Server Processors: Chapter 2009 (Part 2) Alternative CPU Architectures Face a Turning Point in 2010

摘要

We have reached a critical fork in the road traveled by server processors. In 2009, the x86 server processors from Intel and AMD utterly dominated the SPEC2006 CPU benchmarks. During the 12-month period surveyed for this article-December 2008 through November 2009-x86 processors accounted for 98% of all scores reported. The three alternative architectures (IBM's Power, Intel's Itanium, and Sun Microsystems' SPARC) barely registered as blips on the charts.rnAdmittedly, this near-total domination is not an abrupt shift. When Microprocessor Report began this series of year-end recaps in 2007, x86 processors accounted for 89% of that year's results. In 2008, the figure increased to more than 95%. Now it stands at 98%. How long before x86 processors claim 100% of the interest in benchmark performance? Are we nearing the end of alternative architectures?