Traditionally, computing devices are connected together in a bus, the most popular standard of

which will soon be PCI Express. A bus-based architecture tends to have poor latency, though for
most applications this is acceptable. Sometimes, however, when the application has more processes
than data, numerous small messages tend to be a major factor in performance, and thus latency
becomes critical. For these applications, PCI Express may be a weight.

Indeed, one of the original goals of InfiniBand was to replace PCI with a switched fabric. Wide-
spread adoption for this purpose is unlikely to happen, and IBA has instead become a cluster
interconnect.

So, another standard is HyperTransport, in which devices are connected directly to the processor,
such as processor-to-processor in SMPs. The connector for HyperTransport (called HTX) can be
used for expansion slots; for example,PathScale (soon to be QLogic) offers an InfiniBand card that
plugs into HTX.
HyperTransport and PCI Express can coexist. Motherboard manufactures usually produce both on
the same system, thereby allowing the user to choose how to build his system according to his
needs.

So, is HTX the next big thing in cluster interconnects? This remains to be seen. For one thing, it’s
only available with AMD chips at the moment (though to be fair, AMD does have a sizable chunk of
the HPC market). Another issue is that PathScale has the only major peripheral device for HTX, and
will be releasing a PCI Express version in the coming months. It is true that Cray uses
HyperTransport in their Opteron-based systems, but this isn’t commodity. Finally, Sun, a founding
member of the HyperTransport Consortium, has recently refused to add HTX to their product line.
Not a vote of confidence, for sure.

One other item of note is that Intel has announced plans to create a “Common System Interface” to
compete with HyperTransport. CSI will take a few years to materialize.

SIMD

Short for single  instruction,  multiple  data. A type of parallel computingarchitecture that is classified under Flynn's

taxonomy. A single computerinstruction perform the same identical action (retrieve, calculate, or store)
simultaneously on two or more pieces of data (Charles Belov, 1997). * Typically this consists of many
simple processors, each with a local memoryin which it keeps the data which it will work on. Each processor
simultaneously performs the same instruction on its local data progressing through the instructions in lock-step, with
the instructions issued by the controller processor. The processors can communicate with each other in order to
perform shifts and other array operations. [* Source:  EPCC]
See also Flynn's taxonomy.
32nm technology

he 32 nm process (also called 32 nanometer node) is the next step after the45 nanometer process
in CMOS semiconductor device fabrication. 32  nm refers to the expected average half-pitch of a memory
cell at this technology level. The two major chip rivals, Intel and AMD, are both working on a 32
nanometer process for logic, which uses significantly looser design rules. AMD has partnered with IBM on
this process, as they did with the 45 nm process.[citation needed] IBM and the Common Platform already has a
32 nm high-k metal gate process available.[1][2] Intel demonstrated the first working 32 nm processor on
February 10, 2009.[citation needed] Intel started selling its 32 nm processors on January 7, 2010 as Core
i3, Core i5, and dual-core mobile Core i7. On March 16, 2010, Intel began selling its Core i7 980x
Extreme Edition 6-core processors.

POWER

AMD Ships 32nm Llano Chips with Graphics

Power
By Barry Levine 
April 6, 2011 10:26AM 
     
Lower-end PCs are expected soon with the 32nm quad-core Llano processor from Advanced
Micro Devices. AMD's Phil Hughes described Llano as offering "brilliant HD graphics, power
efficiency, and supercomputing power." While AMD is more than a year behind Intel in 32nm
technology, Llano is targeted at Intel's Sandy Bridge processor.
   Advanced Micro Devices is now in the 32nm chip game. Earlier
Related Topics
this week, the chipmaker announced that production units of its
Advanced Micro 32nm quad-core Llano are shipping.
Devices
Intel Llano is being made available to AMD's OEM partners, and PCs
32nm containing the A-series accelerated processor unit are expected to
Graphics be on the market this quarter.
Sandy Bridge
Graphics, Efficiency, Power
Latest News

Tech Jobs Boom Like On its company blog, AMD Senior PR Manager Phil Hughes
It's 1999
described the Llano chips as offering "brilliant HD
Qualcomm Enjoys
graphics,power   efficiency  , and supercomputing power."
Smartphone Boom
Apple iPad 2 Stars in
Vacation Videos Llano is AMD's first mainstream PC chip using a 32nm
Online Poker Becoming manufacturing process, instead of 45nm. The company's arch-
a Shaky Bet competitor, Intel, first released 32nm chips more than a year ago,
People Ditch Home with its Core i3, i5 and i7 processors in the Westmere family.
Phone for Mobile

At that time, AMD was expected to shortly follow Intel's lead into
32nm manufacturing, but it ran into yield problems that delayed
that move until now. Now Intel is moving the goalposts once more
as it is already beginning to sample chips made with a 22nm
manufacturing process.

