General-purpose PowerPC processors.

General-purpose PowerPC processors

IBM/Motorola

PowerPC 600 family

• 601 50 and 66 MHz
• 602 consumer products (multiplexed data/address bus)
• 603/603e/603ev notebooks, embedded devices
• 604/604e/604ev workstations and low end servers
• 620 the first 64-bit implementation

PowerPC 7xx family

• 740/750 (1997) 233–366 MHz

Motorola/Freescale

PowerPC 7xx family

• PowerPC 740 and 750, 233–366 MHz
• 745/755, 300–466 MHz

PowerPC 74xx family

• 7400/7410 350–550 MHz, uses AltiVec, a SIMD extension of the original PPC specs
• 7440/7450 micro-architecture family up to 1.5 GHz and 256 kB on-chip L2 cache and improved Altivec
• 7447/7457 micro-architecture family up to 1.83 GHz with 512 kB on-chip L2 cache
• 7448 micro-architecture family (2.0 GHz) in 90 nm with 1MB L2 cache and slightly improved AltiVec (out of order instructions).
• 8640/8641/8640D/8641D with one or two e600 cores, 1MB L2 cache

IBM

IBM POWER microprocessors

• POWER3, 64-bit, 200–450 MHz (as POWER3-II), originally the PowerPC 630. Introduced in 1998.
• POWER4, 64-bit, dual core, 1.0–1.9 GHz (as POWER4+), follows the PowerPC 2.00 ISA. Introduced in 2001.
• POWER5, 64-bit, dual core, 2 way SMT/core, 1.6–2.0 GHz, follows the PowerPC 2.01 ISA. Introduced in 2004.
• POWER5+, 64-bit, dual core, 2 way SMT/core, 1.9–2.2 GHz, follows the PowerPC 2.02 ISA. Introduced in 2005.
• POWER6, 64-bit, dual core, 2 way SMT/core, 3.6–4.7 GHz, follows the Power ISA 2.03. Introduced in 2007.
• POWER6+, 64 bit, dual core, 2 way SMT/core, 5.0 GHz, follows the Power ISA 2.05. Introduced in 2009.
• POWER7, 64-bit octo core, 4 way SMT/core, 2.4–4.25 GHz, follows the Power ISA 2.06. Introduced in 2010.
• POWER7+, 64-bit octo core, 4 way SMT/core, 3.0–5.0 GHz, follows the Power ISA 2.06. Introduced in 2012.
• POWER8, 64-bit, hex or twelve core, 8 way SMT/core, 5.0 GHz, follows the Power ISA 2.07. Introduced in 2014.
• POWER9, 64-bit, PowerNV 24 cores of 4 way SMT/core, PowerVM 12 cores of 8 way SMT/core, follows the Power ISA 3.0. Introduced in 2016.

RS64

• A10 (Cobra), 50–77 MHz, 1995, single chip processor for Series i
• A25/30 (Muskie), 125–154 MHz, 1996, multi chip, 4 way SMP for Series i
• RS64 (Apache), 64-bit, 125 MHz, 1997 for large scale SMP systems Series i and Series p
• RS64-II (Northstar), 262 MHz, 1998
• RS64-III (Pulsar, Istar), 450 MHz in 1999, 600 in 2000
• RS64-IV (Sstar), 750 MHz, multithreading, 2000

PowerPC 7xx family

• 750CL with 256 kB on die L2 cache at 400–900 MHz introduced in 2006
• 750CX/CXe with 256 kB on die L2 cache at 350–600 MHz
• 750FX with 512 kB L2 cache announced by IBM in 2001 and available early 2002 at 1 GHz
• 750GX with 1 MB L2 cache introduced by IBM in 2003

PowerPC 970 family

• 970 (2003), 64-bit, derived from POWER4, enhanced with VMX, 512 kB L2 cache, 1.4–2 GHz
• 970FX (2004), manufactured at 90 nm, 1.8–2.7 GHz
• 970GX (2006), manufactured at 90 nm, 1MB L2 cache/core, 1.2–2.5 GHz
• 970MP (2005), dual core, 1 MB L2 cache/core, 1.6–2.5 GHz

