IBM S/3090 Mainframe TCM Monster CPU - TEARDOWN

[@StagByTriumph]

I worked at IBM Poughkeepsie developing the cutting-edge state-of-the-art automation to assemble, test and rework those TCM's in the late 1970's. I also developed cross training programs to train mainframe computer technicians to become manufacturing automation electro-mechanical technicians. That experience is what later formed my career as a Certified Automation Professional to build cutting edge state-of-the-art automation over the past 47+ years. Engineers today have no comprehension of that technology because they cannot google it. That whole process of laser mapping / laser cutting the shape of each individual 0.1mm pad, all the controls for the lasers, inserting each individual chip accurately on the MCM with custom developed cameras and robots, modifying any TCM using a custom made 6 axis ultrasonic wire bonder was completely automatic using IBM 7576 gantry robots, 7535/7545/7555 handling robots, IBM Series One I/O controllers, all which I was trained to program - even crashing one or two while developing the manufacturing programs. That automation and manufacturing was fully end-to-end tracked and logged by serial numbers and bar codes for quality control, testing, lot tracking and rework. Many people think each TCM is a separate CPU which is not correct. Each TCM on a backplane circuit board is unique per that mainframe configured for separate operational functions, and those functions could be changed using IBM 370/380/390 machine level assembler language (microcode) to modify its functions. Some TCM’s were ALU’s or Arithmetic Logic Units comprising multiple CPU data paths depending on the instructions being used, some were designed to control data flow to and from various I/O devices like memory, fixed storage, printers, tape drives, or network communications. I also worked on the automation processes to manufacture the various 9 -30 layer backplane circuit boards holding the TCM's and x-ray them for defects, then identify where the circuit needed to be repaired for a robot to make the precision interplane modifications and wire repair. Each circuit board ranged from 3 'x 3' to 3' x 6', the largest backplane could hold up to 36 TCM's. Trust me, you do not have one of these in your hand today as a modern smart phone. These mainframes were purpose built, purpose programmed, 64-to-128-bit (quad/double quad word) data path mass data crunchers for compiling millions of “records” a second which is not the same as million floating point “mathematical” operations per second. It is more like comparing a thousand acres of peas to counting 7 or 8 peas in a pod. Your smart phone cannot process the payroll for 100,000 employees is a few seconds with 100% accuracy like these machines could do back in the 70's and 80's. The longer time it took was not to compute the payroll, but to automatically transfer and save the data, print the paper check, automatically fill the envelope, put the envelope in a mailer bin ready for the US mail to pick up. That took an IBM 3800 laser printing subsystem that could print a mile of paper forms in a few minutes to go to the mailing equipment. I also worked on assembling the first quad multiprocessor mainframe in the late 1970’s in Poughkeepsie’s R&D sound lab that became known as "Watson" built specially to detect, interpret and comprehend speech in any language, accent, dialect, slurred words and with lisps. Now your Google and Alexa translate app can almost do that but only if you are connected to the Google server farm through the internet where the power resides.

[@kaitlyn__L]

Thank you very much for this fascinating insight! Amazing what economies of scale can achieve, vis a vis data throughput in the second half of your comment.

[@izzieb]

I'm glad this channel exists. Always something interesting and unusual to see.

[@LusRetroSource]

Agree, never would've I though I would be able to see the innard of an old mainframe CPU. Amazing the engineering that went into it.

[@robintst]

Despite the CPU's age, it's still an incredibly impressive piece of engineering. I'd expect nothing less from IBM.

[@deadman5985]

When you think you've seen every CPU you needed to see CPU Galaxy goes ahead and posts such a video - sehr geil!

[@the_hamrat]

I remember EEVBlog did a dismantle of an oil filled unit, one problem he said the oil caused was that with time the chips separate from the substrate

[@ByWire-yk8eh]

I was a designer of a 3090 TCM, and a bunch of other TCMs including one of the first in the 308X. When I went for a job interview at IBM in 1973, they showed me the 308X project, and I was so impressed with the TCM (called LEM then), that I took a job with them. Cool stuff.

