IBM's Processor Plans after the 970

eWeek reports that IBM is planning to take on Sun and HP with low-end and ultra-low-end Linux servers.

The new servers will be based on the PowerPC 970 (aka GPUL internally). eWeek reports that by mid-2004, there will be a replacement processor for these servers known as GPUL2 - which is simply described as an updated version of the PowerPC 970.

The rumor-mill has dubbed a Power5 derivative chip to be known as the "980"... but no official IBM announcements have even confirmed the existance of such a project. Speculatively, the GPUL2 could represent the "980" or simply die-shrink of the 970.