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PS3's Modern Cell Processing Design / 360's CPU Traced back to 30-yr-old Chip Design
- Thread starter Digital-Nitrate
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- 9,646
- Minus955
Yeah...
Sony to Pull Out of R&D for Making 32-Nano Chips
Also, the losses from PS3 aren't going to hurt Sony. This is Sony. They make TVs, digital cameras, stereos, and thousands of other products.
Sony to Pull Out of R&D for Making 32-Nano Chips
Also, the losses from PS3 aren't going to hurt Sony. This is Sony. They make TVs, digital cameras, stereos, and thousands of other products.
- 40,751
I really don't think the 360's CPU being based ancestrally on a 8086 means anything. Saying it does would mean that every single PC in the world is compromised because it is based on the x86 architecture. And that is laughable. Yeah, the PS3 has oodles of great processing power and all that. That doesn't mean the Xbox 360 is "impinged" because it has roots in x86 technology. Especially not in the near future, especially.
Quiet_Storm
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Awesome read. This article made me feel a little better about forking over $600 for my PS3. So, how many Cell processor do you guys think Sony will put into the PS4?
. The future of consoles will rely less on cpu & gpu power and more on memory speed and massive bandwidth.
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Robin
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They put millions and millions of dollars into the Cell and PS3 project and the company is majorly in dept and its share price has plummeted. They missed out on the MP3 boom, they missed out of the LCD TV boom... all this add's up.
If the PS3 seriously fails and if Blu Ray goes with it it could bankrupt the entire company, why do you think they are selling bits of the stake in cell, to recoup some of the losses.....
Luckily the PS3 is doing quite OK now and Blu Ray is dominating the HD Video market..... So they will pull through but its was a major risk with major reward.
The article was an interesting read... so glad I bought a reasonably future proof device which could last a decade or even longer..
Robin
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The proof is in the pudding. The 360 has many great games already under it's belt and the processors seem to be doing the job just fine. Just goes to show that power isn't everything.
I know the PS3 will catch up next year and that's when I plan to buy one. No doubt, the PS3 is a great machine and judging by it's folding times on the folding@home network it's processing power is brilliant.
I know the PS3 will catch up next year and that's when I plan to buy one. No doubt, the PS3 is a great machine and judging by it's folding times on the folding@home network it's processing power is brilliant.
- 6,009
- Austin, Texas
- D-Nitrate / GTP_DNitrate
Where are you getting these facts? Sony's stock while lower than it's 52-week high... like most companies right now... it is actually 20% higher than last year, and Sony is certainly not in dire financial straights.
Actually they were praised for the decision by investment analysts as they were not benefiting from owning the manufacturing process, and Toshiba can do it for less cost... so it ends up cheaper for Sony to buy the cell chips from Toshiba rather than make them themselves.
Also, Sony's Blu-ray investment is miniscule compared to all their other divisions and even their gaming division accounts for less than 15% of their total revenue from all their other divisions.
Just to put things in perspective, from Sony's 2006 fiscal year end report, Sony's assessed value of all divisions combined was $90 billion. Their gaming division (which not only includes all their PS endeavors, but their PC gaming as well), was assessed at $4 billion, making it the least valued division in Sony, and accounting for only 5% of Sony's total value.
- In terms of sales, their Gaming division accounted for only $8 billion dollars, compared to their Electronic Equipment division which brought in $44 billion in sales.
- In terms of earnings (profit), their Gaming division only made $75 million, compared to their Financial Services department which made over $1.5 billion.
The reality though is that headlines, articles, posts, etc that suggest Sony’s success or failure is predicated on the success or failure of the PS3 and Blu-ray are either terribly misinformed, FUD, or just made to draw attention and create traffic to their sites, and or sell papers.
It's understandable that on a forum created by gamers and primarily focused on gaming, one might assume Sony's revenue is largely based on their gaming division, but this is far from the truth. Sony is a massive conglomerate, and gaming is one of their smallest divisions.
BTW: This is not the first time such incorrect assumptions have been made on this forum regarding the impact Sony's gaming division has on Sony, HERE and HERE are just a couple examples where this topic has come up before.
Possibly, although even the combined sales of HD DVD and Blu-ray are a small fraction of the sales from DVD, and I don't expect that to change for at least another two years.
Quite true. The performance capability, updates, upgradeable hardware, and third party support, all combined with a stellar reliability record should give the PS3 excellent longevity. 👍
Robin
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I wasn't trying to make Sony look bad or anything but I guess I have been reading too much internet journalism.... a few weeks after launch Sony was having a rough time though, im sure now things have picked up.
They still are in dept though, as with all consoles (bar the wii) they have to make it back from software over the next 10 odd years, Sony just happens to have alot more dept and fewer sales than most!
Robin
They still are in dept though, as with all consoles (bar the wii) they have to make it back from software over the next 10 odd years, Sony just happens to have alot more dept and fewer sales than most!
Robin
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Are you attempting to imply that you think that Sony is in debt?
(English word generally meaning to owe someting to someone)
Robin
Premium
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- United Kingdom
Ok maybe dept isn't really the correct word! But they have spent alot of money on the PS3.
- 7,588
- Whateversville
- Flerbizky
And that is exactly what is wrong. The x86 architecture is flawed in so many ways it's not even funny.. I take it you're not old enough to ever hear about "Real" and "Protected" mode... So yes - the x86 basically sucks..
Your lack of arguments more so...
Well - Time will tell I guess...
Scaff
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Not quite the whole picture, while the PS3 and Cell development has cost Sony a lot, they still have a massive revenue stream from the PS2, which is well over any development costs; the PSP to a lesser degree as well. Sony's gaming division posted a loss for the last year, but that has been pretty much a one-off (the same thing happened following the launch of the PS2).
Now contrast that with Microsoft's gaming division who have never turned a profit since they were set-up; that's right the Xbox, 360 and Live have not made a single penny in profit for MS. It's an area of concern that has escaped many in the gaming community, but the money men have raised it as an issue on a number of occasions. Basically shareholders in companies are not the biggest fan's of loss making departments.
Regards
Scaff
- 40,751
I understand that. I also understand that it hasn't seemed to matter for the XBox 360 halfway into its lifespan, and there are no signs of it mattering for the next half of its life.
Then why don't you give me an example of a game on the 360 that is seriously compromised simply because of its processor. I'm sure the GPU or disc space are becoming major factors, but I can't think of anything processor related that has led to games not being able to be done on the 360. Especially with all of the PC ports the system has.
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