Sony to bring Cell processor into the data center

I'm willing to bet that more than a few of you wouldn't mind having a PlayStation 3 in your cubicle. Well, you're going to have to take that one up with your boss but in the meantime, this might just be the next best thing: Sony has announced plans to market its Cell processor in the enterprise space. The chip, which was designed as part of a joint research project between Sony, IBM and Toshiba, consists of one primary processor and eight sub-processors, delivering around 230G Flops of raw processing power. Sony will be showing off a "Cell Computing Board" prototype--consisting of a Cell Broadband Engine microprocessor and an RSX graphics processor mounted on a board small enough for use in a 1U-size server/19-inch rack mount--at the upcoming SIGGRAPH show in San Diego. Doubtless, Sony is looking to recoup some of the chip's high development costs, as the pricey PlayStation 3 console that uses it has been anything but a success since its release last year. Nonetheless, the Cell has a number of interesting capabilities, including the ability to operate in tandem with other Cell CPUs and might prove a worthy piece of hardware in the data center.

For more on Sony's enterprise play:
- see this PCWorld article