IBM Claims World’s Fastest Transistor

[corrupted]

now THATS thinking outside the square for ya

[Bloodhawk89]

I can't deal with this anymore.... head exploding!!!!!!!!!!!! We can't utilize 3.06 GHZ chips, and Intel thinks we need 10GHZ chips in the next two years!!!!! Arrggg!!!!! What the hell are we supposed to do with 10 or 350 GHZ chips! For as fast as they research computers, I wish they could find cures for cancer (I HATE THAT "C" WORD) and other deadly diseases!

[genesound]

That's ludicrous. We certainly do need and can use faster computing. Genetics and cancer research (funny you should mention it) both have massive distibuted computing projects (as well as SETI) because the computations necessary take sooo long. I'm sure there are others I don't know about (anyone?), and I'm also sure there will be more.

edit - Bye the way, you can and maybe should participate, if you don't already.

[corrupted]

i would, but the only system i have availible for that is this 166MMX laptop running w2k. not enought power.

[Paco103]

I have an AMD XP 1800 desktop and 2.2G P4 laptop both crunching for United Devices (cancer and drug research) - but I'm not generous enough to build a 150Ghz system just for distributed donation!!!! I run them because it's a good cause to use my wasted cpu power. But hey - it takes advancements in things that may seem useful to us for other areas of tech and society to improve. I wonder what this will do for the distributed.net project when they reach 128 bit? Headlines read "128 bit encryption cracked during my lunch break!" Now that I'd love to see!!!! Approaching speeds for AI!!! Scary and exciting at the same time!!!!

Imagine what this will do for your graphics card though. Pixar quality graphics generated realtime. DoomIII is already obsolete!!!!!!!!

[corrupted]

what's more scary paco is that software rendering will be better than hardware with that sort of speed

[markm1701]

Well its great to hear that IBM have made this wonderful advancement in technology,

but do you really believe it will be 2 years before we see the processors in domestic home PC's


look at intels trend right from the intro of the P4

2000 1.4 - 1.8
2001 2.0 - 2.2
2002 2.4 - 2.5

2 years to make 1Ghz improvements

at this rate of improvement it will be in excess of 10 years before we see the 10Ghz processors

well as 350Ghz i think not.

by the time that a 350Ghz processor is available for an average Joe, they will have cured all diseases thats if the earth is still here

[npdev]

Mark, you're completely wrong. Your conception of the increase trend in CPU frequency is false; it does not increase linearly ("2 years to make 1Ghz improvements") but rather at a rate of doubling every 18 months or so- Moore's law. If speeds increased at a rate of 1GHz per every 2 years, we would have had 1GHz systems in the 60s and we would be up to about 45GHz by now. Also, your data is wrong; the pentium 4 started as 1.2GHz in 2000 and is currently at 3.06GHz (or will be very shortly). According to Moore's law, CPU speed in 2007, 5 years from now, will be approximately 27GHz, meaning that Intel's prediction is incredibly far behind the curve; they are aiming very low.
I don't know about 150GHz+ chips in 2 years; this seems very unlikely, but the 10GHz which Intel predicts is easily attainable; 10GHz should be achieved by about the end of 2005.

[corrupted]

and when we factor into that equation the ability of the new IBM transistors, it may be sooner than 2005. they themselves predict a possibility for 150GHz chips in 2 years, though this is still early to be accurately predicting anything.

it would be nice to see them back in the CPU game, even though they've said before they wouldn't get back into it.

[Andthensome]

I wonder how much power consumption they'll have.... might run our electricity bills sky high.

If they figure out how to make chips more efficient and stop pushing the ghz ****, I'd be impressed... 150ghz just doesn't really impress me much, because it shows me how they're NOT thinking or being creative. When quantum computers are the main stream home computer, then I'll be impressed.

IBM, think outside of the box and stop pushing the ghz **** please.

[genesound]

Andthensome, since when I read it, it said

"In addition to an enormous increase in speed, IBM expects the new transistor to reduce power consumption in computers."

I don't quite know what you mean.

As far as GHz is concerned, I really don't give a good dam about it at all. If they benchmark faster, crunch faster, and are faster, and don't use any more power, WHO CARES! What box is that anyway?

[Paco103]

The whole sudden jump in speed has nothing to do with the traditional increasing. Using current technology, we have advanced at a steady pace - which would most likely prohibit this advancement as mark said. The point is that this is NEW technology. They created a transistor that is faster, therefore even using the same design a chip will run faster. 350 Ghz will never be reached even with this new transisitor though. . that's the transistor switching speed, NOT the CPU switching speed. CPU will always be slower than the individual components used to build it.

As far as hardware vs. software - hardware will still be better, because this technology would be incorporated into that too. The difference would be that consumer level PC's wouldn't have much use for the added expense of hardware, since the software could easily power at those speeds . . . however that's considering todays expectations. With the new hardware advancements, we'll start expecting 3D virtual holograph videogames or something more demanding like that!! Wow - that'll be cool, you could actually BE Max Payne or whoever!!!

*drools* :P

[markm1701]

I believe that the the CPU manufacturer's AMD , Intel, and whoever else is left... won't make a sudden large jump in speed, and thats because...

The will loose out on sales of the interim speed chips.


Conspirarcy Theory Time.....

Its like the drug companies. Making treatments for diseases generates a steady flow of income. Curing them once and for all, well where is the marketing strategy in that. In the late 20th century we have seen very few cures, but lots and lots of treatments.

I'm sure there are many situations where scientific breakthrough is held back because of commercial marketing strategies.

[genesound]

markm1701, Conspirarcy Theory? could be maybe. In the case of drug companies, if we ever catch them withholding cures in favor of marketing treatments, we'll sue em into oblivion, and hopefully jail em too.

As far as processors go (and also drugs, medicine), competition drives the release of emerging technology. I'd bet IBM or Cyrix would come out with a chip that was 10x faster than a P4 in a heartbeat if they could!

[corrupted]

that's right genesound, they would if they could. the reason i want to get my hands on one is because of the advantages it will have. more compact because electrons can travel vertically as well as horizontally, less power consumption. i beleive this discovery was actually stumbled upon, not researched. possibly someone was asked how to beat a different barrier and the design was adapted?

however it was discovered, it provides us with an excellent performance option when it is eventually sold to us on the streets. just think, they could even make socket 7 processors which had some good performance if they wanted too. i just hope they don't decide on a new form factor for it.