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To: Guy Peter Cordaro who wrote (2933)	2/4/1998 10:36:00 PM
From: Estephen	Respond to of 93625

From the WSJ. Implies need for high speed memory. February 4, 1998 IBM to Unveil Super-Fast PC Chip, But Commercial Use Is Years Away By RAJU NARISETTI Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL International Business Machines Corp. has built and tested a super-fast computer chip that indicates chip makers won't hit a technological brick wall anytime soon when it comes to speed. The experimental microprocessor operates at 1,000 megahertz, or about three times faster than the fastest Intel Pentium chip. But the chip, which IBM unveiled Wednesday, isn't expected to be commercially available for at least two to three years. Company Profile: International Business Machines IBM Develops Copper Chip; Seen as Industry Breakthrough (Sept. 22, 1997) A microprocessor's speed -- the ability to execute commands at a certain number of cycles per second -- is a critical factor in expanding the capabilities of computers. The fastest microprocessors today operate at about 600 MHz and are used in powerful computers called servers. The fastest chip made by Intel Corp., which supplies the microprocessors running about 90% of all personal computers, is a 333 MHz Pentium II microprocessor, which is expected to increase to 450 MHz by year end. The fastest IBM-made chip is a PowerPC microprocessor that can run at 350 MHz. Earlier this week, Digital Equipment Corp. released a technology road map for its fast Alpha chip, indicating it will be capable of operating at more than 1,000 MHz by the year 2000. IBM developed the fast microprocessor at its Austin, Texas, laboratory. It uses its existing chip-manufacturing technology, which can make circuits that are as thin as 0.25 micron, or one-four-hundredths the width of a human hair. However, IBM researchers came up with a different chip architecture as well as circuit design for the faster microprocessor. This enabled them to combine certain instructions into single circuits and also reduce the number of stages through which electrons flow through the wiring, helping boost the speed. IBM said the experimental chip can be tested using conventional testing equipment and doesn't generate extra heat, overcoming two big constraints in designing and producing chips with faster speeds. IBM, Armonk, N.Y., will give details of results of its research, for which it has already filed 23 patent applications, at an annual chip industry conference in San Francisco. The company is expected to say the same process will lead to even faster microprocessors when combined with its recent efforts that replace aluminum wiring on chips with more-conductive copper. Return to top of page Copyright c 1998 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Personal Path