Re: VMX
Originally posted by Blitzkrieg
Found this link yesterday:
http://www.ece.cmu.edu/~dianam/ics02/ics-3.pdf
A research paper (dated back to June 23, 2002) from IBM about an LPX processor (low-power with VMX - tapeout early 2003), about circuits running at 3.3 GHz up to 4.5 Ghz and so on. In one graph this processor compares to a Power4 - sounds interesting to me 
Blitzkrieg, I'm afraid I cannot fully agree with you about the article you alerted us to (BTW, thank you for doing so!). You see, if I could understand what the hell it was talking about I'd of found it MORE interesting. Nevertheless, I did find it interesting, albeit very confusing.
Of note, however, the particular processor the authors discussed would tape-out in early 2003. Didn't IBM's new cell CPU just tape-out? Now, doesn't 'tape-out' mean that design has been completed and then prototypes are developed and eventually production comes around. Well, if the Cell is two years out and this Power4 offspring is running behind the cell in terms of progress toward production, then I find this article disturbing. VERY DISTURBING!!!
On trying to be an optimist, IBM undoubtedly has a number of different CPU concepts under design, most of which never reach production I suspect. This article seems to be about various ways to decrease power density while minimizing performance trade-offs. Consequently, this article COULD be about the successor to the offspring to be discussed at the Microprocessor forum.
Question, is it common for presentations to be made on overall processors, not just some new element technology, that are pre-taped-out? Is the Cell, for example, which just taped-out, going to be discussed at the forum?
You all see where I'm coming from here? That article, while interesting for what little of it I could comprehend, poses some rather unpleasant product release date prospects. I prefer to think, however, that the first offspring from the Power4 has already taped-out. If not, two years is a long time.
