BEIJING, Oct. 26 -- 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 165m transistors, takes up 168 sq. mm of space and was built with a 90nm manufacturing process.

    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. Enditem

(Agencies)