Standard may boost chip bandwidth

A key industry group is aiming to come out with a new specification for a high-speed chip connection technology that could more than triple the bandwidth for data. The HyperTransport Consortium, which controls the specifications for the chip-to-chip connection technology behind Advanced Micro Devices' upcoming Opteron processor, expects to release the new specification, HyperTransport 2.0, a year from now. HyperTransport is an effort initiated by AMD to define a new high-speed technology for connecting PC components.

HyperTransport 2.0 will provide data transfers between chips at 20 gigabytes to 40 gigabytes per second, depending on the system architecture. Such speeds will greatly increase the performance and versatility of servers or desktops, said Gabriele Sartori, president of the consortium and director of strategic alliances at AMD.

When you have the bandwidth available, you find a way to use it" for beefing up servers or enabling better 3D, Sartori said during an interview at the Platform Conference here. HyperTransport 1.0 features an aggregate data transfer rate of 6.4 gigabytes to 12.8 gigabytes, depending on the configuration. The group also came out with an improved version of the 1.0 specification this week, HyperTransport 1.05, and kicked off a compatibility program aimed at making it easier for other companies to make HyperTransport-compatible products.

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