The Llano's direct competition is Intel's Sandy Bridge processors,

which not only share   the 32nm technology, but also have
integrated graphics and roughly the same number of transistors.
According to some industry observers, Sandy Bridge's CPU has
better performance, while Llano is better at graphics and game
 play.

Godfrey Cheng, AMD director of the client technology unit, wrote

last month on the company blog that the similar size and
transistor count for Llano and Sandy Bridge are "where the
similarities end." He said an analysis of the chips "shows that AMD
has invested much more heavily in graphics, parallel compute,
and video  , whereas Intel has invested much more of its silicon
area in improving classic x86 performance."

'Not x86 Slouches'

He added that, while AMD's CPUs "are not x86 slouches," x86
performance no longer determines "a customer's overall
experience with their computer," since common productivity   
tools don't greatly benefit from more power, and graphics and
video performance have become more important. It's expected
that Intel will have comparable graphics capability in its Ivy Bridge
line, coming out in 2012.

Llano is targeted at lower-end PCs, so more powerful 32nm

products are still to come from AMD. The chip is expected to show
up first in laptops, then desktops.

Laura DiDio, an analyst with industry research firm Information

Technology Intelligence Corp, noted that the smaller chip, which
"combines a x86 processor with graphics tech on the same piece
of silicon," offers a performance boost of about 30 percent and
lower power consumption.

DiDio pointed out that, although AMD is about a year behind Intel
in the 32nm, the company "has played a distant second to Intel
over the past 30 years, but they continue to hold their own" by
maintaining a 19 percent market share versus Intel's 80 percent.
 

AMD Ships 32nm Llano Chips with Graphics

Power
By Barry Levine 
April 6, 2011 10:26AM 
     
Lower-end PCs are expected soon with the 32nm quad-core Llano processor from Advanced
Micro Devices. AMD's Phil Hughes described Llano as offering "brilliant HD graphics, power
efficiency, and supercomputing power." While AMD is more than a year behind Intel in 32nm
technology, Llano is targeted at Intel's Sandy Bridge processor.
   Advanced Micro Devices is now in the 32nm chip game. Earlier
Related Topics
this week, the chipmaker announced that production units of its
Advanced Micro 32nm quad-core Llano are shipping.
Devices
Intel Llano is being made available to AMD's OEM partners, and PCs
32nm containing the A-series accelerated processor unit are expected to
Graphics be on the market this quarter.
Sandy Bridge
Graphics, Efficiency, Power
Latest News

Tech Jobs Boom Like On its company blog, AMD Senior PR Manager Phil Hughes
It's 1999
described the Llano chips as offering "brilliant HD
Qualcomm Enjoys
graphics,power   efficiency  , and supercomputing power."
Smartphone Boom
Apple iPad 2 Stars in
Vacation Videos Llano is AMD's first mainstream PC chip using a 32nm
Online Poker Becoming manufacturing process, instead of 45nm. The company's arch-
a Shaky Bet competitor, Intel, first released 32nm chips more than a year ago,
People Ditch Home with its Core i3, i5 and i7 processors in the Westmere family.
Phone for Mobile

At that time, AMD was expected to shortly follow Intel's lead into
32nm manufacturing, but it ran into yield problems that delayed
that move until now. Now Intel is moving the goalposts once more
as it is already beginning to sample chips made with a 22nm
manufacturing process.

The Llano's direct competition is Intel's Sandy Bridge processors,

which not only share   the 32nm technology, but also have
integrated graphics and roughly the same number of transistors.
According to some industry observers, Sandy Bridge's CPU has
better performance, while Llano is better at graphics and game
play.

Godfrey Cheng, AMD director of the client technology unit, wrote

last month on the company blog that the similar size and
transistor count for Llano and Sandy Bridge are "where the
similarities end." He said an analysis of the chips "shows that AMD
has invested much more heavily in graphics, parallel compute,
and video  , whereas Intel has invested much more of its silicon
 area in improving classic x86 performance."

