RUMOR: IBM Executives Claim PS3 Cell Yields Getting Better

Back in May, The Inquirer reported that yields of the Cell microprocessor for the PS3 are performing poorly. Since then, there have been rumors left and right about yields being poor.

Now another unnamed source of The Inquirer has claimed that IBM executives have informed employees that the yields are “on or above” targets. So as not to turn you guys off, we’ll cut to the chase and say that good chip design results in a 90% yield. Which means of course that any number below that figure could only be bad. So, perhaps, the super chip has already reached that level, prompting IBM executives to share the good news with its employees.

The source also said that IBM has already shipped the first full allotment to Sony under a ‘take or pay’ arrangement. (whereby Sony has the obligation of either taking delivery of the goods or paying a specified amount), and that Sony must have “quite a stockpile of the processors in a warehouse somewhere”.

We would have preferred a direct quote from IBM, and until we get that, we’ll treat this news the same way we treated the stuff that came before it – as rumors. While we don’t have another source to verify the authenticity of the claim, it’s good to hear things might be getting better for the PS3 chip, if it did perform poorly in the first place.

Here’s hoping the good folks at IBM speak up and clarify the issue!

Via The Inquirer

Back in May, The Inquirer reported that yields of the Cell microprocessor for the PS3 are performing poorly. Since then, there have been rumors left and right about yields being poor.

Now another unnamed source of The Inquirer has claimed that IBM executives have informed employees that the yields are “on or above” targets. So as not to turn you guys off, we’ll cut to the chase and say that good chip design results in a 90% yield. Which means of course that any number below that figure could only be bad. So, perhaps, the super chip has already reached that level, prompting IBM executives to share the good news with its employees.

The source also said that IBM has already shipped the first full allotment to Sony under a ‘take or pay’ arrangement. (whereby Sony has the obligation of either taking delivery of the goods or paying a specified amount), and that Sony must have “quite a stockpile of the processors in a warehouse somewhere”.

We would have preferred a direct quote from IBM, and until we get that, we’ll treat this news the same way we treated the stuff that came before it – as rumors. While we don’t have another source to verify the authenticity of the claim, it’s good to hear things might be getting better for the PS3 chip, if it did perform poorly in the first place.

Here’s hoping the good folks at IBM speak up and clarify the issue!

Via The Inquirer