PowerPC 970 at 90nm and the Power5

A Japanese news blurb reports that IBM will be presenting two papers at the 2004 ISSCC (in Feb 2004):

"Design and Implementation of the POWER5 Microprocessor"

"PowerPC 970 in 130nm and 90nm Technologies"

Current shipping PowerPC 970s utilize a 130nm process, though it was reported in September that IBM was already sampling 90nm chips. A 90nm chip would theoretically bring higher clockspeeds and lower heat production as compared to the corresponding 130nm chip.

Meanwhile, Microprocessor Watch is reportedly providing subscribers with more details about the Power5 from IBM's presentation at the Microprocessor Forum. MacWorld.co.uk notes that the Power5 will ship in 2004, with a Power5+ in 2005 and the Power6 in 2006. Notes from the same presentation were previously detailed in this report.

Meanwhile, a new AppleInsider report claims that 90nm chips will bring Apple above 2.0GHz while the PowerPC 980 (Power5 based) chip will bring Apple to 3GHz. If true this could confirm a previous report which claimed the same... that the 970 would top out at 2.6-2.8GHz, while the 980 would bring Apple to the 3GHz mark. And a Page 2 report hints at specifically designed low-power mobile PowerPCs.