IBM has previewed the designs for its upcoming 64-bit Power 5 processor, which the company states will augment total system performance by 40 percent over its predecessor.

At last week's Hot Chips Conference in Palo Alto, Calif., IBM disclosed that it was incorporating simultaneous multi-threading into Power 5; the process takes chip multiprocessing to a new level where each chip tackles two threads as opposed to one.

As a result, each Power 5 chip appears to software applications as a four-way symmetric multiprocessing unit, Joel Tendler, IBM's Director of Technology told BetaNews. Power 5 features enhancements that take advantage of, as well as supplement, having two instruction streams on a single processor.

Applications specially written for the chip will be able to assign thread priority while self diagnosing dynamic feedback –- or autonomic capabilities -- will monitor thread performance and allocate power as it is needed. This means that high demand processing jobs will be accommodated, but cycles will not be wasted when demand tapers off.

Other enhancements touted by IBM include dynamic power management. Tendler told BetaNews that such flexibility in the Power 5 can be implemented without a performance impact – merely by directing energy where it is needed. Traditional power management yields frequency and sacrifices performance.

In addition, the Power 5 can switch back to a single thread configuration as needed; part of what IBM dubs "Smart SMT."

Form factor has not escaped the eye of chip designers. Power 5's core has been increased in size by 24 percent, boosting performance. Published reports by The Register have IBM gearing up to debut its chips at around 1.4 GHz, with clock speeds eventually rising between 2-3 GHz.

IBM's Tendler forecasts product availability for the first half of next year. IBM labs have thus far successfully tested the Power 5 running AIX, OS/400 and Linux operating systems. Further details on Power 5 system architecture are set to be released in October.

Company officials have stated that upon release, Power 5 will support IBM's iSeries and pSeries product lines. However, Tendler could not confirm to BetaNews the marketing mix.

"IBM looks to be heading to the next chip generation from a position of strength rather than weakness," said senior Illuminata analyst Gordon Haff. "Itanium is really the only chip that gives POWER serious competition on a chip-by-chip basis - and Itanium has hardly been a roaring success."