Originally posted by Lanbrown
You can't use MHz to compare a processor from company A to processors from company B.
Sure you can if both processors have similar clock to clock performance.
Besides, if you actually read my post, you would have known that it was never my point to compare different CPUs by MHz in the first place.
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You bring up the fp that doesn't totally use the cache.
Okay, no logic in this statement, how do you not "totally use the cache"? All benchmarks in the SPEC CPU2000 suite have a memory footprint of between 100 MB and 200 MB. Unless your processor is a Power4, of course it's going to take up all the cache.
Itanium 2 was pushed back because Itanium 2 was late. Just like Sun pushed back the US IV because the III was late.
What? Itanium 2 was pushed back because Itanium 2 was late?
Get your facts straight, Intel has publically stated on record that Itanium 2 will be released second half of 2002 and true to word, it was released on July 8th 2002, which is well within the time frame originally planned. Sun didn't push USIV back, it wasn't released on the set timeframe or in other words
delayed.
PCI Express and RaipIO are fine, that is the bus for the peripheral. There are other times the chip must wait for data, like getting it out of memory. Or when it has information that is does not need, it takes more then one-clock cycle to go get it. Also, I said overall system design. All components play a part in overall system performance. Intel is focused on making a chip that is a strong performer, but the cost is more power consumption and heat generated. Just wait, next year will be the turn around for Sun, 2005 will bring even more and 2006 that will be back to the top.
Both PCI Express and RapidIO are positioned as general purpose interconnects meant to dramatically improve inter-system communications. This includes improving communication between the CPU and the memory, the graphics card, the hard drive, the local I/O, as well as all the peripherals.
Tell me, do you really believe Sun is going to develop it's own line of Graphic Cards, Hard Drives, RAM, etc? What makes you so sure they'll be better than the ones produced by companies who specialize in these? I think you need to face reality.
So far, you've still haven't provided any new information on exactly
*what* Sun is working on. Nor have you provided a explanation of how you can improve latency by improving inter-system communications.
Last chip roadmap I saw from Intel showed the Itanic at .18. Ti is already has .09 parts available; Intel has yet to release anything.
http://www.dig64.com/More_on_DIG64/Itanium2_white_paper_public.pdf
"While the Itanium 2 processor represents a major step in the Itanium Processor Family, work has already begun on the next generation of processors. Since the Itanium 2 processor was designed in the Intel P858 process, late in that processs life, it is reasonable to move the Itanium 2 microarchitecture into the latest technology. That enhancement will allow generation of both lower power and higher performance
products. That is the goal for the next-generation Madison and Deerfield products. Madison will increase performance by increasing frequency and the L3 cache size, and Deerfield will provide a lower power alternative"
I don't see the higher cache or lower powered variant and the P858 process is .18.
As I've stated before, you need to read the news, Madison Itanium 2s were released in the first week of July this year as this news artile details:
http://www.entmag.com/news/article.asp?EditorialsID=5868
"7/3/03 Intel this week delivered its third-generation 64-bit processor, the "Madison" release of the Itanium 2 processor. Major server vendors including Dell, HP and IBM are poised with systems built on the higher performance chip."
SGI, HP, and IBM have had Madison servers for quite a while now. All official SPEC scores have already been posted, TPC-C scores have been posted long before the "official" release. Again, you should really pay more attention to the news before writing pointless ignorant statements like this one.
Both Intel and IBM have have .09 nm parts as well as entire processors for quite a while now (in the form of prototypes, engineering samples), and soon they will have mass produced 90 nm processors and standardized them. IBM already mass produces 90 nm Xilinx Field Programmable Gate Arrays. Ti expects volume production of 90 nm communication chips (that are about as complex as a FPGA) in 4Q 2003. Intel expects volume production of it's Pentium 5 (much more complex than Ti's communication chips or IBM's FPGAs) in 4Q 2003. Who do you think is ahead?
Define beat the crap out of the USIII? Lets look at the number of programmers that can code for the USIII. EPIC is unknown to most, but has been around since the 70s. There are many more 64-bit apps available for Solaris then for the Itanic.
I'm surprised that I have to point out that "beat the crap out of USIII" refers beating the crap out of the USIII in application performance. I thought it was pretty obvious what I meant but I guess there are just some people who can't take a hint.