Mon 14th Oct 2002 | News
IBM today announced a new PowerPC microprocessor for use in a variety of applications, including desktops, workstations, servers and communications products.
The IBM PowerPC 970 is designed for initial speeds of up to 1.8 gigahertz, manipulating data in larger, 64-bit chunks and accelerating compute-intensive workloads like multimedia and graphics through specialized circuitry known as a single instruction multiple data (SIMD) unit.
Although unconfirmed, reports are circulating that Apple are most likely to use these chips in future computer products.
While supporting 64-bit computing for emerging applications, the PowerPC 970 also provides native support for traditional 32-bit applications, which can help preserve users’ and developers’ software investments. The design also supports symmetric multi-processing (SMP), allowing systems to be created that link multiple processors to work in tandem for additional processing power.
IBM plans to make the PowerPC 970 chip available next year.
