Two PowerPC processors now available

IBM introduced two new off-the-shelf standard PowerPC single-core processors, both available immediately. The PowerPC 750CL, a 32-bit microprocessor, consumes half the energy as its predecessor, and performs at speeds ranging from 400MHz to 1GHz. The 750CL includes a 256KB L2 cache, and is targeted at networking, storage, imaging, consumer electronic and other high-performance embedded applications.

The PowerPC 970GX, a follow-on to the PowerPC 970FX, supports both 32-bit and 64-bit operations. It features the same power capabilities as its predecessor, but incorporates twice the integrated L2 cache at 1MB. The range of frequencies for the 970GX is 1.2 to 2.5GHz, enabling the chip to support high-bandwidth data processing and algorithmic intensive computations, making it suitable for communications, storage, multimedia and graphics based devices.

IBM also introduced the CPC965, a companion chip to the 970 series of processors designed to provide I/O connectivity and run at significantly less power than comparative bridge chips. The highly integrated CPC965 features a very high speed front bus that operates at up to half the processor frequency. Shipment of CPC965 samples is planned for March 2007.