About Merced
02 Sep 1999
Merced is the latest hi-power processor from Intel, which features IA-64 architecture. This 64-bit architecture has got many industry people interested.
But is it worth it? Why? What can it do?
At present, the processors are based on 32-bit architecture -- essentially meaning that 32 bits of data will be carried to and from the processing unit at a time -- and can address/access memory blocks related to that (32-bit) capacity. Today's 32-bit computer architectures typically address 4GB of main memory (especially Intel servers) and thus satisfy the performance requirements of a majority of today's applications.
However, as Internet commerce and large database applications continue to grow in size, memory addressability requirements will increase in server and workstation applications. In response, 64-bit architectures can address/access and handle larger blocks of memory. The difference in performance can be seen in applications that require more than 4 GB of memory - for example, a number of large database, Internet ERP and new line of business (LoB) applications.
As memory prices drop, it will be economically possible to have main memory data storage in the tens of gigabytes. Combining this increased storage with a 64-bit address range will allow significant performance improvements for large databases, ERP and future Internet applications.
Is Merced the only one to use this technology?
IA-64 is not the first architecture to use 64-bit addressability. Other 64-bit architectures include: HP's PA-RISC, Sun UltraSPARC, Compaq Alpha, and IBM PowerPC.
Why is Merced important?
Merced will be the first commercially available Intel 64-bit architecture. Intel's volume manufacturing methods have reduced CPU costs and improved performance. Intel's entry at the high end of the server market will result in downward pressure on high-end server prices. Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) may accept IA-64 as a de facto standard and will migrate their 32-bit software to 64-bit platform.
This chip will permit better memory utilisation by applications, closer co-ordination among microprocessor, hardware and application.
Merced provides the following specific features for Internet applications: security (e.g., encryption algorithm support) and streaming media (e.g., floating-point performance improvements and support for applying a single instruction to multiple, large-scale data streams) and for new line of business applications, like e-commerce.
