Frozen Chip from IBM hits 500 GHz

sideshow2004 writes "EETimes is reporting this morning that IBM and Georiga Tech have demonstrated a 500 GHz Silicon-germanium (SiGe) chip, operating at 4.5 Kelvins. The 'frozen chip' was fabricated by IBM on 200mm wafers, and, at room temperature, the circuits operated at approximately 350 GHz."

Ah!

[irn_bru]

Still hope for the G5 Powerbook then!

So...

[kjart]

...above 500 GHz by cryogenically "freezing" the circuit to minus 451 degrees Fahrenheit (4.5 Kelvins).

How long before I can get a kit like that for my P4?

Only one further step now..

[BlackMesaLabs]

and that is to IMAGINE A BEOWULF CLUSTER!
Oh, you thought I had something insightful to say? Nope ^_^

Re:I had no idea

[xav_jones]

They do if they have a good run-up and are going downhill with a tailwind.

In other news...

[Kiaradune]

Suit has been filed against a well known business and a school for violations of Moore's law.

Re:I RTFA..

[NatasRevol]

But, but....it's 2.4Ghz!!! They're reeeaaally fast!!

I can play Qbert on mine, so it must be fast!!

Someone's gotta say it

[Anonymous Coward]

Is this enough for Vista?

Just a sec...

[crhylove]

Everybody knows you can't trust ghz ratings. I mean, a 3.2 ghz athlon is clearly a bit faster than the 3.2 ghz pentium. Right? Oh, wait, you said .5 TERAHERTZ?!?! Oh, yeah, then I'll take one of those please. And that big ass freezer, thanks.

Re:I had no idea

[bshatley]

That really is a great reference. With the ever increasing speed of processors these days, it would be useful to have a good reference unit, like horsepower. My desktop has 1 cellphonepower, but you can overclock an 805D to 2 cellphonepower!

In other news...

[Odiumjunkie]

AMD today announced the launch of the Athlon XP 500000+. The chip has a "stock speed of around 3.0 GHz, but is named for it's IBM equivalent".

The tempurature at which books freeze

[Rob T Firefly]

by cryogenically "freezing" the circuit to minus 451 degrees Fahrenheit

Somewhere, the mirror-universe Ray Bradbury is stroking his goatee with anger.

Re:Someone's gotta say it

[bonehead]

Not quite, but remember this is still in development. Once they start producing the dual-core, hyperthreading "Extreme Edition", it should run Vista just fine.

So how fast was this chip?

[demongeek]

Was it blazingly fast? Is this destined to be the new hot item this Christmas? Will IBM come under fire from companies like AMD and Intel?

Re:I RTFA..

[snarkh]

Hah, that's nothing. My microwave runs at 100 Ghz.

Safety tip

[smittyoneeach]

200mm wafers

Do not place one of those "thin, mint wafers" on Mr. Creosote's tongue.

You are welcome.

Finally they froze the design

[ghoul]

Brings a whole new meaning to the engineers traditional sigh of relief

Might help speed up...

[blcamp]

...development on Duke Nukem Forever. Or make it compile a trifle faster.

Re:I RTFA..

[Mysticalfruit]

Unless you custom built your microwave, it actually runs at 2.4ghz...

However, this is Slashdot... Does your microwave also have a big spoiler (vent), and 30" rims (buttons)?

Re:In other news...

[imbaczek]

+1 Encyclopedia Nazi

Re:i want

[doti]

i want a compile farm of these

The poor soul uses gentoo.

500 Giggles

[Sqreater]

"The achievement is a major step in the evolution of computer semiconductor technology that could eventually lead to faster networks and more powerful electronics at lower prices, said Bernard Meyerson, vice president and chief technologist in I.B.M.'s systems and technology group. He said developments like this one typically found their way into commercial products in 12 to 24 months."

I think I'll put off buying a new computer for a couple of years or so...

NEWS ITEM: Computer industry collapses due to consumers putting off purchases in anticipation of 500 GHz computers coming real soon now.

Re:I RTFA..

[dushkin]

I overclocked my phone to 3.0 GHz and added watercooling. Works like a charm now

Re:Obsolete Units

[saucercrab]

If 80 degrees is a scorcher to you, then it sounds like Fahrenheit isn't the only obsolete unit in this post.

