IBM Corp, whose mainframes have lagged behind its Japanese competitors when it comes to raw processing power, now boasts that its S/390 G5 has become the first available mainframe to smash the 1,000 MIPS performance on a single system. Though IBM said it had expected the G5 to top the 900 MIPS level when configured with 10 processors, it achieved 1,040 MIPS – performance, which it claims, competitors will not be able to match for a year. With the mainframe market hardly buoyant, IBM needs every advantage it can get. But buyers will be looking closely at prices when shipments begin next month and IBM is tight-lipped about this. With better performance it may be able to cut them from the current level of $5,500 to $6,000 per MIPS (CI No 3,452). The big leap forward in performance will come next year when IBM will incorporate copper technology in its S/390 processor.
