Intel Itanium

[Hoolio]

Could someone tell me what is the difference between the Itanium and Itanium 2? Also are these processors 64 bit?

I have checked out the intel website but I would like to know what these processors are, are they available? etc.....

 

[slvr_phoenix]

I have checked out the intel website but I would like to know what these processors are, are they available? etc.....

Are you sure that you actually checked out Intel's web site? I don't believe you. If you had, you would have read statements like:
<font color=blue>

The Itanium architecture does far more than just extend the Intel architecture to 64 bits.

The Itanium 2 processor builds on and extends the foundation established with the Itanium architecture. It is binary-compatible with software compiled for the first-generation Itanium processor

Itanium®-based workstations are available today

Itanium® 2-based workstations will be shipping this quarter

</font color=blue>
For more information, try <b>actually reading</b> Intel's website. Here's a hint, look under <b>Server</b> or <b>Workstation</b> processors.


Tech support said take a screen shot.
Putting it down with my .22 was the humane thing to do.

 

[Hoolio]

Actually I have read the intel website but it does not mean I understand any of it, this processor runs at 1Ghz and is quite possibly 64bit.

What I want to know is what actually makes this processor stand out from the rest!

A 1Ghz 64bit parrallel execution processor, considering I can get a 2Ghz pentium 4 and Xeon processors.

 

[Kemche]

I don't know what you are trying to ask. But Itanium is a true 64 bit processor made by Intel. It doesn't use the x86 instruction set like the current Pentium and Athlon have been using. It's not backwards compatible so the current x86 application would not run on Itanium. It does have a x86 simulator so you can make the current windows and x86 application run on the processor but it would be much slower then the 64bit applications.

Itanium was the first 64bit processor perviously code named merced. It was running at 800Mhz. Itanium 2 has some enhancements added to it from Itanium. It runs at 1Ghz and runs almost 75% faster per clock then Itanium.

KG

I hope this helps.

"Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity." - Sarah Chambers

 

[slvr_phoenix]

Actually I have read the intel website but it does not mean I understand any of it, this processor runs at 1Ghz and is quite possibly 64bit.

And my point is that <b>had</b> you actually read Intel's website, as you claim, then you would <b>know</b> that Itanium is 64-bits and that Itanium2, the advancement of Itanium, is also 64-bits. Had you actually read the site, you would not be making statements like "and is quite possibly 64bit" because you would <b>know</b> that it is 64-bit.

So either go and <b>actually read</b> Intel's information on Itanium and Itanium 2, or stop pretending that you did and just admit that you couldn't have been bothered to actually research it for yourself and now you want to be spoon-fed the answers.

I can put up with lazy people. It's liars that piss me off.


Tech support said take a screen shot.
Putting it down with my .22 was the humane thing to do.

 

[globe111]

And my point is that had you actually read Intel's website, as you claim, then you would know that Itanium is 64-bits and that Itanium2, the advancement of Itanium, is also 64-bits. Had you actually read the site, you would not be making statements like "and is quite possibly 64bit" because you would know that it is 64-bit.

Unless, he has edited his post, he said "I checked out",
i.e. say my wife went out to buy a car, and she calls me up and says- "honey I have checked out this suv, and man! its awesome, but I dont know if its strong enought to pull a boat, and I dont know if it can process gas or disiel"

well, first off all she would not be going to "check out/ or buy a car" without me.

but many people check out the car, and like it and buy it with out looking under the hood to see if its a v6 or v8.

I don't like liars either, so lets define "checked out"
<pre>and i <b>can't</b> put up with lazy people</pre><p>But my internet is slow today, so I'll pretend to be lazy, and I'm honest, so spoon feed about the 64 bit processor :tongue:

 

[Hoolio]

Well if you really want to know, I didn't read the website, nope last night I actually read through the datasheet the 82 page piece of confusing babble.

I Actually read through the website, not sure if it is 64bit

Okay not an exact quote of myself but I assumed all be it stupidly that it could not be a true 64 bit processor because I thought the only 64 bit processor ever released was the Digital Alpha one, I did not know the itanium existed until last night!

2) Yes I read the datasheet and have yopu ever read one of those thing, a little complex! I can however tell you the itanium has a thermal diode and three stages of temperature proceedure.

3) I could tell you the pin layout of the chip.

But the datasheet does not explain it clearly, intel does not explain this thing clearly. But anyway to those who are interested.

The Itanium 2 consists of:

- Intergrated on die cache of 1.5Mb or 3Mb incorperating a L1,L2 and L3 cache (which according to some people does not help the processors at all but Intel must think so).

- 128 General and 128 FP registers
- 6.4GB/s Bandwidth for memory
- 128bit data bus
- 50bit physical memory addressing and 64bits virtual addressing.

