PowerPC 970
The PowerPC 970, PowerPC 970FX, and PowerPC 970MP are 64-bit PowerPC CPUs from IBM introduced in 2002. Apple branded the 970 as PowerPC G5 for its Power Mac G5.
Artist's rendering of a PowerPC 970 CPU | |
| General information | |
|---|---|
| Launched | 2002 |
| Designed by | IBM |
| Common manufacturer(s) | |
| Performance | |
| Max. CPU clock rate | 1.0 GHz to 2.7 GHz |
| Cache | |
| L1 cache | 64 KB instruction 32 KB data |
| L2 cache | 512–1024 KB |
| Architecture and classification | |
| Application | Desktop |
| Technology node | 130 nm to 90 nm |
| Microarchitecture | ppc970, POWER4 |
| Instruction set | 32/64-bit PowerPC 2.01 |
| Physical specifications | |
| Cores |
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| Products, models, variants | |
| Variant(s) |
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| History | |
| Predecessor(s) | POWER4 |
| POWER, PowerPC, and Power ISA architectures |
|---|
| NXP (formerly Freescale and Motorola) |
| IBM |
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| IBM/Nintendo |
| Other |
| Related links |
| Cancelled in gray, historic in italic |
Having created the PowerPC architecture in the early 1990s via the AIM alliance, the 970 family was created through a further collaboration between IBM and Apple. The project was codenamed GP-UL or Giga Processor Ultra Light, where Giga Processor is the codename for the POWER4 from which the core was derived. When Apple introduced the Power Mac G5, it stated that this was a five-year collaborative effort, with multi-generation roadmap. This forecast however was short-lived when Apple later had to retract its promise to deliver a 3 GHz processor only one year after its introduction. IBM was also unable to reduce power consumption to levels necessary for laptop computers. Ultimately, Apple only used three variants of the processor.
IBM's JS20/JS21 blade modules and some low-end workstations and System p servers are based on the PowerPC 970. It is also used in some high end embedded systems like Mercury's Momentum XSA-200. IBM is also licensing the PowerPC 970 core for use in custom applications.