Thread: Mobile System on Chip Thread
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Capt'n Corrupt is offline Capt'n Corrupt
2011-05-18 , 02:35
Posts: 3,524 | Thanked: 2,958 times | Joined on Oct 2007 @ Delta Quadrant
#75
Originally Posted by wmarone View Post
Is this you saying as much, or a broken quote?

The problem with dropping x86 and moving on to something else is scaring the hell out of all the vendors suddenly faced with an entirely new ISA. Even for Intel that would be so extremely risky they'd probably be better off (ROI wise) just re-licensing ARM.

Not that I don't think it'd be cool to see Intel charge out of the gate with a new ISA designed around their newer processes (though they might at the lower levels of x86 these days,) but I think that even Intel would be crazy to try.
It's me, and I completely agree. For Intel to push a new architecture would be extremely nerve racking, unless positioned it in a way that didn't make vendors nervous. This is less a computer science/engineering problem and more a marketing problem.

However, I feel that they're resisting change at the peril of a swath of their contracts. Now that the market is paying more attention to ARM SoCs in the mobile space, the laptop market is taking a hit, and will increasingly do so when cortex A15 launches. Apple, is rumored to switch its macbook line to ARM SoCs in light of their performance/power characteristics.

Some (probably terrible) ideas:
- include an x86 translator in code on an instruction set that will run it well
- strip x86 down to a 'fundamental' subset of instructions
- support the new arch as part of an augmented instruction set for upcoming high-power CPUs.
- leave x86, but focus more on GPGPU hardware, and more importantly software, as a means of evening the playing field.

The market is in flux right now with the proliferation of new devices, and as such there is a window to be creative. It could be that intel sees the futility of a new instruction set with the shrinking of dies from a performance-to-power standpoint. Of course, ARM is about to put serious pressure on intel for the low-end market next year and if intel isn't ready, they will lose a bunch of the market.