New SPECint (integer) and SPECfp (floating point) benchmark numbers for a new version of the UltraSPARCTM III microprocessor firmly position it at the forefront of workstation/server processor performance. The UltraSPARC III Cu 1050 processor, to be available in early 2002, features a 1.05 GHz clock speed, a SPECint mark of 610 and a SPECfp mark of 827. These respective 32 percent and 72 percent performance increases are particularly impressive when compared to the processor's overall 17 percent clock speed gain. These outsized performance gains result from improved manufacturing techniques, enhanced internal buffer sizes and management and more efficient object code generated by a new version of the Sun ForteTM Developer 7 compiler.

The better-than-anticipated performance gains for the chip stem from continuous process improvements at the UltraSPARC III copper processor fab line at Texas Instruments, improved Translation Lookaside Buffer (TLB) size and management, and speedier code execution enabled through the new Sun ForteTM Developer 7 compiler. The Forte compiler is the most widely used software for translating program code into machine-level instructions executed on UltraSPARC-based systems. Sun has qualified the UltraSPARC III Cu 1050 processor for production ramp at the Texas Instruments Dallas fab. The chip's 0.15-micron, low-K dielectric, 100 nanometer process is the same as that deployed for the UltraSPARC III Cu 900 processor.

The published numbers for the UltraSPARC III Cu 1050 processor place it ahead of the Intel Itanium and Hewlett Packard PA RISC. The UltraSPARC III Cu 1050 dissipates only 75 sustained, peak watts of power--contributing to the ability to pack more processors in a system without expensive cooling.

There is additional information comparing the UltraSPARC III Cu 1050 processor to the dual-core IBM POWER4 on the Web page.

Read More ... [...read more...]

		fullsource
Print Email Current Profile Archive Blog Generate newsletter