Consoles Push Multi-Core Processor Usage

A new report from market research firm iSuppli has suggested that the market for multi-core microprocessors is set to dramatically increase over the next ten years – in large part due to the usage of the technology in next generation video games consoles. Analysts from iSuppli predict that shipments of multi-core microprocessors will grown from 14.8 million in 2005 to 638 million units in 2015. Market revenues will increase accordingly from $2.6 billion to $64.8 billion, as manufacturers accept the multi-core approach as the optimum design approach for new systems. The Xbox 360 has a tri-core Power PC processor while the PlayStation 3’s Cell processor famously features seven cores (with an additional redundant core created during the manufacturing processes). Although no official technical specifications exist for the Revolution current rumors, and iSuppli’s report, suggest it will be at least dual-core. Multi-core processors are also becoming increasingly prevalent in the PC market, with both Intel and AMD offering dual-core processors, although it is the latter that has led the market in this area so far.