“IBM’s technically as yet unannounced PowerPC 970FX has won the Microprocessor Report Analysts’ Choice Award for Best Desktop Processor. And according to MR editor-in-chief Peter Glaskowsky, Intel and AMD had better watch out,” Tony Smith report for The Register. “The 970FX is the 90nm die-shrink of the original 130nm PowerPC 970, launched back in October 2002 and finally shipped last summer, most notably inside Apple’s Power Mac G5.”
“IBM is expected to launch the 970FX formally next week at the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC), along with its PowerTune technology, which adds SpeedStep-style clock frequency scaling that can synchronise across multiple processors,” Smith reports. “The chip should be shipping very shortly. Apple’s Xserve G5, which is based on the 970FX, is due to ship this month.”
“IBM documentation has already revealed the 970FX’s impressive power characteristics: 24.5W at 2GHz. The 130nm 970, by contrast, eats up 51W at 1.8GHz, Smith reports. “Glaskowsky also believes Apple will be able to get the part up to 3GHz by the summer – a promise made by CEO Steve Jobs last year. ‘That’s an aggressive target,’ Glaskowsky notes, ‘but it should be achievable. The 970FX has the necessary architectural sophistication in its deep pipelines to make this speed possible, and IBM has the necessary technology in its CMOS 10S process. At 3GHz, the 970FX should outrun the chips we expect from AMD and Intel in the same time frame.'”
Full article here.
Damn, I don’t mind them being the daylights out of Intel, but AMD? Ah well…=)
All I can say is “O_O”
I hope Intel gets used to it. People bitch about Apple’s updates taking too long, well what about Intel’s? They’ve seen only about a 10% increase (3.06GHz to 3.4) in the Pentium 4 over the last year, that’s hardly groundbreaking. Sounds more like Moto and the G4 to me.
Does anyone hear a G5 powerbook blowing in the wind with Powertune technology paving the way??????
G5 powerboook anyone???? PLEEEASE
G5 Powerbook this fall!!!
So finally the upgrades to be announced next week or so once IBM formally announce the chip do we think?
i’m dreeeeeeeaming of a G—–5 powerbook……la la la la la la la la
if they can get it up to 3Ghz and make dual that will be a killer desktop!! but will unveil a new desktop line if this happens? somthin to think about imagine what pixar coul ddo next!!!!!
spyinthesky: that’s exactly what I was thinking.
The Microprocessor Report is nothing more than a shill for Steve Jobs and Apple…
Just kidding folks!!!
<i>”The 970FX is the 90nm die-shrink of the original 130nm PowerPC 970…”</i<
Remember, IBM will next die-shrink the 970 to 65nm. I’ll be waiting for that chip before I upgrade my PowerBook. Preferably, in a dual-G5 3.x GHz configuration. They should be able to shoehorn a couple of those babys in at least the 17″ model. Perhaps the 15″ could be dual as well…
I would mortgage my kids for a dual G5 PowerBook…(okay, not my kids, but definately my wife!)
Dude
Dude, that’s wrong. The dog, the house, the cars, not the wife or kids.
Predictions for the next 6 months:
G5 powerbook – 90nm 1.6GHz – 2.0 GHz
G5 desktop – 90nm 2.2GHz , 2.4 GHz , 2.6 GHz
G5 XServe – 90nm 2.0, 2.4 GHz
G5 iMac 1.6, 1.8 GHz 130nm
Get a grip.
With out a viable 64 bit operating system even these marginally fast IBM chips are useless.
Microsoft has a 64 bit OS today!
You (Apple users) keep trying to hang you hat on something but everyone in the real IT world know the “game is over”.
�
Sputnik,
What are you on about?.
Microsoft with a 64 bit OS…lol. Don’t get me started on that joke….
OS X.4 will be the first viable one…
Smell the exhaust, winblows fanboys…