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Sun Cancels UltraSPARC IIIi+

Doctor Memory writes "El Reg is reporting that Sun has finally come clean and admitted that they have killed the UltraSPARC IIIi+ chip. According to John Fowler, Sun's server chief, 'We canceled it last fiscal year to focus on the ramp (up) of UltraSPARC IV+, Niagara and Niagara 2.' Sun has had great success with its new Niagara line, and with it's line of AMD-based systems."

13 of 97 comments (clear)

  1. UltraSPARC IV is the replacement for UltraSPARCIII by IYagami · · Score: 5, Informative

    I think that Sun UltraSPARC IV can replace UltraSPARC III smoothly (they share the same socket, Sun can provide help doing this, c...) According to: http://www.sun.com/processors/UltraSPARC-IV/index. xml "Executing on Sun's Throughput Computing strategy, the dual-thread UltraSPARC IV processor marks the first milestone in Sun's Chip Multithreading (CMT) roadmap (...) It protects customers' investments through 100 percent application binary compatibility, and can provide an upgrade path for current UltraSPARC III processor-based systems " It's like replacing an Athlon Socket AM2 Single Core with a Dual Core (I think...)

  2. who cares() by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    {
        return NOBODY;
    }

  3. Of course they've been having great success.... by Chineseyes · · Score: 5, Funny

    Spammers having been letting me know about Niagara for years

    --
    I think the invisible hand of the market has its middle finger extended

    --A wise old fart named SC0RN
    1. Re:Of course they've been having great success.... by Shaper_pmp · · Score: 3, Funny

      Dear sir,

      My name is Mtubutu Balawe, and I beg your help. A wealthy government official has recently died, and I require to move large amounts of erectile dysfunction pills from my home to the USA...

      --
      Everything in moderation, including moderation itself
  4. We looked at the name by Colin+Smith · · Score: 4, Funny

    "And thought, damn, nobody's going to buy that, people aren't stupid. Everyone knows that IIIi+ is almost 4, it has to be 3.8 at least so we just decided to rename it 4. Sorry... IV... IV+... Would another plus be overkill do you think?" said a Sun spokesman.

    --
    Deleted
  5. Re:UltraSPARC IV is the replacement for UltraSPARC by bofkentucky · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Except the smallest USIV box they make is the 490, 4RU and non-hs power supplies. Get me a 240 replacement with a USIV and I'll be all over it. Or better yet figure out how to add HS dual power and the USIV to the 210.

    --
    09f911029d74e35bd84156c5635688c0
  6. Ho Hum by gentimjs · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Is anyone surprised? USIV and T1 are by far Suns big cash cows. While I'm typing this at an USIIIi powered workstation, and would love a simple upgrade, I cant say that this upsets me in the least. I'd far rather Sun's R&D go into thier higher-end stuff than entry-level stuff, since it will push the current "high end" crap down to the level that us mere mortals will be able to get it! :-D

    1. Re:Ho Hum by P+Fayers · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The concentration of R&D on the high end and then deriving a cheap version of the chip is what has been causing Sun trouble for a while. Intel tried the same thing with Itanium and it didn't work for them either.

      Sun's current method, introduce the low end chip - Niagara - first and then build up to the high end stuff (the Rock CPU) seems to be a much better idea. Produce the high volume stuff first and use the revenue from that to produce the high end, high margin stuff.

  7. What the i Stands For by CastrTroy · · Score: 3, Funny

    I guess we know what the "i" stands for in UltraSpark IIIi. It's for imaginary. Like in math.

    --

    Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
  8. Re:Check out Sun's wrongdoing by AKAImBatman · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You know, that's the second time I've seen that website, and I'm still not impressed.

    Class action lawsuit due to patent infringement of Kodak's patents, related Java.
    There was a patent lawsuit. I don't know where you get "class action" part from. Sun also settled and licensed the technology immediately after the judge decided they were infringing. So you proved... how responsible Sun is?

    Sun has done some questionable things, but those aren't it.

  9. Re:UltraSPARC IV is the replacement for UltraSPARC by IYagami · · Score: 3, Informative

    I'm afraid you're right (and I'm wrong).

    According to
    http://www.sun.com/servers/entry/v240/specs.xml
    or
    http://www.sun.com/servers/entry/v210/specs.xml
    There are no processor upgrades avalaible to the Sun V240 or Sun V210 Server. I suppose that the upgrade is only avalaible to the Big Iron Systems.

  10. Office Space by Double+Mint+Len · · Score: 3, Informative

    In August of 2004, I was in Sillicon Valley, and I visited the Sun headquarters.

    It was quite possibly the most disorganized, un-coordinated place on earth. If Disney World was run by a single quadrapalegic, I think it would still be more effecient.

    We took a tour, and the guide honestly said that the only really interesting thing they had going on, was that they could bring their dogs to work....uh thanks man. really technologically advanced

    --
    *double the pleasure, double the fun*
  11. Re:Why Does Sun Make Their Own Chips? by joe_bruin · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The UltraSPARC T1 has an 8-core CPU out on the market today, with 4-thread hyperthreading. Ie, 32-threads at one time on a single CPU. It does this at 72 Watts. Intel and AMD are only talking about quad-core CPUs for next year.