[@CPUGalaxy]

wow, how cool is that to see a designer of this products here! Thanks for your comment. 👍🏻

[@phillycheesetake]

I love how IBM is listing the internal wiring length as if that's what customers are paying for. Thank you for these kinds of videos, if you weren't doing them no-one would be. You have a captive audience for sure!

[@CPUGalaxy]

Thank you!

[@mrmobodies4879]

13:04 I find this collection looks nicer than someone's jewellery set with the way the chips change colour from different angles and the lighting.

[@ccleorina]

3 years ago i build my AMD Threadripper 1950X pc and still using it now for my work and i feel it one huge CPU... but this 80s CPU is far crazy then my threadripper. Great vid btw... i enjoy it.

[@Damien.D]

Always nice to see some IBM wizardry.

[@Dedubya-]

The cooler metalwork is a piece of art in engineering, the CPU is another! You have an amazing collection, please keep the videos coming

[@spladam3845]

There are not many places on the web where we can get this content, but it's your voiceover and passion that really sells it. Wanted to leave a comment so you can get that sweet engagement algorithm boost, but I also wanted to say that this place is fantastic. That TCM is a magnificent work of art.

[@CPUGalaxy]

thank you!

[@chpsilva]

Back in the 80's I used to work as an intern at IBM when the 3090 series were the state of art and saw several of these TCM's, but never had the chance to peek inside one disassembled. Thanks for the guided tour.

[@AG-pm3tc]

Can’t wait seeing something of this caliber from today. This just insane tech, almost can’t believe they had that kind of stuff before i was around. Great video as always!

[@artiem5262]

Another piece of insane IBM engineering -- that ceramic substrate? All that precision layout for all those connections to the silicon dies, all the vias? The ceramic material shrinks around 17% when it is fired. That means that the pre-firing layout in the (green, unfired) ceramic has to be done with that shrinkage taken into consideration. All those traces, all those interconnects, all those vias -- none of them can open up or short during firing, shrinking to their precise locations, producing the final ceramic.

[@kaitlyn__L]

Someone involved in the development of these chips in the comments here discussed using precision machinery to fix defects in those substrates after locating them on an x-ray, which is honestly even more impressive to me. Micro-scale ultra-precision wiring fixes, etc. (But I imagine, as with any manufacturing process, there was an upper bound to the number of defects that were considered worthwhile to be fixing.)

[@HighTreason610]

That surely is some astounding engineering for the 1980s, it makes the x86 hardware of the time look like it was made with neanderthal tools.

[@Carambal81]

I found your channel through the EEVBlog. You deserve many more subscribers, awesome content!

[@CPUGalaxy]

Thank you!

[@Kedvespatikus]

I enjoyed this teardown from tip to toe. Thx, Peter, for letting us having a peek into the mainframe world of the eighties - that was something only the 'high priests' of IT could do back then.

[@freethinker1492]

EEV BLOG stripped down of one of those chips.. In Fact I believe he put a link to your channel thats how i found you

[@arniceousmaximus2183]

Yes walking through the server farms back in the 95 we removed all the A frames to step forward from J net to E net with the central offices and we always loves to hear the clicking sounds of theses old piston style still clucking away for eternity if they were allowed to stay working forever. I miss those times in many respects peter. Thank you so much for the lovely presentation

[@rsambrook]

I used to program those, IBM’s CICS system at Hursley Software Lab Hampshire UK. I was a student at the time. I remember running up a £30,000 CPU bill when running a trace between two operating systems. Most of the software was written in assembly and PLAS (version of PL1). I visited the machine room filled with the S370 3090J machines. It was very impressive for the time. All I had at home was a Amstrad 8086. Now I have that power of that mainframe at home for less than £1000.

[@geoffcrisp7225]

This was a great time to be Customer Engineer working in IBM mainframe systems environment as a StorageTek Customer Engineer out in the field. Large data centres with terabytes of data storage running 24x7x365 days. Still miss it 25 years later.

