Comments on: Sun to use Intel chips in cooperative agreement http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2007/01/22/sun-to-use-intel-chips-in-cooperative-agreement/ General interest observations and true web-log. Mon, 13 Feb 2012 02:18:56 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: noname http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2007/01/22/sun-to-use-intel-chips-in-cooperative-agreement/comment-page-1/#comment-444422 noname Wed, 24 Jan 2007 06:46:21 +0000 http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=9369#comment-444422 Sun has a long way to go to regain it's lost market dominance. It's seems to has followed a trajectory similar to IBM Mainframes giving way to Digital mini-computers giving way to IBM PC on every desk. Along the way the internet exploded into the market and so did SUN servers and Cisco routers. Sun never really recovered after the internet bubble popped and IT spending falloff after the Y2k false alarm. There servers can't command a premium they once did. A Niagara or Sparc chip alone cost as much as a premium top of the line PC, high-end server performance is expensive. Maybe Intel chips can help them out in that regard. Texas Instruments announced with it's recent earnings it's closing the Dallas 200mm Kfab by years end where the most advanced SUN chips where made and laying off 500 people, 1/2 that will be in TI R&D. TI may have finally managed to transfer the problematic process over to their 300mm plant. However, some people are suggesting SPARC is dying? I am not sure what the advantages/issues of 1.4GHz eight-core and 64GB of memory support versions of Niagara (niche multi-threaded software workloads) vs. Intel Xeon and Intel's upcoming 45-nanometer multicore processors. Is there a good link out there that gives a good comparative study of their respective FSB, memory controllers? Sun has a long way to go to regain it’s lost market dominance. It’s seems to has followed a trajectory similar to IBM Mainframes giving way to Digital mini-computers giving way to IBM PC on every desk. Along the way the internet exploded into the market and so did SUN servers and Cisco routers. Sun never really recovered after the internet bubble popped and IT spending falloff after the Y2k false alarm. There servers can’t command a premium they once did. A Niagara or Sparc chip alone cost as much as a premium top of the line PC, high-end server performance is expensive.

Maybe Intel chips can help them out in that regard.

Texas Instruments announced with it’s recent earnings it’s closing the Dallas 200mm Kfab by years end where the most advanced SUN chips where made and laying off 500 people, 1/2 that will be in TI R&D. TI may have finally managed to transfer the problematic process over to their 300mm plant. However, some people are suggesting SPARC is dying?

I am not sure what the advantages/issues of 1.4GHz eight-core and 64GB of memory support versions of Niagara (niche multi-threaded software workloads) vs. Intel Xeon and Intel’s upcoming 45-nanometer multicore processors.

Is there a good link out there that gives a good comparative study of their respective FSB, memory controllers?

]]> By: pedro http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2007/01/22/sun-to-use-intel-chips-in-cooperative-agreement/comment-page-1/#comment-442712 pedro Tue, 23 Jan 2007 06:55:26 +0000 http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=9369#comment-442712 This makes the old RISC/ASIC discussion of old kinda pointless, doesn't it? This makes the old RISC/ASIC discussion of old kinda pointless, doesn’t it?

]]> By: Smartalix http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2007/01/22/sun-to-use-intel-chips-in-cooperative-agreement/comment-page-1/#comment-442461 Smartalix Tue, 23 Jan 2007 01:39:48 +0000 http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=9369#comment-442461 1, Exactly. Two of the biggest issues in server architecture today involve thermal management and power density. 1,

Exactly. Two of the biggest issues in server architecture today involve thermal management and power density.

]]> By: TJGeezer http://www.dvorak.org/blog/2007/01/22/sun-to-use-intel-chips-in-cooperative-agreement/comment-page-1/#comment-442447 TJGeezer Tue, 23 Jan 2007 01:14:15 +0000 http://www.dvorak.org/blog/?p=9369#comment-442447 I wonder if it's time to retire the old "Wintel" term. Seems you are taking this as more than just marketing window dressing. Something to do with the new, relatively low-power multi-core Intel CPUs, maybe? I wonder if it’s time to retire the old “Wintel” term. Seems you are taking this as more than just marketing window dressing. Something to do with the new, relatively low-power multi-core Intel CPUs, maybe?

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