PS3 Cell chip lead architect talks about development challenges

IBM’s lead architect for the Playstation 3’s Cell Broadband Engine James Kahle discussed the various experiences and challenges that he and his team faced during the chip’s development in a recent interview.

Kahle worked with a synergistic group of software engineers, graphics design specialists, and testers to develop the PS3’s powerful microprocessor.

What James Kahle basically did was make the Cell chip eclectic and holistic as his very own design team. He then took a lot of different attributes from the gaming world and put them together with a mix of computing and super computing attributes.

And because the Cell chip is basically a microprocessor that incorporates a variety of different applications, Mr. Kahle and his team had to make sure that they were fairly flexible with how the graphics interfaces worked on the Cell chip.

James Kahle went on to admit that it was the very structure of the Cell chip that presented a major challenge to his team. In order to tap the Cell’s full potential and make it as efficient as possible, the software programmers had to be a little more structured with its design.

That called for a lot more upfront planning than usual. Fortunately, Kahle admitted that they had operated under a very open working environment, and that Sony had worked very closely with them on the project.

IBM’s lead architect for the Playstation 3’s Cell Broadband Engine James Kahle discussed the various experiences and challenges that he and his team faced during the chip’s development in a recent interview.

Kahle worked with a synergistic group of software engineers, graphics design specialists, and testers to develop the PS3’s powerful microprocessor.

What James Kahle basically did was make the Cell chip eclectic and holistic as his very own design team. He then took a lot of different attributes from the gaming world and put them together with a mix of computing and super computing attributes.

And because the Cell chip is basically a microprocessor that incorporates a variety of different applications, Mr. Kahle and his team had to make sure that they were fairly flexible with how the graphics interfaces worked on the Cell chip.

James Kahle went on to admit that it was the very structure of the Cell chip that presented a major challenge to his team. In order to tap the Cell’s full potential and make it as efficient as possible, the software programmers had to be a little more structured with its design.

That called for a lot more upfront planning than usual. Fortunately, Kahle admitted that they had operated under a very open working environment, and that Sony had worked very closely with them on the project.