Gizmodo: power6

IBM Mixes Water, Chips to Make Supercomputer And Cook Dinner Too

Kit Eaton — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 09:40:02 EDT

It might sound like a risky idea, but IBM's new Power 575 supercomputer uses a new system of chip-level water-cooling to keep its processors chilled. Nicknamed "Hydro Cluster", the machine actually uses 448 of the new 5GHz POWER6 processors. They must kick out a hefty heat load because IBM thinks there're eco-friendly uses for the spare hot water. Much like the Swiss town pool mentioned the other day, the suggestion is that it could be used for heating people's homes or even for cooking. Check out the video to see how IBM plans to take water even closer to the chip surface in the future.

The computer was built at the Max Planck Institute for plasma research in Germany, and basically uses an enhanced version of the water-cooling that PC modders love. Apparently it's what helps make this computer quite so "super" in such a small size.
In-chip cooling next, hey? That's pretty neat, and the leak-proofing is going to have to be amazing, but makes perfect sense with the 4,000 times efficiency water cooling offers over air cooling. [IBM press release via Gadget lab]

IBM's New CPU Hits 4.7GHz without Breaking a Sweat

Louis Ramirez — Tue, 22 May 2007 08:54:44 EDT

While Intel and AMD continue to duke it out on the CPU front, the guys at IBM have unveiled a new dual-core processor that can hit 4.7GHz without sucking up so much power. As an added "up yours" to Apple, the new processor, dubbed the Power6, was described as being fast enough to "download the entire iTunes catalog" in a single minute. The CPU will be used mainly for high-end servers. Perhaps someone at Apple right now is smacking their forehead as they yell out "doh!" – Louis Ramirez

Press Release [via AppleInsider]

IBM's New Chips

tgrumet — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 12:45:54 EST

IBM is making a big stink about its newest chipmaking methods, which it believes will let its Power6 chip (due out in 2007) run twice as fast as the versions out today. Instead of just miniaturizing, Big Blue says its process actually alters how silicon behaves, "squeezing" it to make it move faster.

The company claims the Power6 chip with this new technology will run at speeds between 4 and 5 gigahertz and should use less power because of its "holistic design." Not so sure about that, but we have another year to bat the idea around.

IBM says alters silicon's behavior to power new chip [Reuters]