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IBM Power P05 Generation Comparison Dataset

A structured, downloadable dataset comparing CPW, memory bandwidth, internal storage, and PCIe capacity across the IBM Power11 S1112 and the Power10, Power9, and Power8 systems in the IBM i P05 software tier.

This dataset compares the IBM Power11 S1112 (machine type 9242-21B) with four earlier IBM Power systems in the IBM i P05 software tier: the Power10 S1014, the Power10 S1012 (in both its one-core and four-core configurations), the Power9 S914, and the Power8 S814. All figures are structured for machine-readable use and are available as CSV and JSON downloads below.

The underlying research and analysis originates from Midland Information Systems' IBM Power System Specifications and Performance Comparison for P05 Software Tier (Robert MacAdams, July 14, 2026). This page restructures that research into a citable, versioned dataset with defined variables and downloadable distributions.

Systems Compared

SpecificationPower11 S1112Power10 S1014Power10 S1012 1-corePower10 S1012 4-corePower9 S914Power8 S814
Machine type and model9242-21B9105-41B9028-21B9028-21B9009-41G8286-41A
Processor module1 eSCM1 eSCM1 eSCM1 eSCM1 SCM1 DCM
Available processor cores4 or 104, 8, or 241, 4, or 81, 4, or 84, 6, or 84, 6, or 8
IBM i P05 processor configurationEJMT 4-core, 3.6-4.0 GHzEPG0 4-core, 3.0-3.90 GHzEPG3 1-core, 3.0-3.90 GHzEPG7 4-core, 3.0-3.90 GHzEP50 4-core, 2.3-3.8 GHzEPXK 4-core, 3.02 GHz

CPW Performance Comparison

SpecificationPower11 S1112Power10 S1014Power10 S1012 1-corePower10 S1012 4-corePower9 S914Power8 S814
CPW per core29,32526,57529,00027,82513,1259,360
Maximum P05 CPW117,300106,30029,000111,30052,50037,440
Power11 maximum CPW advantageBaseline10.3%304.5% total capacity (1.1% per core)5.4%123.4%213.2%

The four-core Power10 S1012 (EPG7) is the closest older system to the Power11 S1112 in the P05 tier, at 111,300 CPW versus 117,300 CPW. The one-core Power10 S1012 (EPG3) configuration should be read separately: at 29,000 CPW per its single active core, its per-core rate is within about 1.1% of Power11, but it has only one of Power11's four active P05 cores.

Memory and Bandwidth Comparison

SystemInstalled memoryUsable IBM i memoryMemory bandwidthPower11 bandwidth advantageMemory slotsMemory technology
Power11 S111264 GB64 GB256 GB/sBaseline44000-4800 MHz 16-Gbit DDR5 DDIMM
Power10 S101464 GB50 GB204 GB/s25.5%83200 MHz 8-Gbit DDR4 DDIMM or 16-Gbit DDR5 DDIMM
Power10 S1012 (either config)64 GB50 GB102 GB/s151.0%83200 MHz 8-Gbit DDR4 ISDIMM
Power9 S91464 GB50 GB170 GB/s50.6%162666-2933 MHz 16-Gbit DDR4 RDIMM
Power8 S81464 GB50 GB192 GB/s33.3%81600 MHz 4-Gbit DDR4 CDIMM

Power11 is the only system in this comparison where all 64 GB of installed memory is usable by IBM i; every older system in the set loses roughly 14 GB (28%) to firmware overhead.

Internal Storage Comparison

SystemMaximum internal IBM i storageMaximum IBM i drivesPower11 capacity advantage
Power11 S111212.8 TB raw / 6.4 TB mirrored4 NVMe U.2Baseline
Power10 S10146.4 TB raw / 3.2 TB mirrored4 NVMe U.22.00x
Power10 S1012 (either config)12.8 TB raw / 6.4 TB mirrored4 NVMe U.2Equal
Power9 S9146.4 TB raw / 3.2 TB mirrored4 NVMe U.2 or 10 HDD/SSD2.00x
Power8 S8143 TB10 HDD/SSDApproximately 4.27x

PCIe and I/O Expansion Comparison

SystemMaximum PCIe slotsSlot detailI/O drawer
Power11 S11124Two PCIe Gen4 x16 direct slots, two PCIe Gen4 x8 direct slotsHalf I/O drawer supported
Power10 S10145One PCIe Gen5 x8 or Gen4 x16 direct slot, three PCIe Gen5 x8 direct slots, one PCIe Gen4 x8 direct slotHalf I/O drawer supported
Power10 S10124Two PCIe Gen4 x16 direct slots, two PCIe Gen4 x8 direct slotsNot available
Power9 S9148Three PCIe Gen4 x16 slots, five PCIe Gen4 x8 slotsHalf I/O drawer supported
Power8 S8148Two PCIe x16 slots, five PCIe x8 slots specifically listed (final configuration should be verified)Not supported

Newer systems provide greater bandwidth per slot, but Power9 and Power8 provide more physical PCIe positions. Adapter and drive requirements should be reviewed as part of any migration plan.

Downloads

The complete dataset is available in two machine-readable formats:

Methodology and Sources

Research methodology: Specifications and performance figures were compiled from IBM product documentation, IBM Power11/Power10/Power9/Power8 datasheets, and Midland Information Systems technical comparison research. CPW (Commercial Processing Workload) is IBM's published relative performance measurement for IBM i commercial workloads; it is useful for estimating comparative processing capacity, though actual application performance also depends on memory, storage, database design, software configuration, and workload characteristics. All percentage and multiple comparisons use the Power11 S1112 four-core (EJMT) configuration as the baseline. Values marked "to be determined" in the source research should be verified before use in a final customer configuration or proposal.

Primary source: Robert MacAdams, "IBM Power System Specifications and Performance Comparison for P05 Software Tier", Midland Information Systems, published July 14, 2026.

Version History

Version 1.0 — Published 2026-07-17. Initial dataset publication covering the Power11 S1112, Power10 S1014, Power10 S1012 (1-core and 4-core), Power9 S914, and Power8 S814 in the IBM i P05 software tier.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the source of this dataset?
The underlying research comes from Midland Information Systems' technical comparison, authored by Robert MacAdams and published July 14, 2026. This page restructures that research into a versioned, citable dataset with CSV and JSON downloads.
Which system is the closest comparison to the Power11 S1112?
The four-core Power10 S1012 (EPG7) is the closest older system in the P05 tier, at 111,300 CPW versus the Power11 S1112's 117,300 CPW, a 5.4% difference.