[@trnguy6137]

Thank you for the tender care and respect you have given to the designers the engineers and their hard work

[@LusRetroSource]

This is awesome! The techie things I thought I've never be able to see, you are making possible.

[@brucehutcheson5371]

I used to service IBM 3090's and have replaced these TCM's many times. A quarter million dollars each. Almost always flown by private jet to deliver a new one to you for the repair.

[@te0nani]

I want this inside my PC so hard. More Mainframe stuff please!

[@okankran237]

WOUWW! you build up a museum there dude?

[@totoliciu]

Very impressive narration, video and processor!

[@suhailab3634]

wow that cooling module must have took some time for ibm to develop! fantastic piece of engineering!

[@ronch550]

First time I've seen or even known about this IBM feat of engineering. Holy cow. Thanks, bro. Your channel is awesome! 😎

[@METALDKNO]

You have a beautiful collection man... That's dedication right there.

[@takcon]

I never knew I wanted to see someone disassemble an old piece of tech but I want to see someone disassemble an old piece of tech and I found this very entertaining and interesting, so keep up the good work!

[@pirojfmifhghek566]

That's some crazy machining right there. I don't know anything about mainframes, but damn that's still impressive.

[@krystian7246]

Tworzy Pan fantastyczne materiały, dziękuję.

[@ted-b]

Mad to think that now we've got more cpu power in our phones!

[@RetroTechBytes]

Oh, wow, this was so dang cool! Thank you for sharing this, my friend! I always appreciate your insight and was absolutely mind-blown at the specifications of this monster. You had me absolutely amazed at the 180m of internal wiring! Thank you for sharing all these technical details and doing so in a way that was just so understandable; that’s one of the things about you that I’ve always appreciated-you share your knowledge in a way that’s so easy to follow and so engaging! That really is such a beautiful CPU and it’s SO beyond cool! The engineering that went into this thing is just so evident. IBM really knew how to build a gorgeous, incredible piece of art! I can’t believe this was from the 1980s! Thank you for all that you do, and thanks again for sharing, my friend!

[@CPUGalaxy]

Thank you for your kind words ☺️

[@RetroTechBytes]

@@CPUGalaxy And thank you for all that you do, my friend!

[@blacklion79]

And now interposer is hot topic! It was said, that every new idea in modern IT was described in extremely boring article from 1960-1970s, by IBM engineer in dull gray coat, vest and trousers.

[@dazaro3]

Wow, and more amazing considering its from the 80s, your videos are super interesting,thanks.

[@DrakkarCalethiel]

I would love to see one of those modules in person. They are beyond amazing. The ammount of engineering IBM put into those modules is just insane!

[@lx_srs]

Absolutely mindblowing piece of kit.

[@JanMessersmith]

Great presentation! I love this fantastic engineering. Your collection is amazing. Your video skills are commendable.

[@stephenbeets00001]

Very nice piece. Thanks much for sharing this addition to your collection. Fun fact: The larger LGA-3363 version of the POWER7 is basically the same idea as the older TCMs used in IBM's earlier System/390, 3080 and 3090 machines. They are of a very similar construction and design consisting of a large and heavy metal thermal hat and mounting frame assembly with a ceramic substrate inside, albeit with only a single large CMOS die in place of the 132 smaller ECL dies that your 3090 TCM has and no pistons or helium gas fill inside. I did manage to get a POWER7 single-chip "TCM" of my own and I even drew some accurate scale line art drawings of it in MS Paint. I've seen at least one eBay seller in my country selling a TCM like this one but he wanted something like $350 for it, too expensive for me since I have imposed a per-item limit of $50 or less on the chips I buy. If I had an actual income where I could save up the money, I'd try to buy one, but that's not possible at this point in my life. Still, seeing yours was cool all the same. :-) Also, are you aware of IBM's latest feat with 2 nm process technology? Very impressive stuff.

