Intel crams 48 cores onto stamp-sized processor, wants to do what Cell did
By Richard Lai 
posted December 2nd 2009 5:47PM
posted December 2nd 2009 5:47PM
Just when we thought Intel's yet-to-release six-core Core i9 would be the future, the silicon giant drops the bomb yet again with more multi-core madness -- the experimental 48-core Single-chip Cloud Computer (SCC), a.k.a. Rock Creek. While it looks like Intel still has a long way from their 80-core target in 2011, this bad boy packs an impressive 1.3 billion transistors on a 45nm fabrication, but sucks up just 125 watts which is a far cry from Core i9's 130 watts. Intel's stated that their main goal is to use SCC's parallel computation -- a field where high clock speed isn't necessary -- to enhance gesture control. Sounds familiar? Yes, it was Toshiba's SpursEngine, but there's no harm in having a new contender for the challenge. You go, girl!
I want it now my computer is SLOW!
@pankomputerek
Oh anf finally 1st YES YES YES!
@pankomputerek Each one is clocked slightly lower than an Atom processor. Unless you have some very specialized mutli-core applications all this will do is make you want to break things.
@(Unverified) 48 Atom CPUs doesnt sound that bad...
@pankomputerek
48 8mhz cores won't do you much good.
@(Unverified)
i got a question for you, why doesn't intel just make one core processor with that many transistors? isnt it hard to code for that many cores?
@uck That almost killed them in the past (ok, so by "killed" i mean it reduced the billions of dollars in their account by a bit), so they went multicore instead of big-ass single core processors.
@uck
Not only what Nitesh said, but if you can fit a lot of low speed processors and stabilize them (multicore), then try their luck mounting faster processors on a future development, why the fuck would you waste time building a fast-ass singlecore processor? You can only go so far with 1 fucking core.
@uck, problem with single core processors is not the number of transistors they feature, but the `one instruction per pipeline` problem - you need to rise the frequency to make them more effective, and there are physical limits to that. Going multicore allows you to execute instructions in parallel which in both, theory and practice, obviously works much better...
@shadowj0 have you been playing a lot of Rogue Warrior?
Intel dosen't cram the 48 cores, Chuck Norris does. By cramming intel.
@smartmouth
HAHAHAHA!
How long until we get it.
@kris120890 Next year, codename Larrabee.
What's up with Chuck Norris?
@pankomputerek What isn't up with Chuck Norris?
@pankomputerek
I'm not up with Chuck Norris =(
@pankomputerek
Chuck Norris squeezes each individual subatomic particle smaller to get around Moore's Law.
Computers powered by Chuck Norris are the future....
@SolidSnake
No no no no
Chuck Noris powers the future.
@SolidSnake NIce 1.
@Eternity
Chuck Norris doesn't power the future, it powers him.
@SolidSnake Chuck Norris IS the future.
@SolidSnake
what is a chuck norris, everyone talks about it?
@milkywayer
If you have to ask, you're gonna die soon. Wait for the knock on the door, 'cuz it's never gonna come.
...And how exactly is that wanting to do "what the Cell did"?
@Nitesh ....Cut up a horse?
Chuck Norris crams 48 fists in your mouth
@Oli D
He doesn't have to, you're already dead.
48 cores! WOW!
How long does anyone think that it would take for that technology to trickle down into normal desktop computers? Just think of the possibilities...
@zman Moore's Law, do the math.
We can barely get our apps to use 4 cores...
Damn, I just wish all our software was coded by Chuck Noris.
@Eternity
Chuck Norris is the matrix. He is connected to all computers. He is their lifeblood. I, for one, welcome our new ass-kicking, name-taking overlord, Chuck Norris.
"... wants to do what Cell did"
Like not even be used for a fraction of its full potential???
@MikeZ Meaning? The Cell showed up in servers and supercomputers.
@Nitesh: That' s only part of it. All the stories about re-purposed PS3s show that there' s lots of market potential that was never touched.
@MikeZ
The Cell's a beast. Nuff said. Someone should be sure to let me know when they see the outdated PowerPC Tri-Core that's in the 360 running on high end servers and super computers.
I'm definitely with you on the potential thing though. The good part is it gives the PS3 much more longevity then the 360 does because it has so much more potential from a processing standpoint (and that's not to say the RSX chip is bad either). I'll be looking forward to seeing even better looking and performing games then what we're getting out of stuff like Uncharted 2, MGS4, Heavy Rain, and God of War III in only a few years.
This is just Larrabee. Larrabee is not going over terribly well so far, so I guess they have a new direction to go.
I love how you say 125W is a far cry from Core i9's 130W. Great writing.
How is 48 cores at 125w not a far cry from 6 cores at 130w?
@spin cycle
Let's see, 48 cores using 125W compared to 6 cores using 130W. Great comprehending.
Powered by dreams and fueled by imagination!
48 cores? I'm starting to feel obsolete with my Core 2 Duo computer.
@LonnieDVD
You obsolescence happened November 2008
makes me hungry.
ME WANT GOLDEN GRAHAM.
48 Chuck Norris's in one processor? You can kick a lot of asses with that.
Whatever happened to the 80-core die that they were showing off a while back?
The power of 48 cores! Just what the average home user needs to power their game of Solitaire.
@Phranky
4 more cores and they would be able to dedicate an entire core to each card ^_^
just in time for Windows 8
Terminators had a chip that looked very similar to that. hmmmmm