Embedded G5-Powerhorse?
OK, we know that Moto did announce and present the embedded G5 (mPC8540) nearly 9 month ago. This chip with its new "e500" core is as a system-on-a-chip not perfect for Apple, but it offers:
- Highspeed interconnect architecture (RapidIO) with a throughput of up to 128GBit/s
- DDR memory controller
- 64Bit PCI-X controller
- dual gigabit ethernet controllers
- crossbar architecture
- compatibility to the PPC instruction set
- Speed up to 1Ghz
Makes me wonder if this chip may help Apple out of its misery even though it does not seem to contain Altivec-units. Whats more: "Samples of the MPC8540 are expected to be available in the second half of 2002" - so Apple could announce System with the MPC 8540 in July if things went well and deliver in Sept.
- Highspeed interconnect architecture (RapidIO) with a throughput of up to 128GBit/s
- DDR memory controller
- 64Bit PCI-X controller
- dual gigabit ethernet controllers
- crossbar architecture
- compatibility to the PPC instruction set
- Speed up to 1Ghz
Makes me wonder if this chip may help Apple out of its misery even though it does not seem to contain Altivec-units. Whats more: "Samples of the MPC8540 are expected to be available in the second half of 2002" - so Apple could announce System with the MPC 8540 in July if things went well and deliver in Sept.
Comments
<strong>so Apple could announce System with the MPC 8540 in July if things went well and deliver in Sept.</strong><hr></blockquote>
Yeah, if Apple wants even less marketshare than they got now. The core seems to be designed for custommers like Ericsson and AT&T. At least if you look at the built-in features.
<a href="http://e-www.motorola.com/collateral/MPC8540E500RPT.pdf"; target="_blank">http://e-www.motorola.com/collateral/MPC8540E500RPT.pdf</a>;
(page 18)
Performance: Dhrystone 2315 MIPS
(Package: 575PBGA)
To my surprise, it compares well with a 1 Ghz 7455: Dhrystone 2310 @ 1 GHz
(Package: 483 CBGA)
But then again, isnt the Dhrystone very bandwidth sensetive? Its more a sign of how much the G4 really sucks than anything else.
Apple _could_, in theory, make a system with a G4 chip and a small array of e500 cores, like the one in page 17 ( same pdf file ).