PowerPC applications


Microprocessors belonging to the PowerPC/Power ISA architecture family have been used in numerous applications.

Personal computers

Apple Computer was the dominant player in the market of personal computers based on PowerPC processors until 2006 when it switched to Intel-based processors. Apple used PowerPC processors in the Power Mac, iMac, eMac, PowerBook, iBook, Mac mini, and Xserve. Classic Macintosh accelerator boards using PowerPCs were made by DayStar Digital, Newer Technology, Sonnet Technologies, and TotalImpact.
There have been several attempts to create PowerPC reference platforms for computers by IBM and others: The IBM PReP is a system standard intended to ensure compatibility among PowerPC-based systems built by different companies; IBM POP is an open and free standard and design of PowerPC motherboards. Pegasos Open Desktop Workstation is an open and free standard and design of PowerPC motherboards based on Marvell Discovery II chipset; PReP standard specifies the PCI bus, but will also support ISA, MicroChannel, and PCMCIA. PReP-compliant systems will be able to run OS/2, AIX, Solaris, Taligent, and Windows NT; and the CHRP is an open platform agreed on by Apple, IBM, and Motorola. All CHRP systems will be able to run Mac OS, OS/2-PPC, Windows NT, AIX, Solaris, Novell Netware. CHRP is a superset of PReP and the PowerMac platforms.
Power.org has defined the Power Architecture Platform Reference that provides the foundation for development of computers based on the Linux operating system.
List of computers based on PowerPC:

Servers

Supercomputers

IBM
Apple
Cray
  • The XT3, XT4 and XT5 supercomputers have Opteron CPUs but PowerPC 440 based SeaStar communications processors connecting the CPUs to a very high bandwidth communications grid.
Sony

Personal digital assistants (smartphones and tablets)

IBM released a Personal Digital Assistant reference platform based on PowerPC 405LP. This project is discontinued after IBM sold PowerPC 4XX design to AMCC.

Game consoles

All three major seventh-generation game consoles contain PowerPC-based processors. Sony's PlayStation 3 console, released in November 2006, contains a Cell processor, including a 3.2 GHz PowerPC control processor and eight closely threaded DSP-like accelerator processors, seven active and one spare; Microsoft's Xbox 360 console, released in 2005, includes a 3.2 GHz custom IBM PowerPC chip with three symmetrical cores, each core SMP-capable at two threads, and Nintendo's Wii console, also released in November 2006, contains an extension of the PowerPC architecture found in their previous system, the GameCube.
Several arcade system boards were also powered by PowerPC-based processors, such as Sega Model 3, powering games such as Scud Race, Sega Rally 2 and Daytona USA 2, Konami Viper, which was used in Police 911 and Silent Scope EX, as well as Taito Type Zero, which powered the first two games in the Battle Gear series, as well as Densha de Go! 3. Because they are based on PowerPC-based console hardware, the Triforce, based on the GameCube, and Namco System 357, based on PlayStation 3, also use PowerPC-based processors.

TV set-top boxes / digital recorder

IBM, Sony, and Zarlink Semiconductor had released several Set Top Box reference platforms based on IBM PowerPC 405 cores and IBM Set Top Box System-On-Chip

Printers/graphics

Network/USB devices

Automotive

Medical equipment

  • Horatio - patient simulator for training doctor and nurse.
  • Matrox image processing subsystem for medical equipment: MRI, CAT, PET, USG

Military and aerospace

Point of sales

Test and measurement equipment