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- "Since the PowerPC alliance came together in 1991, it has largely kept its promise to offer microprocessors at roughly twice the price/performance ratio of Intel's x86"
- - Byte Magazine 11/96
It does not look like that will change in the future either -
Remember - for the same clock rate (MHz to MHz) the PowerPC's in the 603 family are much faster than Pentiums in Integer performance, and quite a bit faster in floating point, and much faster for NSP/DSP (multimedia like) functions. MMX helps the Pentiums catch up to the 603's in NSP/DSP (MMX like functions) for the same clock rate. But PPC's are available at much faster clock rates.
PowerPC's in the 604 family are little faster at the same clock rate (MHz) than PentiumPro's and even faster than the PentiumII's (yes, Intel took a step backwards). PentiumPro's (and PentiumII's) can't get anything close to their speed if you running Win95 (as most users are). Even when you run WinNT you don't get that good of performance -- to get the real performance out of those chips, they often use Unix (or Rhapsody).
PowerPC's also use a lot less power than the Pentium family. This makes the PowerPC's work much better in portable computers.
Let's look at what is happening in the present and future of processors.
PowerPC
Processor
Date
Description
603e (GoldenEye)
shipping
300 MHz 603e with new process shrink - Motorola. Beats Pentium w/MMX at same clock rate, and is available in faster speeds.
604e (Mach5)
shipping
350+ MHz. Beats PentiumII at same clock rate, and is available in far faster speeds.
750 (G3)
shipping
300+ MHz - Beats other PPC's at Int by almost 2:1 at same clock rate.
760/770? (G3)
Late '97 or Early '98
350 MHz + with integrated L2- Cache system (up to 50% faster than other G3's) Expected to go to 500 MHz before end of '98.
G4
'98
500+ MHz 64 Bit Chip, with VMX, and up to 4 cores (4 processors in a single chip)
G2K
'99 - 2000
Total redesign of PPC. Expected around 1 GHz.
| | | |
| 603e (GoldenEye) | shipping | 300 MHz 603e with new process shrink - Motorola. Beats Pentium w/MMX at same clock rate, and is available in faster speeds. |
| 604e (Mach5) | shipping | 350+ MHz. Beats PentiumII at same clock rate, and is available in far faster speeds. |
| 750 (G3) | shipping | 300+ MHz - Beats other PPC's at Int by almost 2:1 at same clock rate. |
| 760/770? (G3) | Late '97 or Early '98 | 350 MHz + with integrated L2- Cache system (up to 50% faster than other G3's) Expected to go to 500 MHz before end of '98. |
| G4 | '98 | 500+ MHz 64 Bit Chip, with VMX, and up to 4 cores (4 processors in a single chip) |
| G2K | '99 - 2000 | Total redesign of PPC. Expected around 1 GHz. |
Intel
Processor
Date
Description
P55c (Pentium w/MMX)
shipping
233-266Mhz slower than 603e at same speed, end of technology. Intel is pushing towards PentiumII's.
PentiumII (Klamath)
shipping
233 - 300 MHz. Slower than a 604e at same clock rate. A lower cost PPro that de-couples the on-board L2 cache (decreased performance), and adds MMX.
Deschutes
'98
300 MHz PPro replacement (no on-board L2 cache). Includes MMX (v2). Expected at 300mhz. (4 processor MP Support).
Merced
was 1997 then 1998 now 1999+
Expected to requires new instruction set to really take advantage of its performance. RISC CPU with VLIW, with built in emulation for older instruction set. 400-500mhz+ (maybe 1GHz before 2000)
| | | |
| P55c (Pentium w/MMX) | shipping | 233-266Mhz slower than 603e at same speed, end of technology. Intel is pushing towards PentiumII's. |
| PentiumII (Klamath) | shipping | 233 - 300 MHz. Slower than a 604e at same clock rate. A lower cost PPro that de-couples the on-board L2 cache (decreased performance), and adds MMX. |
| Deschutes | '98 | 300 MHz PPro replacement (no on-board L2 cache). Includes MMX (v2). Expected at 300mhz. (4 processor MP Support). |
| Merced | was 1997 then 1998 now 1999+ | Expected to requires new instruction set to really take advantage of its performance. RISC CPU with VLIW, with built in emulation for older instruction set. 400-500mhz+ (maybe 1GHz before 2000) |
The Klamath (now called the PentiumII) is not as good as originally predicted (suprise). The performance is slower than a PPro. So Intel is now starting to ramp up hype for Deschutes - it will fix the design flaws, and deliver on the performance promises of the Klamath. See - Techie Article on Klamath!
Amusing FUD about the Merced (expected before the turn of the century) - C|Net News. Talks about how fast the next processor will be. Intel always does this when the current batch is not meating expectations -- just hype the next big thing. Article on Merced Technology
Also check out my article on RISC vs CISC.
- SUPPORTING ARTICLES
- Motorola Press Release on 603e/300
- MacWorld on G3 5/97
- MacUser article on G3 (without naming names) 5/97
- Newswire - AIM Allies Boost PowerPC -MacUser on PPC's
- TechWire article on Klamath and Deschutes -
http://www.techweb.com/wire/products/0201desc.html - MacWeek - PPC partners push 300MHz - MacWeek Roadmap
- Byte on Intel - Byte on Intel
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