- upto 4 processors on a 400Mhz FSB
- Expandable systems with multiple system buses
- The itanium 2 runs at 900Mhz and 1Ghz
- Full support for IA-32 applications and binary applications.

- It employs Explicitly parallel Instruction computing

If someone can clear up 1 single thing what is IA-32 and I am guessing this processor employs IA-64? Is this the instruction set that Sun microsystems work on too?

All I know is on the website they compare the Itanium to the Sun Microsystems processor. I will post more info once I understand it.

Main uses - Data Processing,

BTW thank you to kemche for actually helping me here.

Check out - as in looked at ie I checked out that girl in the bar last night. But ofcourse you don't check out a computer the same way as a girl.
In this case checked out as in read quickly. Probably not slow enough to take enough of it in.

now can we actually talk about the processors now?

 

[bront]

IA-64 is the Itanium line of CPUs and their instruction set, similar to the X86 architecture instruction set (As it it is one, not it's like it).

It's a high end server chipset ment for large data servers that need to crank out large numbers.

Are you looking into this for business reasons? Because if you're not, don't bother thinking about building one. It's a server only chip, and far more expensive than is worth it for a home network setup, even in the most extreme cases.

English is phun.

 

[globe111]

Check out - as in looked at ie I checked out that girl in the bar last night. But ofcourse you don't check out a computer the same way as a girl.
In this case checked out as in read quickly. Probably not slow enough to take enough of it in.

heh, I went to the doctor to get <i>checked out</i>,I have thought he simply <i>checked</i> me <i>out</i> and when I saw the <i>check</i>, I was <i>out</i>!
...and when I <i>checked </i> the bill, it was a <i>check out </i> of my pocket.

I'm learning and <i>checking</i> the things that I should learn.

hmm, <i>check out</i> the time, time for me to call it quits for today.

 

[Hoolio]

Ahhhhhh check out check out !!!!!!

Too many possibilities.

Anyway, nah I not actually buying one, I just wondered what they are etc. I have a interest in new things and if I had the money I would build one just for the experience of building one and seeing it working.

I dont actually use them, I just like to build them. I am looking into building a quad xeon (w/2mb cache). I have been looking at building a system using bits bought from ebay. I would also like to build a 8 processor opteron sledgehammer computer server. The idea is that once I get my internet connection sorted out I will use them as webservers, and to run dedicated games server on it.

Ofcourse Quake 3 on a multi processor system

 

[mickdog601]

IA64 is not really similar to x86. the main problem with x86 is it has a ridiculous amount of multi-length instructions which adds a lot of over head just figuring out how long the instruction is, how much to fetch from the cache, etc... IA64 is based on EPIC, which does not suffer from this problem. also EPIC's performance is highly dependant on the compiler, because the compiler does much of the job of picking which instructions to run in parallel. this must be done in hardware in x86 and wastes precious cpu time.

 

[Hoolio]

just out of interest what code set did the Digital Alpha Processor use?

I can now understand the excitement of a x86-64 processor....as there has yet to be one.

 

[bront]

IA64 is not really similar to x86

I didn't mean the architecture was alike, I said it was a particular type of coding architecture. They are different ways of doing the same thing, but require different code to get the same end result.


English is phun.

 

[bront]

Ofcourse Quake 3 on a multi processor system

Ahh, so you do need the high end CPU power of 8 Opterons

English is phun.

 

[Hoolio]

oh yes!

 

[Quetzacoatl]

*drools in delight* oooo....8-way power...*Swoons* God...that is like...over 16,000Mhz with 8 2Ghz Hammers! Imagine the FPS on Quake 3 with an R300!

"When there's a will, there's a way."

 

[juin]

worse that on a single presscott/springdale

cheap, cheap. Think cheap, and you'll always be cheap.AMD version of semi conducteur industrie

 

[Quetzacoatl]

Hey, who cares when you can brag about singly owning an 8-way Sledgehammer system...imagine the gigabytes of DDR you'd need

"When there's a will, there's a way."

 

[Hoolio]

Actually 8x2Ghz does not equate to 16Ghz, it works like this:

Each processor can process say 1 instruction therefore 8 processors means 8 instructions per clock can be processed.

So therefore it is actually you can do 8 times the amount of work in the same amount of time 1 processor could do.

 

[imgod2u]

That's not even true because in modern code, data dependencies really limit how many instructions can be executed at once. Even in a RISC-like architecture like IA-64.

 

[Hoolio]

No sorry I worded myself wrongly, only if each processor is working on different processes, eg,

Playing quake 3 and encoding a DVD.one runs on one processor and one runs on the other. Therefore on a dual processor computer you can do twice as much in the same amount of time.

Sorry my fault badly worded.