Sun's Niagara 2: World's Fastest CPU?
Sun Microsystems has recently launched its newest CPU, the Niagara 2, which they allege is the world’s “fastest performing computer processor and one of the most energy efficient.” The Niagara 2 features eight cores and can process up to 64 individual threads at any given time. What’s interesting is that the Sun company is most famous for its software products, including JAVA. Sun is hoping to change this trend with the high-performance Niagara line of server processors. It seems that Sun Microsystems has intentions of competing with Intel and AMD in the server market.
"While Niagara 2 may well be the codename of the new Sun chip and while it may become the popular name too, the official designation for this new processor is UltraSparc T2. This processor is just the first of a series that is planned to surface over the next two years, including the much waited high performance chip named Rock."
Not all of the servers that Sun Microsystems puts together will run on Niagara 2s. Some of the lower cost servers will use Intel and AMD chips.
The news probably is not as exciting as you might expect. With such a powerful processor, it comes as no surprise that the Niagara 2 is targeted at the server and mainframe markets.
The news probably is not as exciting as you might expect. With such a powerful processor, it comes as no surprise that the Niagara 2 is targeted at the server and mainframe markets.