Re:Someone's gotta say it

[gEvil (beta)]

Once they start producing the dual-core, hyperthreading "Extreme Edition", it should run Vista just fine.

...until SP1 comes out (currently scheduled for 2010, I believe).

Re:cell phones?

[ivan256]

Nope. It's just slashdot posters taking the story out of context. Go actually read the article and notice that it doesn't say anything about PC chips or microprocessors.

Do you think that 2.4Ghz digital transmission is generated by magic?

The problem isn't that the writer is incompetent, it's that he assumed his readers weren't.

Re:Ah!

[kilodelta]

I have to wonder about RF shielding. After all, even 802.11 gear runs at 2.4GHz, that's enough to cook ones private parts after extended use of a laptop. And with processors going in the same frequency range you can bet they're radiating RF. Luckily I made the decision not to have kids, but to those who might, you may want to reconsider resting that laptop in your lap.

Cooked gonads tend not to work so well.

Doom, Quake!!

[LlamaDragon]

OMGFramerates!! FRAME RATES!!!!!11!1!12@3#

*ahem*

Sorry about that, Pavlovian reaction...

ALL CAPS REPLY ZOMG

[Guysmiley777]

Arggg read the article they said they wanted to test the theoretical limits of these chips. They know speed increases with temperature. They wanted to know how much.

The word "increases" does not mean what you think it does.

Ob. Spinal Tap reference

[josquin00]

Because these dials go to 4.5 Kelvin.

Re:Ah!

[aplusjimages]

Maybe IBM will have two markets, one for super computers the other birth control.

I've heard of this before

[kalirion]

The chip is codenamed Detritus [wikipedia.org], right?

Re:I RTFA..

[not already in use]

It would be a much more impressive comparison if they compared it to say, the typical 60hz refresh rate of a monitor. God... monitors these days, they're so slow!

Re:computers in space

[autophile]

Since these temperatures only occurs naturally in space, why not build a super, big cluster of these things, hook them up to a satallite and launch it into orbit.

Because then your KVM cables would have to be really, really long.

--Rob

Re:Ah!

[elrous0]

Better plan on buying a Powerplant to run *that* Powerbook.

-Eric

Re:10GHz Microwave?

[Crisses]

Do you have some inherent need to demonstrate your superior knowledge of microwaves?

It wouldn't be slashdot if they didn't!

Re:I had no idea

[Reverend528]

Wow, I didn't realize that cell phones typically run at 2GHz+

How else would they be able to run java?

Re:Ah!

[dubmun]

Cooked gonads tend not to work so well.

Lead codpieces for everyone!

Re:Ah!

[insanehomelesguy]

Free with every laptop. 1 container of liquid hydrogen.

Even faster at 0 Kelvins!

[noidentity]

"a 500 GHz Silicon-germanium (SiGe) chip, operating at 4.5 Kelvins."

Imagine how fast it would run if they got it down to 0 Kelvins!

Re:Ah!

[Enrique1218]

absolutely, all we have to do is keep it supplied with liquid helium at $24/gallon. We are mac users, we are use to these extra expenses.

the sky is the limit!

[YesIAmAScript]

""a 500 GHz Silicon-germanium (SiGe) chip, operating at 4.5 Kelvins.""

"Imagine how fast it would run if they got it down to 0 Kelvins!"

Imagine how fast it would run if they got it down to -5 Kelvins!

Liquid Helium

[booch]

Does liquid helium really cost $24/gallon? If so, we might want to get ahead of the curve and see if we can run our cars on it.

Re:Someone's gotta say it

[colmore]

Microsoft in 2011: "The widely quoted 2010 release date for Vista SP1 was an internal development target and was never intended as a promise to the public."

Re:So...

[foamrotreturns]

...above 500 GHz by cryogenically "freezing" the circuit to minus 451 degrees Fahrenheit (4.5 Kelvins).

How long before I can get a kit like that for my P4?

Fahrenheit -451, eh? Sounds familiar. I wonder if that's the temperature at which paper is fragile enough to break into millions of tiny pieces, T-1000 style.

Re:I RTFA..

[snarkh]

I don't know about BSD kernels but popcorn comes out fine.

Re:Radar

[Frank T. Lofaro Jr.]

what the aircraft's attitude is

Given that you're in combat, the attitude is likely to be hostile.