IBM’s Power11 chip, launched in 2025, represents a significant advancement in enterprise server processors, focusing on performance, energy efficiency, AI integration, and reliability.
Let’s have a look at the key features of IBM Power11:
Core Architecture and Performance:The Power11 chip has 16 CPU cores per die, similar to its predecessor Power10, but delivers up to 55% better core performance compared to Power9. It supports eight-way simultaneous multithreading (SMT), enabling up to 128 threads per socket. Systems can scale up to 256 cores (e.g., Power E1180 model) and support up to 64TB of DDR5 memory. For customers wanting to preserve memory investments, some Power11 systems also support DDR4 memory, trading off some bandwidth for cost savings.
Energy Efficiency: Power11 introduces a new energy-efficient mode that sacrifices about 5-10% of core performance to reduce energy consumption by up to 28%, described as a “smart thermometer” approach. Advanced packaging technologies like 2.5D integrated stacked capacitors and improved cooling solutions optimize power delivery and thermal management. IBM claims Power11 achieves twice the performance per watt compared to comparable x86 systems.
Reliability and Availability: IBM promises 99.9999% uptime with features like spare cores (one inactive core per socket acts as a hot spare to replace faulty cores) and hot-pluggable components (fans, power supplies, I/O) allowing maintenance without downtime.
The platform supports autonomous operations for intelligent performance tuning and workload efficiency.
AI Acceleration: Power11 chips include on-chip AI accelerators capable of running large and small language models.
IBM is launching the Spyre AI accelerator (available Q4 2025), a system-on-chip designed for AI inference workloads, delivering up to 300 TOPS (tera operations per second) and featuring 128GB LPDDR5 memory. Power11 integrates with IBM’s AI software ecosystem, including watsonx and Red Hat OpenShift AI, to facilitate AI-driven enterprise workloads.
Security: The platform offers quantum-safe cryptography and sub-minute ransomware detection via IBM Power Cyber Vault, enhancing enterprise security.
Product Range: The Power11 family includes high-end servers like the Power E1180, midrange systems such as Power E1150 and Power S1124, and compact 2U servers like Power S1122 for space-constrained environments.
IBM Power Virtual Server enables cloud deployment of Power workloads, certified for RISE with SAP.
IBM Power11 is designed for AI-driven enterprises and hybrid cloud environments, delivering a balance of high performance, energy efficiency, reliability, and advanced AI capabilities. Its innovative features like spare-core resilience, autonomous operations, and integrated AI accelerators position it as a strong contender in the enterprise server market, especially for workloads demanding reliability and AI integration. This chip and its server family are generally available from July 25, 2025, with the Spyre AI accelerator coming later in Q4 2025