IBM POWER6 Outscores HP in Key Server Performance Tests

"IBM System p servers supply industry-leading performanceon both operatingsystems, providing customers the opportunity to reduce energycosts byconsolidating smaller, less-efficient servers," said ScottHandy, vicepresident of worldwide marketing for System p servers atIBM.

The new IBM System p 570 server achieved record-breakingresults in theSPECfp_2006 and per core SPECfp_rate2006 benchmarks, whichdetermine thespeed and throughput, respectively, of floating point calculationscommonin scientific applications as well as commercial workloadssuch asfinancial trading and product design.

In the SPECfp_2006 benchmark, which measures speed, a singlecore of a 4.7GHz POWER6 processor in an IBM System p 570 server runningSUSE Linuxscored 22.4, the highest result in the industry. Systemp 570 results are23% better than an HP Integrity rx6600 running HP-UX resultof 18.1.(1)

In the SPECfp_rate2006 benchmark, which is a measurementof systemthroughput, an IBM System p 570 server with two 4.7 GHzPOWER6 processors(4 cores) running the AIX operating system scored 115 versus51.3 for an HPProliant DL585 G2 with two 3.0 GHz AMD processors (4 cores)running SUSELinux -- a difference of 124 percent.(2)

In the SPECfp_rate2006 benchmark's 8-core results, an IBMSystem p 570server with four 4.7 GHz POWER6 processors running AIX scored213 versus98.7 for an HP Proliant DL585 G2 with four 3.0 GHz AMD Opteronprocessorsrunning SUSE Linux -- a difference of 115 percent.(3)

And in the SPECfp_rate2006 benchmark's 16-core results,an IBM System p 570server with eight 4.7 GHz POWER6 processors running Linuxscored 428 versus186 for an HP Integrity rx8640 with eight 1.6 GHz Itanium2 processorsrunning HP-UX.(4)

"The System p 570 running the POWER6 microprocessor wasdesigned from theground up to be a balanced system, with massive bandwidthto accommodatethe machine's incredible speed," said Handy. "These benchmarkresultsindicate the kind of performance that will help enable customersto createthe efficient data centers of the future."

About IBM System p servers

Renowned for their computing power, IBM System p serversand workstationssupport user needs across a broad range of applications,includingtransaction processing, web publishing, data mining, systemsmanagement andothers. This family of 1-to 64-core IBM POWER processor-basedsystems isdesigned to provide customers with leadership features forhighperformance, availability, scalability and dynamic resourceallocation.Unique IBM virtualization features allow users to processmore informationon a single server, creating the potential to save on totalcost of systemownership, as well as space and energy costs.

System p products are designed for smaller and mid-sizedbusiness and largeenterprises that are using UNIX platforms. The servers useAIX, IBM's openUNIX operating system, and also support thousands of Linux-basedapplications. Migration services enable customers to quicklyand easilyconvert from competing platforms -- such as Sun MicrosystemsandHewlett-Packard -- to IBM hardware.

System p servers are powered by IBM's leadership technology,including thePOWER6 microprocessor, the world's fastest chip, built usingIBM'sstate-of-the-art 65 nanometer process technology. At 4.7GHz, the dual-corePOWER6 processor doubles the speed of the previous generationPOWER5 whileusing nearly the same amount of electricity to run and coolit, meaningcustomers can use the new processor to either increase theirperformance by100 percent or cut their power consumption virtually inhalf.

For more information on IBM System p servers and offerings,please visit.

Footnotes

IBM is a trademark of IBM Corporation in the United Statesand/or othercountries. All other company/product names and service marksmay betrademarks or registered trademarks of their respectivecompanies. UNIX isa registered trademark in the United States and other countrieslicensedexclusively through The Open Group.

SPEC and the benchmark names SPECint. SPECfp, and SPECjbbare registeredtrademarks of the Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation.

Source: ;All results current as of 8/28/07.

(1) IBM System p 570 (4.7 GHz) ranked #1 in the industry(22.4 SPECfp2006result, 1 core, 1 chip, 2 cores/chip, 1 thread/core, Linux)vs. HP rx6600SPECfp2006 result of 18.1 (2 cores, 1 chip, 2 cores/chip).

(2) IBM System p 570 (4.7 GHz) is the best-in-class 4-coresystem (115SPECfp_rate2006 result, 4 cores, 2 chips, 2 cores/chip,2 threads/core) vs.HP DL585 SPECfp_rate2006 result of 51.3 (4 cores, 2 chips,2 cores/chip).

(3) IBM System p 570 (4.7 GHz) result of 213 SPECfp_rate2006(8 cores, 4chips, 2 cores/chip, 2 threads/core) vs. HP DL585 SPECfp_rate2006result of98.7 (8 cores, 4 chips, 2 cores/chip).

(4) IBM System p 570 (4.7 GHz) is the best-in-class 16-coresystem (428SPECfp_rate2006 result, 16 cores, 8 chips, 2 cores/chip,2 threads/core,Linux) vs. HP rx8640 SPECfp_rate2006 result of 186 (1.6GHz/24MBDual-CoreIntel Itanium 2, 16 cores, 8 chips, 2 cores/chip).