There was a lot of anticipation last year about the revolutionary processor chip in Play Station 3, “The Cell”. This processor chip was going to surprise everyone and completely change the way we think about video games. It would make games so amazingly realistic that you could never go back to the old systems.
Now, the PS3 is out and everyone is still waiting for that amazing gaming experience that Cell promised. Sony had said that Cell in particular would give the PS3 better graphics and more detail, and give it a competitive edge over the xBox 360 and Nintendo Wii.
What makes the Cell processor chip so extraordinary? The Cell processor chip is a multicore chip, which means it has one main processor core that controls multiple threads. This design is a vast improvement over regular processor chips because it is capable of multitasking. With Cell, each chip has multiple cores that control 8 threads. While normal processor chips can perform only 2 tasks at a time, Cell is capable of up to 10. This means it runs faster than 4 GHz, 10 times faster than PC processor chips. The Intel chip comes closest, running at 3.8 GHz.
What this means for gamers is that the PS3 processor chip can offer better graphics. The increased speed of operation and multitasking can be used to make games even more realistic. This was the cause of all the fuss around the release of the gaming system with the new processor chip.
Unfortunately, many players feel that Cell has not lived up to expectations. Some gamers say that the XBox 360 has better graphics than the PS3. If you compare games made for both systems, like Madden 07, Call Of Duty 3, Need For Speed Carbon and others, you can see that XBox has better graphics overall. You can see some differences in the graphics, but it’s hard to say that one system’s graphics are better than others. For example, in some games the backgrounds are lighter or the lighting is better. Most gamers agree that these differences are barely noticeable.
It seems to many that the creators of PS3 are not using the full potential of the chip. Not yet, anyway. Gamers eagerly await the next round of new games to be released on PS3 and hope that developers will use Cell to its full potential.
Cell was developed by Sony, Toshiba and IBM working together over four years, and plans are underway to use its high-speed multitasking capabilities for new models of digital TVs and other home electronics. Play Station 3’s use of this new technology is something of a first; For a new processor chip to make its debut with a game console is unusual. Maybe this is a new trend in the tech industry. This is good news for players!