Ask HN: Who is using PowerPC in modern computing?

6 points by c0deR3D 1 year ago | 4 comments

PowerPC architecture, developed in late 1980s, was known for its performance for non-Intel processors in the 2000s. In real-time aspects, it outperforms Arm in that it provides competitive responsiveness while maintaining good performance.

AFAIK, although x86 and aarch32,64 domininate modern days computing world, it does seems there are still markets using PPC because the mainframe-oriented Power10 was released in late 2021 [1].

So, is there any story regarding why we seldom hear PPC nowadays but there's still PPC based servers releasing?

[1] https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/Power10

al_borland 1 year ago |

When Apple was moving away from it, it seemed due to thermals. People wanted thinner and lighter laptops with longer lasting batteries, and the PPC chips were getting too hot to put into laptops.

I would imagine this would extend to the data center in the form of power consumption. More power to run and more power needed to keep it cool. But this is all theory. I haven’t followed the development of PPC. My last knowledge of it is from Apple and Xbox.

DaoVeles 1 year ago | |

Funnily enough I mentioned this on here a few days ago. Steve Jobs when announcing the G5 said they would have a 3Ghz model available in 12 months, and a G5 laptop. It never happened. Was a big reason in why they moved to Intel. I had a dual 2Ghz G5 Powermac, I used to call it 'Steve's folly' because when you had it going at full speed, you knew it by the excessive fan noise. They just ran too hot. When the Intel Mac mini release and it ran faster than the G5 using only about 1/10th the power, we knew it was done.

PA Semi developed their PWRffcient PPC chips to be pitched to Apple. They solved all the issues of thermals and performance ceilings but by that time it was too late as the Intel transition was in action. Apple purchased PA Semi and they now do all the Apple silicon stuff. Thus I say PWRffcient was the best job application you have ever seen.

DaoVeles 1 year ago |

You can still get PPC desktops but they are pricey. Thinking the Talos 2. Even now they are several generation behind. https://www.raptorcs.com/TALOSII/

Unfortunately back in the mid-late 2000's every major company dropped PPC. WiiU woudl have been the last major machine to use it and that seems to be to merely keep backward compatibility - I mean it was the absolute limits of the original PPC750 design. Unfortunately, it just lost out to the might of Intel/AMD and the soaring pace of ARM's development.

I have said it before that if we had technology based on the best designs available, we would all be using some from of PowerPC with so mix of Mac OS/Linux/beOS and Amiga Workbench. Turns out doing elegant design but mediocre cannot out do mediocre done well (X86).

GianFabien 1 year ago |

Up until a few years ago, I used to install and administer massive IBM server installations running AIX and DB2. Mostly for SAP ERP customers. Of course, these are not desktop system but multi-rack servers + fiber attached storage.