[118128] in Cypherpunks
Alpha Processor, Inc., debuted a 1GHz Alpha 21264 processor.
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Robert Hettinga)
Mon Sep 20 14:21:18 1999
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Date: Mon, 20 Sep 1999 13:46:49 -0400
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From: Robert Hettinga <rah@shipwright.com>
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From: gkm@substance.abuse.blackdown.org (glen mccready)
To: 0xdeadbeef@substance.abuse.blackdown.org
Subject: Alpha Processor, Inc., debuted a 1GHz Alpha 21264 processor.
Date: Mon, 20 Sep 1999 12:28:51 -0400
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Forwarded-by: Rob Windsor <windsor@adc.com>
[ When you forward, please retain the *entire* document. Give Flotherm
the chance to brag about their stuff, even though you're probably only
interested in the Alpha information. (Afterall, it *is* their
announcement.) -- Rob ]
Forwarded-by: Flomerics <webmasterl@flomerics.co.uk>
Alpha Processor, Inc. (API), debuting the fastest processor in the
world running at room temperature - the 1GHz Alpha 21264 processor
- utilizes Flotherm thermal management software from Flomerics to
analyse the cooling requirements of its record-breaking processor,
which runs at nearly twice the speed of today's fastest Intel Xeon
solution.
The new processor operates at room temperature without the aid of
refrigerants, cooling pipes, etc., and is due for release in August
2000. The 21264 processor is housed within API's Alpha Slot B
packaging that dissipates a 100W of power, together with a PCB,
and is cooled by three forced airflow axial fans. API's Alpha Slot
B significantly lowers production costs and inventory requirements,
offering industry standard packaging technology for the world's
fastest processor.
Recognising that expert thermal design is the key to getting today's
processors to run faster, API worked with Flomerics' Thermal Design
Services Team to reduce the thermal resistance of the heat sink.
A reduction in thermal resistance from 0.4 to 0.3 degC/W results
in the processor itself running 10 degrees cooler. The first Flotherm
thermal analysis, used to determine the air flow and heat dissipated
by the module, revealed that the fin pitch of the existing heat
sink was already near to optimal, but that the heat spreading rate
within the base of the heat sink was a limiting factor. Keen to
further reduce the operating temperature of the processor, the
engineers at API and Flomerics collaborated to find inexpensive
solutions, one being a recommendation that copper be inserted into
the base of the extruded aluminium heat sink. This offered a more
cost-effective solution than manufacturing a heat sink with many
very thin fins. The thermal performance of the heat sink has thus
been boosted significantly and its operating life maximised.
A total of 6 Flotherm simulations were run, with the entire re-design
process taking just 1 month, including several iterations between
API's Project Manager and Flomerics' Thermal Design Team.
Commenting on the project, Mike Beale, Electro Mechanical Design
Engineer, API, said "Flomerics' expertise in heat sink design
offered a robust solution enabling us to continue expanding the
boundaries of microprocessor technology.
As existing users of Flotherm we knew that the numerical results
would give us faster and more complete design information than
could be obtained from numerous physical prototypes built in the
laboratory. Allowing us to by-pass the prototyping stage, the
Flotherm predictions correlated almost exactly with the experimental
results."
Concluding, Dr. Mike Reynell, Director of Marketing, Flomerics,
commented, "Thermal analysis has become an integral and crucial
part of the package design process for modern chip packages and is
the key to getting chips to run faster and more reliably. Anyone
wishing to create a competitive chip package must consider thermal
management issues at a very early stage in the design, as API has
done. Flotherm's simple, intuitive user interface, backed up by
Flomerics' ten years experience in thermal analysis makes the
package ideal for this purpose."
Further information can be obtained from
mailto:mike.reynell@flomerics.co.uk
Director of Marketing, Flomerics Limited,
81 Bridge Road, Hampton Court, Surrey, KT8 9HH
Tel: 020 8941 8810, Fax: 020 8941 8730
Website: www.flomerics.com
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Robert A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
