IBM has released the details of its two PowerPC chips designed for entry-level servers and PCs.

The PowerPC 970MP is a dual-core version of its PowerPC 970 processor. IBM says it will launch a low energy-consuming version PowerPC 970 FX too.

The prices of the two chips and when will they be on sale are not disclosed yet.

What's novel about the PowerPC 970MP is each of the two 64-digit cores has its own 1MB L2 cache. That means either side of the chip can be powered down to a state IBM calls "doze" while the other core continues to work. IBM says this technique will help save power and prolong the life of computers.

The chip clocks between 14. GHz to 2.5 GHz.

A representative of Apple has declined comment on whether Apple will adopt the PowerPC 970MP chip in its products. Apple has recently announced it will abandon PowerPC chip and switch to Intel.

PowerPC 970FX, with highest speed up to 2.7 GHz, is designed to be used in printers and digital video recorders.

IBM said it plans to offer the new processors in a variety of ways: in clusters of servers such as its Blue Gene/L super computer, for example, as well as in high-performance storage devices, single-board computers and networking products.

The two chips are part of IBM's promotion of its Power Architecture. IBM has been striving to make them comparable to x86 architecture.

By People's Daily Online