News & Analysis
Slideshow: Novel server CPUs glow at Hot Chips
Rick Merritt
8/29/2012 11:31 PM EDT
Last but not least--Intel
Originally, I wasn't going to say anything about the Intel Xeon talk, but that didn't seem fair, especially since Gelsinger said they are 70-99 percent of the market depending on how you count.
So below is a look at the Romley platform that is currently shipping after some delays due, reportedly, to difficulties integrating 8 GTransfer/second PCI Express Gen 3 into the chip.The integration of PCIe is one of the aspects that gives Romley a real boost.
At bottom is a foil of a neat little feature called Running Average Power Limiting. Intel claims use of RAPL helps pack in one rack as many as 14 servers running at 350W, saving power in the data center. Sounds like a great idea, since power is the big issue in the data center and a bunch of ARM SoCs are on the way trying to address it.
OK, we've come full circle and I am outa here!

Click on image to enlarge.

Click on image to enlarge.
Originally, I wasn't going to say anything about the Intel Xeon talk, but that didn't seem fair, especially since Gelsinger said they are 70-99 percent of the market depending on how you count.
So below is a look at the Romley platform that is currently shipping after some delays due, reportedly, to difficulties integrating 8 GTransfer/second PCI Express Gen 3 into the chip.The integration of PCIe is one of the aspects that gives Romley a real boost.
At bottom is a foil of a neat little feature called Running Average Power Limiting. Intel claims use of RAPL helps pack in one rack as many as 14 servers running at 350W, saving power in the data center. Sounds like a great idea, since power is the big issue in the data center and a bunch of ARM SoCs are on the way trying to address it.
OK, we've come full circle and I am outa here!

Click on image to enlarge.

Click on image to enlarge.
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rick.merritt
8/30/2012 1:41 PM EDT
OK, so I did not say anything about the long, detailed Intel Xeon presentation, but I figured it's been shipping awhile and people know about it already.
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Alexander Teterkin
8/31/2012 2:11 PM EDT
Rick, can you share more details on IBM POWER 7+ please. I know that you attended HC24.
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rick.merritt
9/1/2012 3:30 PM EDT
What do you want to know?
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rick.merritt
8/30/2012 5:29 PM EDT
Feeling guilty I added a page with two foils on Xeon and its new power saving technology.
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http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/poconoarmchairreview
8/31/2012 7:30 PM EDT
"but to be frank it is running very hot"
No problem, just put a coffee rest on top of the chip and keep your mug warm all day for no extra cost.
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jg_
8/31/2012 9:00 PM EDT
The Core is a tiny portion of any Server, so "which core ?" is asking the wrong question.
More important are GB/s/watt numbers, and longevity and process.
Servers is a simple numbers game, there is no marketing sizzle, or packaging design froth.
That means the big players, with strong FAB backup, will continue to be the main forces here.
It is also why highly focused solutions, like IBMs, can find a place.
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Neo1
9/2/2012 10:54 PM EDT
Good to see that Oracle is continuing the Sparc line though there were fears of it's imminent demise. Sparc lost the battle for supremacy a decade back which made it easy for X86 to proliferate but these new chips could bring about some refreshing change in server market. How low can they make a server to own while still providing the reliability and throughput is the question.
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MikeSmith2011
9/3/2012 11:12 PM EDT
Looks like a study in contrasts - the Power7 designers continuing to go after the highest speed - 5+ GHz, 80MB caches, the AppliedMicro designers going after integration, efficiency and right sizing and Intel doing what it does best - leading edge fabs that give it the advantage. It appears that all three are targeting different segments of the server market.
Oh and Pat comes across as a petty partisan. Maybe he should run for political office.
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