[@GadgetUK164]

Never gets old watching you tear down these =D

[@SUCRA]

Oh man, that CPU is insane! Thanks for showing that incredible IBM mainframe CPU from the 80s, it really looks ahead of it's time. The individually pressurized pistons are really a marvel to see, what an awesome design! I bet you spent a couple of hours taking that CPU apart being careful not to damage it. Thanks for all your work on this and I'm already excited for the next one! Cheers my friend, have a great weekend!

[@CPUGalaxy]

Thank you very much for your kind words. cheers to Brasil my friend. 👍🏻

[@Legal-104]

I can't get enough of your videos. I absolutely love your channel! Keep em coming 😁

[@CPUGalaxy]

Thank you!

[@miroslavzima8856]

Housing dismantling seemed more like bomb defusing with that music🙂👍

[@Mat-Ellis]

Really nice video. Would love a deeper look into the capabilities of systems like these. Thank you!

[@SledgeFox]

Beautiful! Another gem in your brilliant collection! Thank you very much!

[@MrLukealbanese]

What a superb video. Excellent, as always.

[@evgeniyevilrade5870]

This some fascinating piece of tech. Would love to have MCM and TCM chips in my collection as well.

[@RonnieMcNutt666]

very interesting piston thermal system, higher pressure = far better heat transfers, amazing

[@diagonal-media]

Beautiful! now I want one *w*

[@andreavergani7414]

Yeeah. Great man!! Fascinating

[@edg2919]

Now we just need to see that baby in action!

[@mercedes300gd]

everything about this guy, his accent, this channel and the content is epic! tnx for doing this for us!

[@justice83]

Quality level up right there!

[@hawkeye454]

Truly fascinating

[@User2718218]

That was amazing, thank you for such a great video. Do you have any sense of how much processing power was in one of those modules? Perhaps compared to say a Pentium 4 running at one GHz or perhaps a recent iPhone. It's amazing when you think about the reduction in power per megaflop (or whatever) we have seen over the past 40 years. I think many seasoned design engineers circa 1985 could never have imagined where we would get by 2021. The leaps in processing power, clock speed, thermal efficiency, memory capacity, and storage capacity are absolutely astounding.

[@mrlithium69]

your collection is amazing

[@enilenis]

This reminds me of the days when I was young and took apart vacuum tubes, extracting all sorts of weird sci-fi looking contraptions. I then soldered them together to make toy spaceships, being inspired by Star Wars miniatures and their level of surface detail. I wanted models that I could study under a magnifying glass, and parts out of old electronics were perfect for micro-patterns I had no way of making by hand.

[@CPUGalaxy]

hah, crazy, I was doing the same when I was young. 😇

[@enilenis]

@@CPUGalaxy Well, I'm also a CPU collector, and my wife is also Russian, but not an engineer unfortunately. Mine is a budget SX version, lacking a math unit (hehe).

[@viniciusschneider705]

I love your channel so much

[@CPUGalaxy]

Thank you!

[@tl1024]

Another excellent video, as usual! Thanks.

[@pm71241]

Yeah... I went back-n-forth between this and an 6502 ... ended with the most portable.

[@craighunt9469]

ECL was quite fast back in the day. We still have one legacy test system at work for some old products that has ECL.

[@Dustycircuit]

It almost brings a tear to the eye

[@ProjectPhysX]

The only 3090 one can buy right now :D

[@Lemonidas75]

Wow... ! How much more advanced and powerful was a system like this compared to the standard XT system of those days ? Could be compared to something like... A pentium or something ? Really impressive !!

[@alfulton5946]

Its definitely something I've never seen before.

[@zedalert]

This is trully an engineering art.

[@IkanGelamaKuning]

The year it was made in 1987, still amaze me. I wonder 2021 cpu looks like.

[@Tovvvija]

Claude from GTA3 lives, has a voice, and has a youtube channel about cpu's... now i can die peacefully.

[@davebarnes2601]

Simply Beautiful!

[@jeffm2787]

Very nice piece.

