Apple PowerPC G5 manual Native Compatibility with 32-Bit Application Code

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White Paper

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PowerPC G5

Native Compatibility with 32-Bit Application Code

On other platforms, switching to a 64-bit computer requires migrating to a 64-bit operating system (and purchasing 64-bit applications) or running a 32-bit operating system in a slow emulation mode. With the PowerPC G5, the transition to a 64-bit system is seamless: Current 32-bit code—such as existing Mac OS X and Classic applications—runs natively at processor speed, with no interruptions to your work- flow and no additional investment in software.

This easy compatibility is possible because the PowerPC architecture, unlike competing instruction sets, was designed from the beginning to run both 32-bit and 64-bit appli- cation code. And because the PowerPC G5 uses the same Velocity Engine instruction set introduced in the PowerPC G4, applications that have been optimized for Velocity Engine will immediately run faster on the new processor. What’s more, as applications are optimized and as Mac OS X is further enhanced for the PowerPC G5, performance gains will be even greater.

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Contents PowerPC G5 White Paper JulyContents Key Features IntroductionAn Exponential Leap in Computing Power Memory Addressing up to 18 ExabytesIndustry-Leading 1GHz Frontside Bus High-Precision Calculations in a Single Clock CycleClock Speeds up to 2GHz Full Support for Symmetric MultiprocessingNative Compatibility with 32-Bit Application Code Next-Generation PowerPC Architecture Ultrafast Access to Data and InstructionsHighly Parallel Execution Core Aggressive Queuing and Register RenamingTwo Integer Units Optimized 128-Bit Velocity EngineTwo Double-Precision Floating-Point Units Two Load/Store UnitsCondition Register Three-Component Branch Prediction LogicState-of-the-Art Process Technology from IBM Industry-Leading Performance Spec CPU2000Spec CPU2000 Single-Processor Speed Spec CPU2000 Dual Processor System Throughput Frontside bus Technical SpecificationsBit PowerPC processor architecture Wide execution coreFor More Information Physical specificationsComparison of PowerPC G4 and PowerPC G5 Three-component branch prediction logic
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