Speedy Delivery
Chips inside today’s computers process data with ferocious speed. But a computer’s performance is limited by how fast data travels between, say, the memory and logic chips. Buses, the devices that move data between computers’ components, are notorious bottlenecks. But their reputation could be on the mend, thanks to a consortium of chip and computer-equipment makers created to commercialize a lightning-fast bus technology from Advanced Micro Devices.
The bus, which AMD calls HyperTransport, enables data transfer rates of up to 12.8 gigabytes per second, about 50 times faster than the current standard. While it’s hard to quantify the resulting improvement in computer performance, Linley Gwennap, principal analyst at the Linley Group in Mountain View, CA, says that such faster buses are critical to reaping the benefits of the next generation of superfast microprocessors. Today’s buses are like a one-lane bridge: if data is going out of a chip, nothing can come in. AMD’s new buses provide both an inbound and an outbound link. “You wind up with a mini-network of chips on the motherboard. It allows you to send stuff incredibly fast,” says David Rich, general manager of API NetWorks, a consortium member based in Concord, MA.
In addition to its blazing speed, HyperTransport has lower power requirements than today’s buses, making it a natural for personal digital assistants and laptops. But the technology’s first applications will be in high-performance computing. Graphics-chip maker and consortium member NVidia, for example, incorporated the bus into its chips for Microsoft’s Xbox, a graphics-intensive video game system set to ship this month in the United States. Cisco Systems, also in the consortium, expects to ship network routers using the buses within a year. At least when it comes to computers, you won’t have to wait for the bus anymore.
Keep Reading
Most Popular
Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why.
And that's a problem. Figuring it out is one of the biggest scientific puzzles of our time and a crucial step towards controlling more powerful future models.
The problem with plug-in hybrids? Their drivers.
Plug-in hybrids are often sold as a transition to EVs, but new data from Europe shows we’re still underestimating the emissions they produce.
Google DeepMind’s new generative model makes Super Mario–like games from scratch
Genie learns how to control games by watching hours and hours of video. It could help train next-gen robots too.
How scientists traced a mysterious covid case back to six toilets
When wastewater surveillance turns into a hunt for a single infected individual, the ethics get tricky.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.