IBM Chip for Xbox 360

IBM has unveiled details of the unnamed processor that will slot into Microsoft's Xbox 360 game console due out on Nov. 22. The processor, which is based on IBM's 64-bit PowerPC architecture, comes with three cores, or calculating engines, that each run at clock speeds greater than 3GHz, IBM said. The cores, based on the PowerPC design, connect into a shared 1MB L2 cache. Overall, the chip has 165 million transistors, takes up 168 sq. mm of space and was built with a 90 nanometer manufacturing process. The chip has 1MB of high-speed cache memory built in, which is shared by the three cores. It's highly configurable and programmable utilizing eFUSE technology.

IBM and Microsoft engineers worked together over a two-year period beginning in 2003 to design the three-core processor specifically for high definition gaming and entertainment, the company said. IBM is quite proud that it delivered the product in less than 24 months after signing a deal with Microsoft in the fall of 2003.

Microsoft plans to launch the Xbox 360 Nov. 22 in the U.S., followed by Europe on Dec. 2 and Japan on Dec. 10.