Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

IBM Adds Videogame Console Chips to Mainframes

Posted by Zonk on from the this-story-has-about-everything-i-love-in-it dept.

GoIBMPS3 writes "Soon the powerful 'Cell' microprocessor that fuels Sony's PlayStation 3 console will be available in IBM mainframe computers. The intent is to allow high-performance machines to run complex online games and virtual worlds. 'The integration initially will be accomplished by networking the mainframe with IBM's Cell blades, but eventually the Cells will be plugged more directly into the mainframes via PCI adapter cards, IBM said. It's the latest twist in IBM's years-long effort to keep mainframes not only relevant but also cutting-edge. IBM is touting the partnership as an example of hybrid computing--a trend sweeping the high-performance computing industry as companies augment general-purpose servers with special-purpose chips that to accelerate particular tasks.'"

4 of 103 comments (clear)

  1. Also in the works: by TinBromide · · Score: 5, Funny

    IBM scrapped a wii-mote enabled server consoles for the management of online worlds.

    However the prototype was destroyed in a freak bowling/mountain dew/pizza accident.

    --
    Is it sad that I am more likely to recognize you and your posts by your sig than your name or UID?
  2. Flying Cars! by psydeshow · · Score: 5, Funny

    Someday, in the future, a computer the size of a small room will be possible!
    And it will be as powerful as today's most advanced videogames...

  3. For sale on Ebay by MillionthMonkey · · Score: 5, Funny

    I have a JCL script for a character I've been working on for months. He has five hundred hit points, six spells, a sword, a long sword, a battle axe, a print spool, and a suite of DB2 utilities.

    Pay for shipping and I'll send you the punch cards.

  4. CELL isn't a video game processor! by Theovon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    IBM isn't the first or last to come up with the idea behind the CELL processor. With the advent of programmable shaders, the GPU industry was headed that way like a freight train. When people started using these highly pipelined, highly parallel SIMD stream processors that we know as GPUs to do supercomputing, people with a clue took notice and decided that it would be sensible to strip out the video components and generalize the compute engine. However, this kind of compute engine only works well for stream processing, requiring some kind of general-purpose CPU to supervise. And this is exactly what the CELL processor is: A PowerPC supervising the operation of an array of stream processors.

    So, while the CELL is inspired by GPU design, I think it would be more appropriate to say that CELL is a supercomputing architecture that, being what it is, is also highly suitable for graphics applications. As such, I think what the slashdot article says is silly. What IBM is doing is putting a supercomputing architecture into a mainframe. This isn't weird. It's sensible and a wise move, technically and competitively.