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| Jack Spratt |
Jun 22 2006, 18:09
Post #1
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Breakout Group: Occasional Gamer Posts: 41 Joined: 22-May 06 From: In a dark wooded area with a bottle of Whiskey ... Member No.: 321 |
IBM and Georgia Tech have coaxed a chip to run at 500GHz, a record for a silicon-based device, by dropping the temperature to minus 451 degrees Fahrenheit.
The experiment is part of a project to explore the ultimate speed limits of silicon-germanium (SiGe) chips. SiGe chips are similar to standard silicon chips, but they also contain germanium for better performance and lower power consumption. Adding germanium, however, increases the price of producing wafers and chips that come out of the wafers, so SiGe chips are typically only found in a few select markets. IBM has sold hundreds of millions of SiGe chips since it began selling them in 1998, but the cell phone industry gobbles up billions of plain silicon chips annually. (Germanium is sprinkled into standard silicon chips: Intel adds minute amounts of the element to create strained silicon in its processors). At room temperature, the IBM-Georgia Tech chip operates at 350GHz, or 350 billion cycles per second. That's far faster than standard PC processors today, which range from 3.8GHz to 1.8GHz. But SiGe chips can gain additional performance in colder temperatures. To that end, IBM and Georgia Tech scientists turned down the temperature and cryogenically froze the chip at minus 451 F. It's about as cold as things get. An extremely cold temperature like that is found naturally only in outer space, but can be artificially achieved on Earth using ultracold materials such as liquid helium. Absolute zero comes at minus 459 F. SiGe chips, the scientists theorized, could eventually hit 1 terahertz, or 1 trillion cycles a second. Ultimately, high-performance SiGe chips could be used in defense systems, space exploration vehicles and remote sensing. Conceivably, you could also build a computer for Ted Williams and other cryogenically frozen celebrities. Source: Cnet News Intel and their high GHz CPUs just got |
| Cataclysm=J |
Jun 22 2006, 21:59
Post #2
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![]() Village Crazy Group: Addicted Gamer Posts: 1,522 Joined: 11-December 04 From: Diss, Norfolk. Member No.: 168 |
Now imagine the size of the CS/BF2 server you could run on that beast.
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Windows FTB! (For the bin)
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| Jack Spratt |
Jun 24 2006, 12:54
Post #3
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Breakout Group: Occasional Gamer Posts: 41 Joined: 22-May 06 From: In a dark wooded area with a bottle of Whiskey ... Member No.: 321 |
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| Crouching tiger |
Jun 26 2006, 23:53
Post #4
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Pong Group: Occasional Gamer Posts: 25 Joined: 26-June 06 From: David Hasslehoffs bathroom floor . . . Member No.: 351 |
i want one!
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| foru |
Jul 4 2006, 8:59
Post #5
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Computer Space Group: Occasional Gamer Posts: 1 Joined: 4-July 06 Member No.: 359 |
thanks
This post has been edited by foru: Jul 4 2006, 9:01 |
| Sureshot |
Jul 4 2006, 12:37
Post #6
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![]() Joust Group: Addicted Gamer Posts: 335 Joined: 11-October 03 Member No.: 55 |
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"Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza." - Dave Barry
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| Spartan Mitzi |
Jul 18 2006, 23:04
Post #7
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![]() Computer Space Group: Occasional Gamer Posts: 2 Joined: 18-July 06 Member No.: 375 |
how great would it be if this forum allowed AVATARS!
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traveling is a passion
Galveston Cruise Line |
| Cataclysm=J |
Jul 18 2006, 23:21
Post #8
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![]() Village Crazy Group: Addicted Gamer Posts: 1,522 Joined: 11-December 04 From: Diss, Norfolk. Member No.: 168 |
We have avatars.
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Windows FTB! (For the bin)
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Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 15th October 2006 - 7:51 |