SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.
Technology Stocks : Intel Corporation (INTC)
INTC 35.94-5.1%Nov 13 3:59 PM EST
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  
To: kash johal who wrote (67378)10/26/1998 1:09:00 PM
From: Tenchusatsu  Read Replies (3) of 186894
 
<K7 will support up to 8-way servers.>

Wrong. K7 is plugged into a point-to-point connection, meaning that all the symmetric multiprocessing is handled by the north bridge. In other words, to have more than one K7 in a system, the north bridge must have enough P2P ports to support all those K7's. In contrast, Xeon is 4-way SMP, meaning that four processors will plug "gluelessly" into one bus, and the north bridge only has to connect to that one bus.

Saying that the K7 will support up to 8-way servers is the same thing as saying that the Xeon will support up to 32-way servers. In theory, you can have an infinite amount of K7's or Xeons in one big-iron server if the system is designed to support all those processors. But I'll guarantee you that it'll be simpler to design a 4-way Xeon system than a 4-way K7 system.

<K7 supports up to 8MB of L2 cache(could be important for servers?).>

So? It makes no difference unless AMD is actually willing to stick 8 MB of expensive CSRAM on the Slot A daughtercard. That 8 MB figure is only because the Slot A platform is borrowed from the Digital Alpha platform. And we all know that the Alpha has up to 8 MB of L3 cache. But I don't think AMD will try for more than 2 MB of L2 cache. There are reasons why Intel isn't going for more than 2 MB of L2 cache in the Xeon platform, even though it would be trivial to design (but not trivial in terms of cost).

Kash, I don't pretend to be an expert in subjects that aren't my area of expertise. Unfortunately for you, servers just happens to be mine.

Tenchusatsu
Report TOU ViolationShare This Post
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  

HomeMailHotSubjectMarksPeopleMarksKeepersSettings
Terms Of UseContact UsCopyright/IP PolicyPrivacy PolicyAbout UsFAQAdvertise on SI
© 2025 Knight Sac Media.  Data provided by Twelve Data, Alpha Vantage, and CityFALCON News