This just in!!!!!!
Saturday, October 19, 2002
IBM's 64-bit MPU is 32-bit compatible
Jack Robertson
EBN
IBM Corp. this week lifted the wraps off its next-generation 64-bit PowerPC 970, a processor the company said will also run 32-bit programs in native mode.
"Users can make the transition [from 32- to 64-bit applications] gradually and don't have to wait on a large amount of 64-bit software being developed," said Kalpesh Gala, IBM PowerPC marketing manager.
IBM's strategy is the same as that being pursued by Advanced Micro Devices Inc., whose 64-bit Hammer MPU family also supports native 32-bit instructions.
Analysts said that, although the disparate processor architectures won't necessarily compete for the same sockets, the fact that AMD and IBM are following similar paths could apply pressure on Intel Corp., whose 64-bit Itanium chips run 32-bit instructions using a slower emulation mode.
Observers have long reported that Intel is developing a backup device, code-named Yamhill, that would offer dual 32/64-bit support. The Santa Clara, Calif., company has refused to comment on the speculation, citing a policy against discussing unannounced products.
For its part, IBM, Armonk, N.Y., has achieved first silicon with the PowerPC 970, which is expected to sample in the second quarter of 2003 and enter volume production in the second half of the year, according to Gala.
Boasting a 1.8GHz frequency, the device will be the company's highest-performance PowerPC processor, nearly twice the 1GHz of the fastest chip in its current product line.
The PowerPC 970 is a derivative of IBM's Power4 dual-core processor for high-performance servers, borrowing one of the chip's cores. The MPU also features 512Kbytes of on-die Level 2 cache and dual 32-bit bus lines with a 900MHz frontside bus.
Gala said the new processor will be aimed at desktop PCs and workstations, entry-level servers, electronic games, networking equipment, storage, and high-end set-top boxes. One major potential application is in a new server line developed by PowerPC user Apple Computer Inc. Tom Halfhill, an analyst at In-Stat/MDR, San Jose, said IBM will likely use the new processor to win more sockets at Apple, which has historically bought most of its PowerPC chips from Motorola Inc.
Though neither IBM nor Apple would comment, the PowerPC 970 is equipped to run the Apple Altivec multimedia instruction set for servers. |
