"Microprocessors: the offbeat generation"
Embargo date: 5:00 p.m. EST, 26 June 2000
IEEE Spectrum, July 2000
The novel microprocessor concepts that chip designers could develop for new generations of PCs and workstations are often held in check by the need to conform to pre-existing software--the many thousands of applications written over the past two decades. But a fast-diversifying electronics industry is opening up new applications for the devices at every level of performance and offering architects more freedom to be creative. That is just what happened with three innovative new microprocessor designs.
Three examples of microprocessors with innovative designs are examined. The first is a microprocessor being developed by IBM Corp. for use in Blue Gene, the most powerful supercomputer yet conceived. Though the microprocessor itself is very simple, Blue Gene will combine more than one million of them, so as to execute more than one quadrillion floating-point operations per second. Blue Gene's primary task will be to calculate how proteins inside living cells behave--knowledge considered essential to the understanding of life.
The second microprocessor, MAJC (pronounced "Magic"), is slated for a new generation of broadband communications. Developed by Sun Microsystems Inc., it will be used for new generations of servers and other electronics for multimedia that must process large quantities of data swiftly and efficiently. MAJC employs such advanced computing techniques as speculative multithreading and very long instruction words to streamline its operation.
The third microprocessor is intended for embedded applications. Nios, designed by Altera Corp., is optimized for programmable logic devices--the company's specialty. Nios will occupy only a small part of a programmable chip, enabling customers to save space and costs by combining Nios with their custom designs on the same piece of silicon.
Contact: Linda Geppert, 212-419-7562, [email protected]
For faxed copies of the article or to arrange an interview, contact: Nancy T. Hantman, 212-419-7561, [email protected]
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