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The CPU Redefined: AMD Torrenze and Intel CSI
janp writes "In the near future the Central Processing Unit (CPU) will not be as central anymore. AMD has announced the Torrenza platform that revives the concept of co-processors. Intel is also taking steps in this direction with the announcement of the CSI. With these technologies in the future we can put special chips (GPU's, APU's, etc. etc.) directly on the motherboard in a special socket. Hardware.Info has published a clear introduction to AMD Torrenza and Intel CSI and sneak peaks into the future of processors."
CSI? De-centralized CPU? Where will they be located; Miami, New York or Las Vegas?
My web domain.
Here spins the Wheel Of Reincarnation http://www.catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/W/wheel-of-re incarnation.html watch how everything comes back and then goes away again and then comes back . . .
If this were really happening, what would you think?
Adapting another quote: "If you want to create a better computer, you'll you'll end up with an Amiga". It's more or less what they're describing here. Amiga made heavy use of coprocessors back in the days. It could do some quite heavy stuff (well, at the time), while the CPU usage stayed below 10%.
One cool thing I discovered while I was learning to program was that you could make one of the coprocessors interrupt when the electon beam of the monitor was at a certain position. Pretty nifty.
BTW, for those who are too young/old to remember, those were the days of dos, and friends of mine were bragging with their 16 color EGA cards. Amiga had 4096 colors at the time.
"It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful." - Anton LaVey
Ahh - the Amiga. My favorite machine during that era. I got my A1000 the first day it was available. Modern OS's could still learn a lot from that 20 year old OS. Why oh why are we still using "DOS Compatible" hardware????
Amiga had 4096 colors at the time.
Better put "4096" with a "*" qualifier. You couldn't assign each pixel an exact color - the scheme got you more colors by being able to set a bit that said that the next pixel modifies the previous pixel by "x". In this way, they could get more colors using less memory than traditional X bits per color per pixel schemes (Amiga was a bitplane architecture.)
Anyway, back on topic, I wish that the CPU manufacturers could finally come up with a "generational" standard socket. A well-designed module socket should last as long as an expansion slot standard (ISA,PCI,PCIe) and not change for damn near every model of chip. I should be able to go out and get a one, 2, 4, 8 socket motherboard, and stick any CPU / GPU / DSP module into it I want. Can we please finally shitcan the 1980's motherboard designs?
You are correct - sockets are just a reincarnation of slots, but less flexible because you're limited to what you can put on a single chip instead of an entire card.
Perhaps the better thing to do would be better slot designs (not that we need more with all the PCI flavors floating around right now) with integrated, defined cooling channels. If you were to make the card spec with a box design rather than a flat card, you could have a non-connector end mate with a cooling trunk and use a squirrel cage (higher volume, quieter, more efficient)fan to ventilate the cards.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
Since when is XML a new usage model requiring advances in processor design?
Since it became bloatware that is capable of wasting 90% of the processing power of a modern computer.
</sarcasm>
But think. There is definitely money in non-upgradable computers - especially in the office desktop market. The cheaper the all-in-one solution, the more often the customer will upgrade the whole shebang.
Example: in my workplace, we have nice-ass Dells which do almost nothing and store all their data on a massive SAN. They're 2.6GHz beasts with a gig of ram, a 160G HD, and a SWEET ATI vid card each. Now, while I personally make use of it all proper-like, most people here could get along with a 1GHZ/512MRAM/16GHD/Onboard video system.
I think Intel/AMD stands to make a lot of money if they were to build an all-in-one-chip computer, ie: CPU, RAM, Video, Sound, Network, and a generous flash drive on a single chip.
110100 1101000 1101000 1100110 0 1101111 1101000 1100011 1
Actually, no thank you. I've had enough problems ever since they started to integrate more and more peripherals on the motherboard. I'd be troubled if I'd have to choose between either a VMX-less, DDR3-capable chip with the GPU I wanted, a VMX- and DDR3-capable chip with a bad GPU, a VMX-capable but DDR2 chip with a good GPU, or a chip that has all three but an IO-APIC that isn't supported by Linux, or a chip that I could actually use but costs $500.
Instead of gaining those last 10% of performance, I'd prefer a modular architecture, thank you. Whatever is so terribly wrong with PCI-Express anyway?
AMD will compete by releasing "Law & Order: Central Processing Unit".
Support Right To Repair Legislation.