Sun's UltraSparc IV+

With the heat from IBM increasing, Sun is going to take a stab into the midrange server market with the next line of the ever-popular UltraSparc series, releasing the UltraSparc IV+ Processor. Keeping in line with current trends, the new UltraSparc will feature multiple cores per die and come come in impressive configurations of four to twenty four processors for midrange models and far beyond that for their high-class lines. Sun made performance comparisons to both the previous UltraSparcs and the aging UltraSparc III systems, mostly because most Sun hardware stays in use for quite a long time and it's a good way to convince users to upgrade. Compared to a standard UltraSparc III CPU, performance gains of up to 250% are seen. Soon, Sun will be showing off “Niagra” - A CPU with 8 cores per die.