NC Researchers Claim Pathway for Processor Scalability

It can be said the scalability is one of biggest challenges that I found in parallel computing. Hence, those types of research are quite interesting.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Apr 16 — Researchers sponsored by Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), the world’s leading university-research consortium for semiconductors and related technologies, today announced that they have identified a path to overcome challenges for scaling multi-core semiconductors by successfully addressing how to scale memory communications among the cores. The results can lead to continued design of ever-smaller integrated circuits (ICs) into computer hardware without expensive writing of all new software from scratch to accommodate the increased capabilities.

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Microsoft wants Intel to build 16 core Atom chip

Microsoft has asked Intel to develop a 16-core version of its low power Atom chip for use in servers, part of a wider effort to reduce power consumption in its massive data centres, a Microsoft executive said Thursday.

There’s a “huge opportunity” to improve energy efficiency by using servers based on small, low-power chip designs such as Intel’s Atom and Advanced Micro Devices’ Bobcat, said Dileep Bhandarkar, a distinguished engineer with Microsoft’s Global Foundation Services, which runs the company’s data centres.

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