Fujitsu is the latest chip maker to introduce a
90-nanometer product with the launch of a faster version of its
Sparc64 V processor for enterprise servers.
The processor runs at 1.89GHz, an increase from the 1.35GHz
clock speed of the 130-nanometer chip. Fujitsu also added 1Mbyte of
Level 2 cache to the processor to bring the total amount to
3Mbytes.
Every few years, chip makers engineer process technology
"shrinks", in which manufacturing and design is changed to
accommodate smaller transistors. This allows them to place more
transistors on an individual chip.
These extra transistors can be used in a number of different
ways to improve performance, such as adding instructions,
increasing the chip's clock speed, adding new cache or combining
those techniques.
Fujitsu plans to use the processor in five PrimePower servers.
The PrimePower 650 is an eight-processor server, while the
PrimePower 850 and 900 servers can use up to 16 1.89GHz processors.
The PrimePower 1500 can be configured with up to 32 1.89GHz
processors, and the most powerful server, the PrimePower 2500,
features up to 128 processors. The processors used in the 2500
operate at 1.82GHz.
Sun Microsystems will also be able to sell the PrimePower
servers following an agreement between the two companies earlier
this year.
Sun and Fujitsu will sell each other's Sun Fire and PrimePower
products as well as collaborate on a new line of servers known as
APL (Advanced Product Line). The APL servers will incorporate
Fujitsu's next-generation Sparc64 VI processor.
Tom Krazit writes for IDG News Service