Supercomputing start-up SiCortex has bought PathScale's compiler business - software and people included - from QLogic.

SiCortex will be unfamiliar to many of you. It's a start-up putting out a novel high performance computing design that combines close to 6,000 MIPS cores in a single system. The company has placed a major emphasis on lower power consumption while improving the internal communications of its box.

Software, of course, stands as a key component of the SiCortex systems, and now the company has acquired one of the best compiler suites.

PathScale used to rely on its compiler line to pay the bills before the company was purchased by QLogic, which appears content with selling PathScale's networking gear rather than code.

SiCortex will gain access to PathScale's C, C++ and Fortran 95 compilers aimed at 64-bit Linux-based boxes. The compilers have optimizations for x86 and MIPS64 chips. The SiCortex systems run on a modified version of Gentoo Linux.

It looks like SiCortex will let the PathScale team keep working on the x86-focused software, which is especially good news for AMD. Customers today need to pick from GCC, PGI, Intel, Sun or Pathscale compilers for Opteron-based boxes.

SiCortex is expected to announce the delivery of its first commercial systems any day now. ®

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