EEVblog #1341 - AMAZING $250,000 IBM Processor TEARDOWN!

EEVblog1 HN recommenders · 2021–2022
714K views · demo · evergreen · Uploaded 2020-10-05

Dave Jones of EEVblog tears down a 1991 IBM 9121 thermal conduction module from a System/390 mainframe, a 63-layer ceramic hybrid module with 2772 pins worth about $250,000, and demonstrates a BGA desoldering technique.

Cited in threads on chip packaging and cooling as a vivid look at vintage IBM mainframe module construction.

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3 comments from Hacker News

@nom2021 · in “IBM paperweight teardown: Reverse-engineering 1970s memory chips”

All the vintage mainframe stuff is pretty mind blowing. There is an awesome hidden gem on YouTube: CPU Galaxy. He has a huge collection of vintage CPUs. IBM 9121 Mainframe CPU [LINK] Dave from EEVBlog also made a video about it [VIDEO]

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@formerly_proven2021 · in “An inside look at the custom CPUs in Tesla's Dojo Supercomputer”

The thermal solution and packaging looks a lot like mainframe systems from the 80s (IBM, Siemens, Japanese). Siemens H100: [LINK] [LINK] IBM: [VIDEO]

@ilyt2022 · in “One Startup’s Cooling Chip May Surge Processor Power”

This one does[1]. It have a bunch of pistons on springs touching each chiplet, all in mineral oil. Price bit out of range for typical desktop user tho * [VIDEO]