Cell

• Cell BE, 64-bit PPE-core, 2 way multithreading, VMX, 512 kB L2 cache, 8x SPE, 8x 256 kB Local Store memory, 3.2 GHz, follows the PowerPC 2.02 ISA
• Cell BE 65 nm, same as above but manufactured on a 65 nm process
• PowerXCell 8i, same as above but with enhanced double precision SPEs and support for DDR-RAM

Supercomputer

• Blue Gene/L, dual core PowerPC 440, 700 MHz, 2004
• Blue Gene/P, quad core PowerPC 450, 850 MHz, 2007
• Blue Gene/Q, 18 core PowerPC A2, 1.6 GHz, 2011

Other

• Exponential Technology x704, a BiCMOS PowerPC implementation, 410 to 533 MHz
• P.A. Semi PWRficient PA6T-1682M, a dual-core microprocessor that runs at 2 GHz

What Is "The PowerPC 7xx"

The PowerPC 7xx is a family of third generation 32-bit PowerPC microprocessors designed and manufactured by IBM and Motorola (now Freescale Semiconductor). This family is called the PowerPC G3 by its well-known customer Apple Inc., which introduced it on November 10, 1997. The term "PowerPC G3" is often, and incorrectly, imagined to be a microprocessor when in fact a number of microprocessors from different vendors have been used. Such designations were applied to Macintosh computers such as the PowerBook G3, the multicolored iMacs, iBooks and several desktops, including both the Beige and Blue and White Power Macintosh G3s. The low power requirements and small size made the processors ideal for laptops and the name lived out its last days at Apple in the iBook.

The 7xx family is also widely used in embedded devices like printers, routers, storage devices, spacecraft,  and video game consoles. The 7xx family had its shortcomings, namely lack of SMP support and SIMD capabilities and a relatively weak FPU. Motorola's 74xx range of processors picked up where the 7xx left off.

GEKKO Microprocessor

Gekko is a superscalar out-of-order 32-bit PowerPC microprocessor custom-made by IBM in 2000 for Nintendo to use as the CPU in their sixth generation game console, the Nintendo GameCube, and later the Triforce Arcade Board.

Gekko

IBM Gekko processor
General Info
Launched	2000
Discontinued	2007
Designed by	IBM and Nintendo
Common manufacturer(s)	IBM
Performance
Max. CPU clock rate	486 MHz
Cache
L1 cache	32/32 KB
L2 cache	256 KB
Architecture and classification
Application	Nintendo GameCube Triforce Arcade Board
Min. feature size	180 nm
Microarchitecture	PowerPC G3
Instruction set	PowerPC ISA 1.10
Physical specifications
Cores	1
Products, models, variants
Variant(s)	PowerPC 750CXe
History
Predecessor	NEC VR4300
Successor	Broadway

180nm IBM Gekko CPU in the Nintendo Gamecube shaven down to expose the silicon die.

CPU

A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor or main processor, is the electronic circuitry within a computer that executes instructions that make up a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, and input/output (I/O) operations specified by the instructions in the program. The computer industry used the term "central processing unit" as early as 1955.

 Traditionally, the term "CPU" refers to a processor, more specifically to its processing unit and control unit (CU), distinguishing these core elements of a computer from external components such as main memory and I/O circuitry.

The form, design, and implementation of CPUs have changed over the course of their history, but their fundamental operation remains almost unchanged. Principal components of a CPU include the arithmetic logic unit (ALU) that performs arithmetic and logic operations, processor registers that supply operands to the ALU and store the results of ALU operations, and a control unit that orchestrates the fetching (from memory) and execution of instructions by directing the coordinated operations of the ALU, registers and other components.

Most modern CPUs are microprocessors, where the CPU is contained on a single metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) integrated circuit (IC) chip. An IC that contains a CPU may also contain memory, peripheral interfaces, and other components of a computer; such integrated devices are variously called microcontrollers or systems on a chip (SoC). Some computers employ a multi-core processor, which is a single chip or "socket" containing two or more CPUs called "cores".

Array processors or vector processors have multiple processors that operate in parallel, with no unit considered central. Virtual CPUs are an abstraction of dynamical aggregated computational resources.