[@cabasse_music]

i wonder what the total transistor count is for something like this. this channel is awesome - thanks for sharing.

[@Stefan_Payne]

Any chance for some microscope pictures of those CPUs?

[@bushhawk5460]

Man, IBM mainframe CPUs were just build different.

[@greypatch8855]

I love your content man!

[@patrickradcliffe3837]

Okay you should get ahold of CPU of a Cray supercomputer, along some others.

[@mrturtix3642]

Very informative

[@danpatterson8009]

The brick you see there does not have any wiring around the perimeters of the chips. The design allowed for a limited amount of "rerouting" signals by cutting the path between a via and a bonding pad and running a gold wire (about the thickness of a human hair) from one pad to another. Some bricks had hundreds of wires. The machines that bonded and ran the wires were ludicrously complex mechanisms. I was involved with the process that cut the leads between the vias and a bonding pads- probably one of the earliest uses of excimer lasers in industry.

[@breadmoth6443]

I do see in your collection a few PPC, what looks like HP PA RISC, and others - I still wish you would at least talk about them more. RISC is also an interesting thing.

[@ApocDevTeam]

Amazing technology though kind of surprised they didn't go with oil right away.

[@douro20]

I don't think IBM sold a lot of 3090s. They billed them as a bridge between a mainframe and a supercomputer. Adding the Vector Processing Facility would turn it into a full-fledged supercomputer. It had trouble competing as a supercomputer, though, as it wasn't fast enough to complete with upcoming systems from NEC and Cray. They ended up selling far more 370s in the same time frame and eventually discontinued the line in 1990 with the introduction of the System/390.

What is that chip with 3 big dies in diagonal next to this one? @12:32

[@CPUGalaxy]

This is an IBM Power 6 MCM

[@luckyluckydog123]

very interesting episode! BTW, can the performance of each of those CPU cores be compared in any way to an x86 core? perhaps to a Pentium 60?

[@CPUGalaxy]

This is really hard to answer coz the functionality is completely different and several of those TCM in a complex are needed for the cpu.

[@UpLateGeek]

Dave Jones will be disappointed that you didn't deliberately destroy this CPU!

[@CPUGalaxy]

😂😂

[@Smartphonekanalen]

Wow, what a 80's hardware mech tech thing. The tolerance in that water cooler block is probably very low.

[@wishusknight3009]

So the documentation states they use a clock time of 17.2 nanoseconds. That would put it at 58mhz according to a calculator. In practice it may have been actually somewhat less than that, or that could be including cascading. But that is still very impressive for the late 80s.

[@Alexagrigorieff]

Propagation delay per gate in those chips would probably be in order of 0.1 ns, which is insanely fast for those times. But ECL (Emitter Coupled Logic) is very power hungry, because it consumes current all the time.

[@wishusknight3009]

@@Alexagrigorieff Absolutely. The heat generated by even a modest 3090 system is on the order of 15000 watts. Its rather unfathomable how much power these systems consumed. Though modern blade racks are not any better i guess.

[@alucardhellsing9640]

Amazing for the time

[@KJohansson]

The mother of all chiplet ic's!

[@ashleylycan9335]

Mom Can we have a 3090? Mom: No, we have 3090 at home 3090 at home: Btw Great video. Love these old monster CPU videos. So many dies owo.

[@opiniondiscarded6650]

UwU

[@mitfreundlichengrussen1234]

sweet! Thx a lot!

[@BGTech1]

What is the song name you use for your intro?

[@mrbrad4637]

S/3090 ... Did they invent the RTX 3090 all the way back then.. 😳

[@streetpreacherumm]

Amazing!!

[@lordwiadro83]

These reflective "chiplets" remind me of exposed dies on socket A processors.

[@bluemoon5719]

respect 👍👌

[@WaveArsenal]

this is basically pcrn for CPU enthusiasts

[@KJohansson]

100% Nerd approved!

[@jeeptrail08]

what instruction set did that TCM run?