PS3 BE Possible: First Chip over 1 Billion Transitors!

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The first chip to have over a billion transitors:
Montecito : 90nm, Dual Core, ~2Ghz, 400Mhz FSB, 24MB L3 cache (2 x 12MB Split), 1.7B transistors, Enhanced cache reliability (Pellston), Enhanced workload performance (Foxton), Virtualization (Silvervale), supported by E8870 and Bayshore chipset (PCI Express, DDR2)
reported here: www.vr-zone.com/?i=920

WOW!!! 1.7 billion transistors!!! Does not mention the size of the die, but since so much of the transistors is L3 cache, it would not be too big compared to the Broadband engine going into the PS3, which would be made up of much more logic, and that takes up more space, which is probably a good thing interms of heat output per mm2.

Well if Intel can do it at 90nm in 2004, then Sony should be able to do it at 65nm in 2005. Now a billion transistor monster seems quite possible!

Only now, how are they going to cool the damn thing! LOL!
 
If BE hits a Billion trannies it's because that figure is overinflated because of the e-DRAM.

Just worry about area, trannie count is irrelevant.

Edit: It would SOOOOO make a good piece of PR though :p
 
Paul, if area is full of replicated structures like tons of identical DRAM cells and SRAM cells and APUs then the cost goes down.

The Itanium 2 CPU with 4-6 MB of cache needs over 400 mm^2 and it costs $150 to manufatcure.
 
As I said :p Transistor count is irrelevant when talking about the performance of this thing. Focus on the area, it's more important.
 
Paul said:
As I said :p Transistor count is irrelevant when talking about the performance of this thing. Focus on the area, it's more important.
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Paul, only $150 for a processor that takes over 400 mm^2 on 130 nm is not much.
 
My GFFX 5900U has more transistors (or maybe just as many, not sure) than an ATI X800.

Draw your own conclusions.

EDIT: OK, just checked, the R420 has a marginally greater number of transistors. ~130 for the NV35 vs ~160 for the R420.
 
...and I have a GIANT barrel of these at home! :p

transistors.jpg
 
rabidrabbit said:
You haven't heard of trans-sexuals (short for transistor-sexuals)?
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:LOL: :LOL: :LOL: I had that joke lined up for months, and here u come and steal it from my mouth!!!! No one ever takes anything out of my mouth without my permission and lives to tell the story!!!!
 
My GFFX 5900U has more transistors (or maybe just as many, not sure) than an ATI X800.

Draw your own conclusions.
Click to expand...

Well, but you have to remember this baby is probably going to be running in the multiple Ghz range... with that much resources and speed(Ghz), the design would have to be pretty f@cked up, have serious bottlenecks or the like to deliver non-astounding performance.

PS

I know it's probably not going to happen, but it'd be cool if they had some sort of breakthrough and were able to go for 45nm with those nice multi-gate transistors, “X Architectureâ€￾ tech, embedded dram tech,and advance materials. If they could escape the heat dissipation/power prob.s, that'd allow for quite an impressive piece of h/w... maybe if they'd do a worldwide fall 2006 launch, it could become viable... the performance delta gained by such a move would be more than worth it. Then it'd be nigh 32nm tech(thanks to edram toshiba tech, x architecture, TakeCharge tech, advanced materials, and pushing the process.)...

Toshiba Corp. Friday said it developed an embedded DRAM cell on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers. Mass production of the system-on-chips (SoCs) that will result from the innovation is expected to begin in 2006 and will be aimed at broadband network applications, Toshiba said.
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On another note:

Sony and Toshiba will beat Intel, AMD and others to the 45nm node, the duo announced, reaching that point in 2005, around the time other processor makers are shifting to 65nm chip fabrication processes.
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Yeah, from the register, don't think its too trusty, or else everyone here'd be talking about it, since it's a quote from feb .... but it'd be wonderful, heck if any of the console makers tried 90nm they'd have to delay and go for 65nm or beyond... it'd be good for everyone, and it'd be the final blow(pc vs console) to the pride of many, a 45nm nigh 32nm design won't be beaten this decade, at least not by a significant margin.
 
zidane1strife said:
My GFFX 5900U has more transistors (or maybe just as many, not sure) than an ATI X800.

Draw your own conclusions.
Click to expand...

Well, but you have to remember this baby is probably going to be running in the multiple Ghz range... with that much resources and speed(Ghz), the design would have to be pretty f@cked up, have serious bottlenecks or the like to deliver non-astounding performance.
Click to expand...

I was saying that transistor count per se doesn't make the pie. I wasn't connecting the possible BE performance to anything. Performance is directly connected to architecture, not transistor count. Not saying the BE will be anything less than amazing. God forbid, i'd have the Sony police here in seconds!
 
Transistors are for wussies.
After you've worked with PS2 and experienced the MuuMuu's first hand nothing quite compares afterwards.
 
I'm sorry but what is this thread about ? DO i have to ban london boy for disrupting every thread ?

London boy u earned 5 mins in the corner !!
 
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