Good news, everybody! Those super-geniuses over at
IBM have whipped up a new form of CPU transfer which utilizes pulses of light instead of electricity to move data between cores on a chip. The new technology -- which is one-hundred times faster than current speeds -- is called silicon nanophotonics, and if implemented, could downsize supercomputers to laptop stature. The invention is unhindered by common problems with electrical chips, such as overheating and breakdown of data on short trips, allowing signals to pass unmolested over greater distances. Using this process, data can be moved a few centimeters, while requiring one-tenth as much power, resulting in lower operational costs for supercomputers. Will Green, a researcher at IBM, says that the company's creation will, "Be able to have hundreds or thousands of cores on a chip," and will result in huge speed boosts. Unfortunately, the project is on track to be carried out in
10 to 12 years, which leaves a lot of time to ponder if the chips will play Doom.
posted December 6th 2007 9:19AM
lolol
unmolested
"allowing signals to pass unmolested over greater distances"
made my day
"IBM creates a chip-sized supercomputer"
"...and if implemented, could downsize supercomputers to laptop stature."
I guess chip size is relative, like Fritos to Ponch
I am less worried about doom and more worried about Quake compatibility.
It might play Doom...But will it play Lemmings?
Dr. Uzi Vishkin at the University of Maryland has already designed and built a chip that could bring the supercomputer to the consumer desktop.
http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/~vishkin/index.shtml
If only IBM would invent the fing-longer...
I remember IBM transferring bytes around a single chip using infrared back in the late 90s which had all the advertised benefits of this chip. I don't know what is groundbreaking here! Multiple cores?
"...which leaves a lot of time to ponder if the chips will play Doom."
I'm more interested if it will play Bioshock.