Getting Smaller: 45 nm Cell BE in the Works

To me, the Cell Broadband Engine is a fascinating piece of technology with a vast amount of computing power and potential. One of the pitfalls of the Cell processor aside from being notoriously difficult to program for, is the chip’s rather power hungry appetite. Well, since IBM announced that the 65 nm version of this monsterous beast is already in full swing, it should nto be surprising to find out that a 45 nm version is in the works.

The 65 nm version of Cell (available only in 40 GB PS3 at the moment) already helps slice the power consumption of the PS3 from 200W to 135W. By switching from the 65 nm to the 45 nm process, Sony hopes to cut the power consumption of the Cell by 40 percent. Will this mean we will be seeing PSThree Slims in the not so distant future? One could only hope!