New Xbox 360 Processor Offers Powerful Speeds

October 25th 2005 | Games Consoles

Less than a month before Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 hits store shelves, International Business Corp. revealed details of the microprocessor that powers the long-awaited video game console. The IBM-built chip features three customized PowerPC computing engines that can each handle two simultaneous tasks at clock speeds greater than 3 gigahertz. It was customized for Microsoft in less than 24 months from the original contract.

"Working with IBM gave us the flexibility to design a processor to give game developers the kind of targeted power they need to make great games," said Todd Holmdahl, Microsoft vice president of Xbox hardware.

Yahoo New Xbox Processor Offers Powerful Speeds

The chip features 165 million transistors and is fabricated using IBM’s 90-nanometer technology to reduce heat and improve performance. The chip’s 21.6GB-per-second front side bus architecture was customized to meet the throughput and latency requirements of the Xbox 360 gaming platform software, the company said.

IBM is also working on a processor, called Cell, for the PlayStation3 game console, in conjunction with Sony and Toshiba.

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New Xbox 360 Processor Offers Powerful Speeds
Published in: Games Consoles on 2005-10-25