At the beginning of this year, we caught a glimpse of IBM scientists developing nanophotonic avalanche photodetector. Now, the company has introduced a new version of its IBM mainframe with the latest z196 Processor which is said to be the world’s fastest computer chip.
The four-core chip consists of 1.4 billion transistors on a 512-square millimeter surface. This new processor is embedded with zEnterprise technology which touts to turn the chip into the most powerful processor. IBM has invested more than $1.5 billion in the research and development of the zEnterprise line in addition to collaborating with top clients for more than three years. The newly unleashed chip is designed by the company’s engineers in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and is created with the help of contributions from IBM labs in Austin, TX, Germany, Israel and India.
This latest z196 processor is manufactured by utilizing IBM’s 45nm SOI processor technology and takes advantage of eDRAM technology. The eDRAM technology allows the placing of DRAM caches or components on the same chips where high-speed microprocessors are located, thereby rendering augmented performance. Moreover, businesses with heavy workload can now reliably use this processor for a top-notch experience.
Crafting a workload-optimized system, the company claims that zEnterprise 196 can now effortlessly execute more than 50 billion instructions per second for an exceptional multitasking usage. Up to 60 percent improvement in data intensive and Java workloads is assured by this chip. Just to notify, if the system level is leveraged, it increases software performance which rather diminishes software license costs.
Further, its 45nm silicon technology is designed to be power efficient and features the ability to enhance the power conversion and distribution. Monitoring and adjusting carried out by the new processor’s advanced sensors and cooling control firmware is based on the environmental factors like temperature and humidity levels. Demanding applications can also be easily accessed with the combination of zEnterprise chip’s speed, memory, system reliability, availability, security and storage architecture.
The new IBM mainframe z196 Processor will start shipping from September 10, 2010.