ACADEMIA

Integrated Device Technology has announced that it has delivered voltage regulator modules (VRMs) to SGI to power Altix UV, the world's fastest supercomputer. Altix UV utilizes the IDT Power VRMs for microprocessor, ASIC and memory power requirements.

IDT has been providing power solutions for SGI servers since the Altix system was introduced in January 2003. The VRMs selected by SGI utilize the IDT-patented coupled inductor technology to improve performance and reduce power consumption in computing applications.

"IDT has a history of delivering the highest performing, most efficient and power dense power modules in the industry, and we maintain close relationships with SGI and other tier-one suppliers of high-performance computing systems," said Arman Naghavi, vice president and general manager of the Analog and Power Division at IDT. "IDT took a system-level approach to reduce power loss and applied our product innovation engine to the power efficiency issue within computing and consumer platforms. Our complete power management solutions, featuring coupled inductor technology and VR controllers, give tremendous flexibility to our customers."

SGI Altix UV is a ground breaking system that has been designed for those who need fast, open and scalable computing. Utilizing the Intel Xeon 7500 series processors, the SGI Altix UV scales to 2,048 cores and 16 TB of memory, making it the most scalable shared memory supercomputer available today.

"Altix UV gives our customers the ability to perform very large simulations and analyze tremendous amounts of data that were previously only imagined," said Bill Mannel, vice president of product marketing at SGI. "The innovative VRM power solutions from IDT support the architecture of SGI Altix UV, which scales to thousands of cores in a single system image environment. This gives great flexibility to users of Altix UV to run a wide range of applications."

Each Altix UV server blade uses nine high-density IDT VRMs to deliver fast transient response, tight regulation, high efficiency, and reliability. The IDT low-voltage, high-current converters incorporate multi-patented IDT coupled inductor technology and advanced thermal design expertise, resulting in industry-leading efficiencies and modules with no heat sinks.