Why Choose X455 - IBM 88553RX Installation Manual

Itanium 2 features, such as increased system memory bandwidth, total number
of 328 onboard registers (including 128 floating-point registers), and thus high
floating-point performance, speed up calculations and data analysis in S&TC
applications.

2.8 Why choose x455

Modern enterprise applications require servers with significant processing power
that are able to process large quantities of data and store numerous transactions
in cache, and do it all with the highest possible availability and reliability. Systems
that cannot deliver at this level are destined to serve as solutions in non-critical
settings.
IBM, as a market leader, has been delivering top-of-the-line solutions for the
enterprise environment for years, and xSeries 455 is evidence that this will
continue to develop with IA-64 technology. With close cooperation between IBM
and Intel, the xSeries 455 will continue to be an excellent platform for the most
demanding 64-bit enterprise applications.
The x455 combines and builds on a number of technologies developed in
previous xSeries models and other IBM developed technology:
The mainframe inspired x445 that provides reliable and scalable partitioning.
The x380, the first 64-bit xSeries server targeted, tested, and proven by
software and hardware developers.
The x450, the first xSeries server aimed at large, demanding, mission-critical
applications.
The IBM pSeries®, iSeries™, and zSeries® servers. Unlike most of our
competitors, IBM has many years and a vast amount of experience with 64-bit
technology.
All of these advantages make the x455 an enterprise-level server and a viable
alternative to RISC-based architectures, while protecting many years of
investments and knowledge gained from IA-32 platform development.
The Itanium 2 processor used in the x455 is based on the Explicitly Parallel
Instruction Computing (EPIC) architecture, which incorporates a number of new
technologies, features, and capabilities that make it ideal for the high-end server
and workstation markets. EPIC allows users to take advantage of its large
memory addressability and parallel execution capabilities. The chip also supports
intelligent prediction and speculation of events to reduce redundancy and
improve performance. The Itanium 2's floating point engine enhances
IBM Eserver xSeries 455 Planning and Installation Guide
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