IBM Launches New Octa-core Chips and Servers

By Jane McEntegart
published

IBM will today launch its new Power7 processor along with systems based on the chip.

Scheduled to be unveiled today at an event in New York, IBM says the highly anticipated, next generation CPU will boost capacity, throughput, and energy-efficiency.

The Wall Street Journal reports that IBM's Power7 boasts 1.2 billion transistors, eight processing cores and can handle 32 threads. Power7 also packs a myriad of new features such as TurboCore, which IBM says delivers twice the performance per core of the predecessor Power6 Systems. Also present are other "Intelligent Energy" features that help reduce power consumption by as much as 90 percent.

"We feel good comparing it to current products and products we expect to come," Rod Adkins, senior vice president of IBM Systems and Technology, says according to the Wall Street Journal.

Read the full story here.

Jane McEntegart
26 Comments Comment from the forums
  • JohnnyLucky
    I read about it in this morning's "Wall Street Journal". Very very expensive stuff for the corporate crowd. definitely not for gamers.
    Reply
  • El_Capitan
    I want one to play Crysis.
    Reply
  • XD_dued
    El_CapitanI want one to play Crysis.
    Can crysis even use 32 threads? DX
    Reply
  • Shadow703793
    Hmm...32 threads? Wonder how this will compair to an Intel i7 in multi threaded apps (ie renderings, CFD,etc)
    Reply
  • nevertell
    I bet it's not x86. So it cannot be compared to an i7. And it won't run crysis natively.
    Reply
  • falchard
    IBM processors are in a different league then Intel Processors in productivity tasks. I don't think the Core i7 or Nahelhiem based Xeons stand a chance.
    Reply
  • apache_lives
    falchardIBM processors are in a different league then Intel Processors in productivity tasks. I don't think the Core i7 or Nahelhiem based Xeons stand a chance.
    Just as our desktop apps and games dont stand a chance on IBM's chips - Calculator vs Human Brain example
    Reply
  • one-shot
    I don't think this is an x86 CPU. So it's not running Crysis..
    Reply
  • Shadow703793
    nevertellI bet it's not x86. So it cannot be compared to an i7. And it won't run crysis natively.Correct, it uses IBM's Power arch. However, you could run it on top of a VM and see :lol:

    But anyways, with speeds of up to 4.14Ghz: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/POWER7
    Reply
  • Shadow703793
    falchardIBM processors are in a different league then Intel Processors in productivity tasks. I don't think the Core i7 or Nahelhiem based Xeons stand a chance.Depends on the type of ops/code running.
    Reply