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IBM PowerPC 601, PPC601FD-080-2
IBM PowerPC 601v, PPCA601v5FC1002
IBM PowerPC 601v, PPCA601v5FE1002
IBM PowerPC 603ev, PPC603evFB180r
IBM PowerPC 603ev, PPC603evBB200r
IBM PowerPC 603ev, PPC603evFB200r
IBM PowerPC 603e2, PPC603e2BA240r
IBM PowerPC 403GC, PPC 403GC-JA33C1
IBM PowerPC 604, PPCA604FC1202PQ
IBM PowerPC 604, PPCA604BC120C
IBM PowerPC 604, PPCA604BE133aC
IBM PowerPC 604, PPCA604BE133aCPQ
IBM PowerPC 604e, XPPC604eBC166aC relabeled
IBM PowerPC 604e, PPC604e2BE233eE
IBM PowerPC 604e, PPC604e2PE233dE
IBM PowerPC 750 (G3), PPC750--DB0M266
IBM PowerPC 750 (G3), PPC750--EB0M266
IBM PowerPC 750 (G3), PPC750--EB5M300
IBM PowerPC 750 (G3), PPC750L-EB0A450
IBM PowerPC 750 (G3), PPC750FX-680533T
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» IBM overview
» all PowerPC chips
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The PowerPC Processor
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PowerPC is a RISC microprocessor architecture created by the 1991 Apple-IBM-Motorola alliance (AIM).
'Power' (Performance Optimization With Enhanced RISC) and was adopted from IBM's POWER architecture from their RS/6000 series.
The PowerPC is designed along RISC principles, and allows for a superscalar implementation. Versions of the design exist in both 32-bit and 64-bit implementations. Starting with the basic POWER specification, the PowerPC added:
- big or little-endian modes (requiring a reset)
- single-precision floating point in addition to double-precision
- additional floating point instructions at the behest of Apple
- a complete 64-bit specification, which is backward compatible with the 32-bit mode
- removal of some of the more esoteric POWER instructions, which are emulated in microcode
The first single-chip implementation of the design was the MCP601 and released in Apple's PowerMac in March 1994.
For a list of Apple computers using a specific PowerPC CPU please refer to Apple-History.com
PowerPC on Wikipedia |
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The PowerPC 604 was the high end PowerPC when released, performing at 1.5 times the speed of a PowerPC 601 at equal clock speeds. The chip was later
updated by doubling the L1 cache to 64KB and shrinking the processor, now dubbed the 604e.
The fastest versions of the 604e version were nicknamed "Mach 5" and ran at 250-350MHz.
References:
IBM PPC 604e Technical Library
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Codenamed "Arthur", the PowerPC G3 name comes from the third generation of PowerPC microprocessor. It was used in Apple Macintosh computers such as
the PowerBook G3,
the iMacs,
iBooks and several desktops, including
the Power Macintosh G3s.
The G3 was introduced in two different versions, derived from the PPC 603 series of microprocessors: the PPC 740 and PPC 750 microprocessors.
The PPC 740 slightly outperformed Pentium IIs while consuming less than 20% of the amount of power and size. Derived from the PPC 740, the PPC 750
had a faster way to access L2 cache, which allowed higher performance.
The earlier versions, made by Motorola, used an aluminium process for fabrication, and were limited to 400 MHz speeds. Later versions,
manufactured by IBM with a "silicon-on-insulator" fabrication process, achieved speeds of 500 MHz and beyond. All G3 versions did not completely
implement a standard for symmetric multiprocessing computers, which made design and manufacture of a SMP computer comparatively difficult.
The PowerPC G4 corrected this deficiency.
With its combination of small size and low power requirements, the G3 proved an ideal laptop microprocessor in its era. Apple ceased using the G3 on October 22, 2003.
References:
IBM PPC 750 Technical Library
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References:
Motorola MPC 601 User's Manual Motorola MPC 601 Doc Archive IBM PPC 601 White Paper