IBM, Sony and Toshiba have nearly finished designing a mysterious multi-core “Cell” processor, according to an article at CNET's GameSpot website. Cell is expected to run Linux and be available in a number of configurations appropriate to embedded systems as early as 2005. It is also expected to power Sony's PlayStation 3.

Cell integrates between four and 16 processor cores into a single chip using IBM's sub-0.1 micron silicon-on-insulator process technology. Chips with four cores are expected to appear in set-top boxes and other embedded applications.

At the high end, Cell chips should be capable of more than a trillion floating point calculations per second, or about 100 times more than a Pentium IV running at 2.4Ghz.

Cell's performance may ultimately be determined by the operating system and software. Linux is reportedly among the operating systems that Cell engineers are designing the chip to work with. An operating system and applications specific to Cell and its use in the PlayStation are also under development.

The joint initiative to develop Cell was announced in Tokyo in March of 2001, with the three companies committing more than $400 million dollars. Based at IBM's Austin, Tex. research facility, the Cell project involves over 300 engineers and according to IBM Director of Broadband Technology Jim Kahle is on track to meet its original 2005 release schedule.

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