90nm G5's power control
IBM to add clock throttling tech to 90nm G5 chip
Posted by Voodoo on 20 Nov 2003 - 20:06 CET | 3 Comments
IBM is adding Intel SpeedStep-style clock frequency and core voltage scaling technology to the 90nm version of its PowerPC 970 processor, aka the G5. IBM engineers will be discussing the technology, dubbed PowerTune, next February at the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Conference, scheduled to be held in San Francisco. According to the pre-conference programme, IBM will unveil PowerTune during an 18 February conference session. PowerTune is described as "a power-management technique for a multi-gigahertz superscalar [64-bit] PowerPC processor in a 90nm technology [offering] a dynamically controlled clock frequency with noise suppression as well as a synchronisation circuit for a multi-processor system".
It's the latter point that separates PowerTune from SpeedStep-style technologies, allowing two or more processors to ensure they're running at the same clock speed, even though they may be loaded differently according to the way the host operating system is balancing tasks across the available CPUs. IBM undoubtedly has its eye on multi-processor blades, but the technology will also help Apple speed the arrival of G5-based PowerBooks, helped by the shift to a 90nm process.
The 130nm G5-based Power Mac already offers a level of frequency switching, throttling clock speed down to 1.3GHz, and the bus speed to 650MHz, but this appears to be a system feature, rather than a technology implemented in the proce.
Hmm....
Famous Aqua stripe (look at the far right and the very top) Neowin has done it again: posted another Mac-style news bit. The register has the story.
In my mind, this is great. It shows IBM probably expects the 90nm G5s to be laptop items, and will make it easier on Apple if they design a 90nm G5 laptop.
No, I don't aim to be like MacsRGood4PostingNewsWith0ut0Pinion MacsRGood4U.
I wonder if a name that long is allowed.
Posted by Voodoo on 20 Nov 2003 - 20:06 CET | 3 Comments
IBM is adding Intel SpeedStep-style clock frequency and core voltage scaling technology to the 90nm version of its PowerPC 970 processor, aka the G5. IBM engineers will be discussing the technology, dubbed PowerTune, next February at the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Conference, scheduled to be held in San Francisco. According to the pre-conference programme, IBM will unveil PowerTune during an 18 February conference session. PowerTune is described as "a power-management technique for a multi-gigahertz superscalar [64-bit] PowerPC processor in a 90nm technology [offering] a dynamically controlled clock frequency with noise suppression as well as a synchronisation circuit for a multi-processor system".
It's the latter point that separates PowerTune from SpeedStep-style technologies, allowing two or more processors to ensure they're running at the same clock speed, even though they may be loaded differently according to the way the host operating system is balancing tasks across the available CPUs. IBM undoubtedly has its eye on multi-processor blades, but the technology will also help Apple speed the arrival of G5-based PowerBooks, helped by the shift to a 90nm process.
The 130nm G5-based Power Mac already offers a level of frequency switching, throttling clock speed down to 1.3GHz, and the bus speed to 650MHz, but this appears to be a system feature, rather than a technology implemented in the proce.
Hmm....
Famous Aqua stripe (look at the far right and the very top) Neowin has done it again: posted another Mac-style news bit. The register has the story.
In my mind, this is great. It shows IBM probably expects the 90nm G5s to be laptop items, and will make it easier on Apple if they design a 90nm G5 laptop.
No, I don't aim to be like MacsRGood4PostingNewsWith0ut0Pinion MacsRGood4U.
I wonder if a name that long is allowed.
Comments
remember the reports that ibm would skip the 0.09um process and jump straight to 0.065?
well i believe a mistake was made...sort of.
the new 970's at 0.09um are rumoured to use the "strained silicon on insular" technology.
this technology is use to limit the current "leakage" that inherent in these devices.
current leakage leads to excessive power consumption in these devices,its basic semiconductor theory....transistors leak.
if this new generation of 970 somehow uses this new tehcnology that wasnt suppose to be ready until the 0.065um process debuted,i believe that could have lead people to believe that 0.065um processors were immenent.
by the way the article says leakage was reduced by 15%.
that is extra power consumption lapped of these new chips and that may be enough to get them in a powerbook.
this is just a theory but would explain the previous rumours we heard.
what do you think?