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Posted: 22 Jul 2008 10:29 AM CDT

IBM looks set to join the seriously multi-core set with the Power7 chip. Internal documents seen by The Register show Power7 with eight cores per processor and also some very, very large IBM boxes based on the chip. The IBM documents have the eight-core Power7 being arranged in dual-chip modules. So, that’s 16-cores per module. As IBM tells it, each core will show 32 gigaflops of performance, bringing each chip to 256 gigaflops. Just on the gigaflop basis, that makes Power7 twice as fast per core as today’s dual-core Power6 chips, although the actual clock rate on the Power7 chips should be well below the 5.0GHz Power6 speed demon. In fact, according to our documents, IBM will ship Power7 at 4.0GHz in 2010 on a 45nm process. We’re also seeing four threads per core on the chip. For some customers, IBM looks set to create 2U systems with four of the dual-chip modules, giving the server 64 cores of fun. These 2U systems will support up to 128GB of memory and hit 2 teraflops. IBM has an architecture that will let supercomputing types combine these 2U boxes to form a massive unit with 1,024 cores, hitting 32 teraflops of performance with 2TB of memory. And, er, if you are a seriously demanding type, boy, does IBM have the system for you. The Giant The Register has uncovered the first detailed specifications of the “Blue Waters” system IBM is building for the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). If our documents are to be believed - and they’re penned by an IBM executive - this system, funded by a $208m grant and meant to go up at the University of Illinois in 2011, will be the most massive machine ever created. We’ve got documents showing IBM going after a 10 petaflop system (peak) comprised of 38,900 eight-core Power7 chips with each chip running at 4.0GHz. This monster will have an astonishing 620TB of memory and 5PB/s of memory bandwidth. According to the documents, IBM will rely on a 1.30PB/s interconnect to link the systems and will feed them with 26PB of storage. As if that’s not enough, IBM will offer an exabyte of archival storage. Why not? This insane machine will be built out of more than 100 racks filled with servers and storage systems, taking up close to 4,400 sq. feet. Er, if this stuff isn’t sending shivers down the spines of Sun and Intel, then I don’t know what will. IBM has clearly decided to get a bit radical with Power7. This isn’t the single-thread focused Power6. It’s a true multi-core chip, which should stack up very, very well against Sun’s 16-core rock and what will likely be an eight-core version of Itanium around in 2010. And then IBM still has the Quasar project lurking in the background, where it’s combining Power and Cell chips. Stand back, friends. Stand back.

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Apple Climbs Into Third Place in U.S. PC Market

Posted: 22 Jul 2008 10:28 AM CDT

Apple Computer again cracked the top three in U.S. PC sales for the second quarter, according to surveys released Wednesday by both Gartner and IDC. Worldwide, Apple didn’t make the top five PC vendors, according to both firms. But within the U.S., IDC estimated that Apple finished in a virtual dead heat with Acer for third place, just 2,000 units behind the Asian PC maker. Gartner, meanwhile, said that Apple took the third-place spot outright, topping Acer by 65,000 PCs sold. Both IDC and Gartner retroactively ranked Apple fourth in sales for the second quarter of 2007, if measured against a merged Acer-Gateway business. If treated as separate companies, Apple would have maintained its third-place ranking. Both sets of data are preliminary, the firms said. The PC sales estimates include desktops, laptops, and X86 servers, but not handheld PCs. Ultraportables and so-called mini-notes were also included, although Gartner estimated that they represented just 3 percent of the market. Domestically, Dell maintained its top spot, capturing 31.9 percent of the market according to Gartner, with 5.25 million PCs sold; IDC said that Dell’s market share was 32.0 percent, with 5.44 million PCs sold. Both firms estimated that Dell grew between 11 and 12 percent from the same quarter a year ago. HP finished second in U.S. sales, with a 25.3 percent share according to Gartner, and a 25.1 percent share according to IDC; the firm sold 4.17 million and 4.26 million PCs, according to the respective firms. HP’s year-over-year growth was sluggish, about 5.6 to 5.9 percent. Treated as a merged company that included Gateway’s results, Acer’s sales slipped about 20.8 percent from year to year, finishing at 1.33 million shipments or about an 8.1 percent market share, according to Gartner. Apple, however, showed tremendous growth: 38.1 percent year over year, Gartner said, or 31.7 percent by IDC’s estimates. Apple sold 1.40 million units, according to Gartner, and 1.32 million according to IDC. In total, that gave Apple an 8.5 percent or a 7.8 percent market share, according to the respective firms. According to Gartner, total U.S. PC shipments increased 4 percent to 16.4 million units. But the firm also said that U.S. consumers are increasingly turning to low-end machines as a way to save money. “Home mobile PCs continue to have momentum in the U.S. market. However, ASP declines were greater here than in other segments. The retail space was a harsh pricing environment during the quarter,” according to Mika Kitagawa, the Gartner analyst in charge of the report. Worldwide, PC shipments rose 15.3 percent according to IDC, to 70.6 million units. On a global scale, the top five vendors showed excellent growth; fourth-ranked Lenovo grew the least of the group, at 14.6 percent. HP grew 16.8 percent to lead the market with 13.3 million units shipped, and a 18.9 percent market share. Dell was second, growing 21.4 percent to 11.6 million units and a 16.4 percent share. Third-ranked Acer grew 63.5 percent when Gateway’s numbers were factored in, finishing with 6.97 million units and a 9.9 percent share. Lenovo sold 5.6 million units and finished with a 7.9 percent market share, while Toshiba grew 28.5 percent to 3.1 million units and a 4.4 percent share.