Dynaverse.net
Off Topic => Engineering => Topic started by: Nemesis on January 11, 2008, 07:40:09 pm
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Link to full article (http://crave.cnet.co.uk/video/0,139101587,49295004,00.htm)
The system was demonstrated in modified Qosmio G45 laptops, each of which uses a standard Intel Core 2 Duo CPU in addition to a Cell chip with four 1.5GHz synergistic processing elements (SPEs). For reference, the PS3 has eight SPEs running at 3GHz, making it approximately 75 per cent quicker. Like any sensible human beings, we wondered how much all this would cost, but Toshiba assures us that if the system actually does come to market, it won't be too expensive. Yeah, and pigs can parallel park.
Given the reputed processing power fo the Cell Processor this could be an excellent add on to any computer that does some forms of high intensity math.
Toshiba had four demos running, the first of which transformed standard-definition video into 1080p. This takes any grubby-looking 640x480-pixel video -- of the sort you might record with a mobile phone or digital camera -- applies some hardcore image processing, and spits it out a few hours later as full 1080p. The effect was extremely impressive, and proves that you can, to some extent, polish a turd. Toshiba says it's possible to do this using an ordinary Intel Core processor, but the Spurs system speeds things up considerably -- what would take 24 hours with an ordinary laptop can be done in just three hours with the aid of Spurs. Stop sniggering, Arsenal fans.