfacing clients to server(s). I just google it and found out there are many different packages for this, from commercieal packages such as Visibroker to open source ones.

Check this http://orbit-resource.sourceforge.net/ as one of them. It has many links related to ORB.

What is the Fastest Gaming PC in this year?

According to MaximumPC magazine, Alienware's Aurora ALX is the winner, followed closely by Falcon's Mach V. The Aurora is equipped with 2.6 GHz Athlon 64 FX-53 processor, ASUS A8V mobo, VIA K8T800 Pro chipset, 1 GB DDR400 (PC3200) RAM, GeForce 6800 Ultra VGA card, RAID0 HD, SB Audigy 2ZS audio card, 1 CD-RW, 1 DVD 2-layer writer. It is able to run a game like DOOM3 in 1280x1024 pixel resolution with 4AA enabled at 83.4 fps!

Wait a few more years as we see there are new technologies coming to these home PC, such as PCI Express (some mobos and video cards have already used this slot), new ATX form factor, dual or even multicore processors, Microsoft Longhorn OS. Not to mention GigE and Wi-Fi interfaces that some mobos have already used on their product lines.

Build or just buy a prebuilt PC?

Just checked some computer makers' web sites, I've found out that pre-built PCs are cheaper to buy than buy the components separately and assembly them. For instance, a gaming PC 710G from Gateway.com is priced "only" $2000 equipped with Pentium4 3.2 GHz 800 MHz FB, 1 GB DDR-RAM, 250 GB SATA HD, 19" monitor, 256 MB NVidia GForce 5950G Ultra, SoundBlaster Audigy2, etc.

Whereis my Atheros Driver?