Technology: Fast-chip revolution for home computuers
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Your support makes all the difference.A new generation of ultra-fast micro chips was launched yesterday. They will have the processing power of a super-computer but at the cost of today's PCs. Randeep Ramesh says the new chips could revolutionise home computing
New computer chips - which are claimed to be the first to perform 1 billion ``floating point'' calculations every second - were unveiled yesterday by Texas Instruments This is 20 times faster than today's personal computers.
The increased computing power will produce ``film quality`` 3D graphics which simply require too much processing power available on home computers, say the company.
The new chips should be available in the second half of next year. Users will be able to purchase ``boards'' which can be inserted into conventional systems - most of which use microprocessors like Intel's Pentium chip. The micro-processor is likely to cost between pounds 30 and pounds 60 when produced in bulk.
The technology is developed from processors used in today's mobile phones. Eric Dewannain, Texas' European manager for the Digital Signal Processors, said: ``It is like putting a Formula One engine in your family saloon.''
The company says that any application that requires a large number of calculations to be performed will be ``significantly improved using the new chip''. Mr Dewannain said that the computing power would especially be useful for many ``Virtual Reality'' applications.
``You could have classroom field trips to the Egyptian pyramids via virtual reality so real children experience the look and feel of an ancient civilisation,'' said Mr Dewannain.
Another area would be games - already a multi-billion pound global industry. The latest hits, such as Tomb Raider, feature animated figures in 3D but most suffer from being unlifelike.
``This chip will allow for a much more realistic representation. The problem is that at the moment you are far from your computer looking like the scene outside your window,'' he added.
Mr Dewannain also predicted that with the increased number-crunching power that voice recognition for personal computers would become a reality. ``It is a question of separating the real signal from the noise and that needs a powerful computer.''
Other industries to benefit include weather forecasting - which soaks up processing power due to its mathematical intricacies - and the health service, where surgeons could be practising operations in virtual reality before using their scalpels on patients.
With the rate of processing power inexorably increasing, Mr Dewannain predicted that the company would have a chip capable of 3 billion floating point calculations by the end of the century.
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