Cell Chip Coming To the PC Via a PCI Express Card 164
arcticstoat writes with an excerpt from Custom PC: "After developing a brand new CPU architecture from the ground-up, you'd expect that Toshiba, Sony and IBM would have more uses for the Cell architecture than the PlayStation 3, and Toshiba has been quick to make use of the architecture's HD video transcoding abilities in its new Qosimo laptops. However, Leadtek is now taking Toshiba's efforts a step further by putting the chip onto a PCI-E card for desktop PCs. The WinFast PxVC1100 is based on Toshiba's SpursEngine SE1000 processor, which is a cut-down version of the Cell chip. The SpursEngine chip features four SPEs (synergistic processing elements) based on 128-bit RISC cores, along with H.264 and MPEG-2 codecs, but it doesn't contain its own CPU as the chip in the PS3 does. The chip is capable of encoding and decoding H.264, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 video streams in hardware."
Er... supercomputers? (Score:2, Insightful)
Why bother? (Score:5, Insightful)
This spurs engine sounds just like an extra GPU...
Why not just go with CUDA or some other GP-GPU platform and avoid the hassle?
I know nVidia and AMD/ATI are doing H.264 decoding in hardware using their GPUs... I'm sure you can get software for encoders too.
Re:mythtv apps (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Yes, but... (Score:4, Insightful)
I can see a use for it.... (Score:3, Insightful)
Only pci-e x1 and 128meg of ram? ati, nv cards hav (Score:3, Insightful)
Only pci-e x1 and 128meg of ram? ati, nv cards have more ram at a lower cost with a pci-e x16 link.
The x1 link will slow this down. HTX is even better then pci-e for a add in cpu.
How Not to Build a Multicore Processor (Score:2, Insightful)
The Cell is a perfect example of how not to design and build a multicore processor. It's a powerful processor but it's a pain in the ass to program. The worst thing that a multicore designer can do is build a processor before the programming model is designed and tested and all the chinks ironed out. But Sony and IBM are not alone. Intel is making the same mistake with Larrabee. AMD is soon to follow suit with its Fusion hybrid. It's enough to make a grown man cry. The truth should be clear to everyone by now. Heterogeneous processors are not the way to go simply because there is no easy software model that makes them easy to program. GPUs are not the answer either because they lack universality. As Tim Sweeny said recently [arstechnica.com], what is needed is a homogeneous processor. It will do wonders for productivity. Homogeneity and universality is what is called for. The Cell is anything but.
In my opinion, both the CPU and the GPU are doomed [blogspot.com] for the simple reason that they are not universal. There is only one type of parallel processor core that can handle anything you can throw at it and that's a pure MIMD vector core. None of the multicore vendors have one none are planning to build one. Why? Because they don't have the right programming model. Unless they see the error of their ways, some other organization will do the right thing and rocket past them. They won't know what hit them until it's too late. The writing is on the wall.
Re:yo yo yo (Score:4, Insightful)
sweet, i can finally have my PVR record programs before they actually air!
but seriously though, how much is this card going to cost? is it just for professional video processing or will there be other uses for it as well? i wouldn't mind having one of these things for a PVR/media center, except for the fact that it needs a one-slot cooler, meaning it probably runs hot and noisy.
Re:mythtv apps (Score:4, Insightful)
i was imagining how cool it'd be to have one of these + VIA EPIA/Eden micro-ATX (what's the smallest form factor that supports PCI-E?) for a HTPC/DVR. that is until i read that the card comes with a one-slot cooler. that would suggest that the processor runs pretty hot, and the slot cooler would probably make a good deal of noise.
Re:Two things (Score:3, Insightful)
You've never tried to write a Mac OS X driver, have you? If so, you'd know you couldn't be more wrong. OS X uses a totally different different architecture; they are not even close. OS X uses I/O Kit. Not even FreeBSD is close.
But then the question is (Score:3, Insightful)
What does it have over a normal multi-core processor, like say a Core 2 Quad?
The problem I've been seeing with the Cell both in terms of how it performs in the PS3 and the researchers tinkering with it at work (I work for a university) is that it doesn't really seem to have something that it is great at. A lot of the tasks people tout for it are highly parallel tasks, like Folding@Home. Ok, wonderful, except a GeForce crushes it. A GTX 280 using the CUDA client is much faster than a Cell. Ok so, not for tasks like that. You say it is more applicable to general purpose tasks. Fine, but we've got that already. Intel's Core and AMD's Athlon processors are some amazing general purpose processors for some amazing prices. From what I've seen, at regular CPU tasks, it can't keep up (in the PS3's case, the CPU core that has to dispatch everything to the cells gets swamped). So then what is the market?
You'll note that here one of the things listed is H.264 encode/decode. Well that IS something that GPUs do and quite well. The decode functions ship with newer drivers. As for encoding, there's a program called Badaboom that uses the GPU to do the encoding. So thus far a lot of the things I've seen the Cell marketed for (video, physics) are things GPUs with CUDA kick ass at.
The real question isn't what can this card do, it is what can it do better and/or cheaper than either a CPU or GPU? Doesn't matter if it can do everything that they can do, if it is turning complete it can pretty much by definition. What matters it can it do it for either less dollars or in less time (or better yet, both)?
Also in the video domain it has to compete with ASICs. I don't know about H.264 but there are very cheap MPEG-2/4 codecs. Each chip does 4 realtime encodes and decodes, and they aren't pricey. Computer based CCTV systems use them all the time.
Re:Chip production yield was _that_ poor? (Score:3, Insightful)
SpursEngine is not a partial good Cell; it's a different chip.