POWER8 Pricing?

[Unoid]

My comment about no iGPU was with cobsoles in mind. Power8 would been an awesome chip for a console.

Id love a monster power8 in a desktop with no igpu.

 

[Essence_of_War]

Updates!

http://www.enterprisetech.com/2014/10/08/tyan-ships-first-non-ibm-power8-server/

The Palmetto system from Tyan has a 770 watt power supply and the system board takes one of IBM’s single-chip module (SCM) Power8 chips, which are code-named “Turismo” according to Tyan. (IBM doesn’t usually reveal its Power chip code-names, unlike Intel with its Xeons and Atoms.) This Power8 chip is actually different from the one that Big Blue is using in its entry Power S812, S822, and S824 machines, which have one or two sockets. With these machines, IBM was keen on boosting the number of PCI-Express 3.0 lanes coming out of a single socket, and so it created a six-core variant of the Power8 chip with 24 lanes and put two of them in a single package for a total of 48 lanes. This Power8 dual-chip module, or DCM as IBM calls it, is not used in the new high-end E870 and E880 machines. Those machines, announced this week with from four to sixteen sockets in a single NUMA system, use the Power8 SCM. Whether this one used in the big boxes is literally the same as the Turismo chip Tyan is using is unclear, but it stands to reason that it is.
...
The Tyan OpenPower system comes in a 2U server enclosure and has room for six 3.5-inch disks, but again it only has SATA ports for four drives. If you want to use more disks than four, you will have to add a controller and eat that x8 slot.
Between now and the end of the year, Tyan is offering the Palmetto OpenPower machine in a bundle that has one Power8 chip, four 4 GB memory sticks running at 1.6 GHz, one 500 GB 3.5-inch disk drive, and the chassis for a promotional price of $2,753. That does not include shipping and handling, and you can buy it from anywhere on the globe. The system will ship later this month and is certified to run Canonical’s forthcoming Ubuntu Server 14.10, which is due this month as well.

 

[jhu]

Updates!

http://www.enterprisetech.com/2014/10/08/tyan-ships-first-non-ibm-power8-server/

$2.7k? I swore I'd never spend that much on a computer. But, I think I'll wait and see if anyone else comes out with something less expensive.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Just to alleviate my own ignorance here . . . this Turismo chip in the Tyan system is 6C, but how many threads? 48? Or is the guy writing the article mislabeling things? The same article claims that the DDR3 is running at 1.6 ghz which of course it is not (nitpicking, I know, but still . . .)

 

[Nothingness]

Just to alleviate my own ignorance here . . . this Turismo chip in the Tyan system is 6C, but how many threads? 48? Or is the guy writing the article mislabeling things? The same article claims that the DDR3 is running at 1.6 ghz which of course it is not (nitpicking, I know, but still . . .)

According to other articles I read, the number of cores is not yet known, and neither is the frequency. All that is known is that it is a single chip module (SCM). And as far as I know you always get 8 threads/core

 

[thunng8]

According to other articles I read, the number of cores is not yet known, and neither is the frequency. All that is known is that it is a single chip module (SCM). And as far as I know you always get 8 threads/core

It is up to 12 cores. I am trying to find the openpower datsheets for turismo, but recall the top 12 core model running at ~3.4ghz but there are lower 10 core and 8 core models. The top 8 core model runs at ~3.9ghz. TDP is 190w.

Of course the $2.7k server is most likely using lower CPU model. My guess is 6 or 8 core running at 3.0ghz.

Not quite as high frequency as in IBM servers which tops out at 4.36ghz (and higher undisclosed TDP)

 

[thunng8]

Just to alleviate my own ignorance here . . . this Turismo chip in the Tyan system is 6C, but how many threads? 48? Or is the guy writing the article mislabeling things? The same article claims that the DDR3 is running at 1.6 ghz which of course it is not (nitpicking, I know, but still . . .)

No only the IBM scale out servers are using 6 core chips. IBM puts 2 of these chips in a dcm ( dual chip module ) and places it 1 socket. Advantage in having 2 chips in 1 socket is double the amount of PCI-e lanes per socket.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Huh. Well, it would be interesting to see exactly what the core/thread count is for the CPU that comes with this Tyan rig. The price really isn't that bad for 16 gigs and (maybe) 48T.

I have heard of instances where IBM has tailored custom core counts per chip/die, such as DCM chips that are 2x5C(10C total). The article seems to imply that we are looking at a 6C chip, but it doesn't come out and quite say that.

 

[Essence_of_War]

The article seems to imply that we are looking at a 6C chip, but it doesn't come out and quite say that.

That was my takeaway too. 6 cores, with up to 8-way multi-threading.

 

[Ajay]

Hmm, to bad there isn't a Windows build for Power with a re-compiler like DEC's FX!32 (Power!64 FTW).
Not that I'd be spending $2.7K US on one computer - unless I won some decent money off the occasional lottery ticket purchase **



** Yes, I'm actually very good at math; it's just a dollar for some self-entertaining day dreams

 

[jumpncrash]

I just finished racking 48 8247-22L1s at work for one of our new projects, damn nice machines, too bad they won't let me take one home

 

[thunng8]

That was my takeaway too. 6 cores, with up to 8-way multi-threading.

No, the article doesn't imply that at all.

It says:

"This Power8 chip is actually different from the one that Big Blue is using in its entry Power S812, S822, and S824 machines, which have one or two sockets"

Then it goes on to explain that these entry IBM machines are using 6 core chips and placing 2 of them in it in a DCM so that it can have more PCI-e lanes per socket.

i.e. The Tyan does not use the same 6 core chips as the entry IBM machines.

Then it say talks about the SCM chips in the E870 and E880 and compares to the Tyan:
"Whether this one used in the big boxes is literally the same as the Turismo chip Tyan is using is unclear, but it stands to reason that it is."

i.e. the Turismo chip is the same SCM chip that was announced with the E870 and E880. E870 and E880 are using 8, 10 or 12 core chips.

Then I looked up the openpower datasheet and looked up what they offer. It looks the same to me (up to 12 cores), but IBM is reserving the higher frequency chips i.e. up to 4.35Ghz to itself.

Here is the datasheet for the POWER8 SCM (you'll need to create an IBM login if you don't have one already):
https://www-03.ibm.com/technologyconnect/tgcm/TGCMServlet.wss?alias=POWER8_Processor

Frequency (Base/Turbo)
12 core: 3.42/3.89Ghz
12 core: 3.12/3.62Ghz
10 core: 3.42/3.89Ghz
8 core: 3.76/4.12Ghz

I somehow doubt that the Tyan that costs $2750 is using any of the above SCM chips. Likely a lower end version that is not listed in the datasheet yet.

 

[Idontcare]

... - unless I won some decent money off the occasional lottery ticket purchase **

** Yes, I'm actually very good at math; it's just a dollar for some self-entertaining day dreams

No matter how infinitesimally low your odds are at winning, the odds are undeniably zero if you opt to not play at all. So keep with the non-zero odds, and retain some hope for an alternate future narrative for yourself and family