The 5GHz "G6" CPU...

[RedTomato]

I guess they released it today. 4.7 GHz.
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=7384

From the article:

IBM boasts that its processor has so much bandwidth that the POWER6 chip could download the entire iTunes catalog in about 60 seconds.

That's the sound of 5000 scientists smacking their foreheads in unison.

Particularly baffling considering that the target audience and purchasers for this system are so focussed on their work that they probably won't even know what iTunes is.

 

[longofest]

I'll try to reply to a bunch of questions that I've seen.

POWER != PowerPC, although they are related. As others have said, the PowerPC 970 family (aka G5) was a derivative of the POWER4 processor. PowerPC in general is a derivative of POWER, although now POWER is borrowing some things back from PowerPC (like Altivec, which is being incorporated into POWER6).

POWER processors are very expensive compared to their lighter PowerPC-branded counterparts, mainly because they have a different purpose in mind. POWER processors are used in IBM's mid to high-end servers, like their 'p' and 'i' series. These servers are used in big corporations, banking institutions, governments, and in research fields.

To give you a sense of how POWER is different from PowerPC, the cache size on a POWER processor is typically 36 MB or greater, whereas a PowerPC processor maxes out at 2 MB.

While IBM is hoping to strip the POWER6 down into a light version to be able to use in blades, don't expect this chip to end up in your average PC, even if Apple was still interested in it.

Some more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_POWER#PowerPC

 

[dmw007]

While IBM is hoping to strip the POWER6 down into a light version to be able to use in blades, don't expect this chip to end up in your average PC, even if Apple was still interested in it.

Well, it is still nice to dream...

 

[Shadow]

don't expect this chip to end up in your average PC, even if Apple was still interested in it.

It probably won't even be in the average server, we're talking $10,000 as a minimum here. Serious stuff.

 

[Zwhaler]

All IBM pSeries servers and IntelliStation POWER workstations use conventional air cooling ...

Notice the word IntelliStation the servers are probably the size of a refrigerator lol

 

[thunng8]

Notice the word IntelliStation the servers are probably the size of a refrigerator lol

No. IBM sell servers from 1U (quad core) to size of a refrigerator. POWER6 will also go into blades.

 

[MacNut]

So this is the real reason for the iPhone delay. So what if you need to wear a backpack when you use the phone.

 

[Shadow]

So this is the real reason for the iPhone delay. So what if you need to wear a backpack when you use the phone.

iPhone G7 on Tuesday!!!