IBM Corp’s Power4, Advanced Micro Devices Inc’s K8 and a detailed microarchitecture disclosure of Intel Corp’s Merced are on the agenda for this week’s Microprocessor Forum in San Jose. IBM’s 1GHz dual CPU Power4 is manufactured in IBM’s S8 process, which adds a silicon-on-insulator layer to the S7 copper connection process. The level two cache is shared by the two independent processors on a single chip. It’s being billed as IBM’s answer to Intel’s IA-64 – but the chip is very unlikely to turn up in any other computer systems other than IBM’s own AS/400s and RS/6000 servers.
The K8 is AMD’s answer to IA-64 and is rumored to be the 64-bit version of the K7. Before the K8, AMD will release the K7 Ultra, aimed at the server market. Also at the event, Compaq Computer Corp will detail its plans to add simultaneous multithreading in the future Alpha EV8 processor. SMT promises to deliver two times the performance of standard microprocessors with modest incremental costs, says Compaq. Fujitsu Ltd’s Hal Computer Systems Inc will detail its Sparc64 V. Intel will also detail its forthcoming Coppermine chip.
