IBM announced on Thursday, July 7, 2005, their new processor, PowerPC 970MP, is a dual-core version of IBM’s award winning PowerPC 970FX.

This 64-bit processor targeted for clients who desire a low-cost, high performance, symmetric multiprocessing (SMP)-capable system in a small package with ranges from 1.4 to 2.5 GHz and it natively provides 64-bit and 32-bit application compatibility. Each of the two 64-bit PowerPC 970MP cores has its own dedicated 1MB L2 cache, resulting in performance more than double that of the PowerPC 970FX.

The microprocessor also provides power-saving features that system architects can use to dynamically control the system power. The frequency and voltage of both cores can be scaled downward to reduce the power during periods of reduced workload. For further power savings, each core can be independently placed in a power-saving state called doze, while the other core continues operation. Finally, one of the cores can be completely de-powered during periods of less stringent performance requirements.