Slashdot Mirror
HyperTransport 3.0 Ratified
Hack Jandy writes "The HyperTransport consortium just released the 3.0 specification of HyperTransport. The new specification allows for external HyperTransport interconnects, basically meaning you might plug your next generation Opteron into the equivalent of a USB port at the back of your computer. Among other things, the new specification also includes hot swap, on-the-fly reconfigurable HT links and also a hefty increase in bandwidth."
HT 3.0 increases the bandwidth to 41.6 GB/s, that's 86% more than 2.0. It's also expected to be backwards compatible with current motherboards using 2.0. The new processor will run with 3.0 speeds while the motherboard will be stuck with 2.0. The new Rev. F AMD cpus are expected to have HT 3.0. It should help with multi-processor systems where the high bandwidth connects each cpu.
The reason fiber optic (particularly glass core) is so expensive is due to the difficult and sensitive process required to manufacture that cable, though the materials used are extremely inexpensive. The diameter of the glass core must be matched exactly to the wavelength of light to travel over that fiber. In addition the composition and purity of the glass must meet certain standards to prevent reflection, signal attenuation, or signal skew, all of which would result in inconsistent or degraded performance. As far as the lasers being cheap, yes a laser can be cheap, but again the same demanding requirements apply to both versions of laser used in data communications, which again increases the manufacturing cost.