IBM has just announced the all new Power10 based E1080 model and it looks great! I recently wrote an article highlighting 10 things you should know about Power10, if you missed that, click here to check it out. At the moment we only have the enterprise version of the Power10 available to us which is of course way more than most of us need.
There can be little doubt that soon we will be talking about Power10 servers for the rest of the IBM Power family. So, you would be forgiven for thinking that you should wait before buying a new server? That may be true if you need one of the new Power10 specific features but if you just need a faster server and you like a bargain, then I would suggest you take a look a POWER9.
IBM is offering some incredible deals on the existing POWER9 line which means there is a truly compelling financial case to buy a new server right now. In fact, having sold a number of these recently, where it was genuinely cheaper for my customers to upgrade than stay on their existing hardware!
How can upgrading can be cheaper?
Right now, we are seeing jaw dropping HALF PRICE deals from IBM for the IBM i based POWER9 servers, even at the low end. Truly, it is common to see them 50% cheaper than the beginning of the year!
Let’s assume you have a POWER7 server, it has two cores running IBM i, that gives you around 11,900 CPW. If you were to upgrade to a POWER9 with a single processing core and this would equate to 13,000CPW. This would also reduce your costs, not just at the time of purchase but ever year afterwards.
| Processor Generation | Maximum CPW per core |
| POWER5 | 3,100 |
| POWER6 | 4,300 |
| POWER7 | 5,950 |
| POWER8 | 10,000 |
| POWER9 | 13,000 |
| Power10 | *17,000 |
*Value I have estimated for Scale Out Per Core CPW based on publicly available data on P10 Enterprise and the likely lower CPW per core rating of P10 Scale Out. I applied modification base on P8 & P9 CPW Enterprise versus Scale Out design.
Now if we look at the typical cost of three years IBM Hardware and Software maintenance for a POWER7 server with two P10 cores running IBM i then you would have ball park costs of £30,000 over three years.
With these great deals we are seeing from IBM right now, a new POWER9 server with a single P05 core including the same hardware and software maintenance that you would have to pay for anyway would typically cost around £25,000.
Then as an added bonus, from year four you can expect the ongoing cost to be halved because of the reduced IBM software maintenance costs. If that wasn’t enough IBM will even give you an interest free two-year loan to buy one.
Should I wait for Power10?
So here is what I think. When you combine this financial saving with the added performance boost not only the POWER9 chip but also the remark boost brought to bear by NVMe based storage, then it really can be a no brainer to buy a POWER9 now, rather than wait for a Power10.
Now I know this all sounds too good to be true but seriously, go talk to your friendly IBM Business Partner and see for yourself.
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Great article Steve