Toshiba to launch laptops with PS3 processor

 

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By Matthew Sparkes

Posted on 9 May 2008 at 12:25

Toshiba has announced it will begin to ship notebooks with graphics chips based on the PlayStation 3's Cell processor.

The Qosmio G40 will be released with Toshiba's SpursEngine SE1000 at some point in 2008, with other models to follow.

The chip already supports MPEG 2 and H.264 formats, and Toshiba has announced that it will be working with CyberLink and Corel to ensure that its popular video playback software is compatible.

Toshiba's SpursEngine SE1000 is based around four Synergistic Processing Elements (SPEs), eight of which go to make up the Cell processor used by Sony in its latest gaming console.

Toshiba has redesigned the layout of the circuit to minimise the size of its chips, shaving almost a third from its footprint. The chip uses 128MB of dedicated XDR RAM and runs at 1.5GHz.

The Cell processor was originally developed by a consortium consisting of Sony, Toshiba and IBM, dubbed STI.