'Not x86 Slouches'

He added that, while AMD's CPUs "are not x86 slouches," x86
performance no longer determines "a customer's overall
experience with their computer," since common productivity   
tools don't greatly benefit from more power, and graphics and
video performance have become more important. It's expected
that Intel will have comparable graphics capability in its Ivy Bridge
line, coming out in 2012.

Llano is targeted at lower-end PCs, so more powerful 32nm

products are still to come from AMD. The chip is expected to show
up first in laptops, then desktops.

Laura DiDio, an analyst with industry research firm Information

Technology Intelligence Corp, noted that the smaller chip, which
"combines a x86 processor with graphics tech on the same piece
of silicon," offers a performance boost of about 30 percent and
lower power consumption.

DiDio pointed out that, although AMD is about a year behind Intel
in the 32nm, the company "has played a distant second to Intel
over the past 30 years, but they continue to hold their own" by
maintaining a 19 percent market share versus Intel's 80 percent.
 

AMD Ships 32nm Llano Chips with Graphics

Power
By Barry Levine 
April 6, 2011 10:26AM 
     
Lower-end PCs are expected soon with the 32nm quad-core Llano processor from Advanced
Micro Devices. AMD's Phil Hughes described Llano as offering "brilliant HD graphics, power
efficiency, and supercomputing power." While AMD is more than a year behind Intel in 32nm
technology, Llano is targeted at Intel's Sandy Bridge processor.
   Advanced Micro Devices is now in the 32nm chip game. Earlier
Related Topics
this week, the chipmaker announced that production units of its
Advanced Micro 32nm quad-core Llano are shipping.
Devices
Intel Llano is being made available to AMD's OEM partners, and PCs
containing the A-series accelerated processor unit are expected to
 32nm

Graphics be on the market this quarter.

Sandy Bridge
Graphics, Efficiency, Power
Latest News

Tech Jobs Boom Like On its company blog, AMD Senior PR Manager Phil Hughes
It's 1999 described the Llano chips as offering "brilliant HD
Qualcomm Enjoys graphics,power   efficiency  , and supercomputing power."
Smartphone Boom
Apple iPad 2 Stars in
Vacation Videos Llano is AMD's first mainstream PC chip using a 32nm
Online Poker Becoming manufacturing process, instead of 45nm. The company's arch-
a Shaky Bet competitor, Intel, first released 32nm chips more than a year ago,
People Ditch Home with its Core i3, i5 and i7 processors in the Westmere family.
Phone for Mobile

At that time, AMD was expected to shortly follow Intel's lead into
32nm manufacturing, but it ran into yield problems that delayed
that move until now. Now Intel is moving the goalposts once more
as it is already beginning to sample chips made with a 22nm
manufacturing process.

The Llano's direct competition is Intel's Sandy Bridge processors,

which not only share   the 32nm technology, but also have
integrated graphics and roughly the same number of transistors.
According to some industry observers, Sandy Bridge's CPU has
better performance, while Llano is better at graphics and game
play.

Godfrey Cheng, AMD director of the client technology unit, wrote

last month on the company blog that the similar size and
transistor count for Llano and Sandy Bridge are "where the
similarities end." He said an analysis of the chips "shows that AMD
has invested much more heavily in graphics, parallel compute,
and video  , whereas Intel has invested much more of its silicon
area in improving classic x86 performance."

'Not x86 Slouches'

He added that, while AMD's CPUs "are not x86 slouches," x86
performance no longer determines "a customer's overall
experience with their computer," since common productivity   
tools don't greatly benefit from more power, and graphics and
video performance have become more important. It's expected
that Intel will have comparable graphics capability in its Ivy Bridge
line, coming out in 2012.

Llano is targeted at lower-end PCs, so more powerful 32nm

products are still to come from AMD. The chip is expected to show
up first in laptops, then desktops.

Laura DiDio, an analyst with industry research firm Information

Technology Intelligence Corp, noted that the smaller chip, which
"combines a x86 processor with graphics tech on the same piece
of silicon," offers a performance boost of about 30 percent and
lower power consumption.

DiDio pointed out that, although AMD is about a year behind Intel
in the 32nm, the company "has played a distant second to Intel
over the past 30 years, but they continue to hold their own" by
maintaining a 19 percent market share versus Intel's 80 percent.