Intel plans to reduce performance of next-generation CPUs

[CHADBOGA]

This is just a continuation of the process that Intel has been on with every processor after Sandy Bridge.

 

[Exophase]

This is just a continuation of the process that Intel has been on with every processor after Sandy Bridge.

It sounds like something much more than that. Performance has still increased a little with each process even if power efficiency increased more, and even if the uarchs have left less frequency headroom. But here they're talking about very different technologies that are much slower, and they specifically say that it can only really work to replace some devices like ones that can expose a tremendous amount of parallelism (sea of many slow ALUs) or ones that don't need a lot of performance in general.

 

[dark zero]

It sounds like something much more than that. Performance has still increased a little with each process even if power efficiency increased more, and even if the uarchs have left less frequency headroom. But here they're talking about very different technologies that are much slower, and they specifically say that it can only really work to replace some devices like ones that can expose a tremendous amount of parallelism (sea of many slow ALUs) or ones that don't need a lot of performance in general.

In few words, they are moving to the Atom tier now?
Interesting... seems that Intel is preparing to make the PC rest in peace then.

 

[Exophase]

In few words, they are moving to the Atom tier now?
Interesting... seems that Intel is preparing to make the PC rest in peace then.

No, this is significantly below Atom tier and I really, really doubt that they're moving exclusively to that.

 

[dark zero]

No, this is significantly below Atom tier and I really, really doubt that they're moving exclusively to that.

Oh, thanks to clarify me then. Now seems that they are creating 3 archs then... this one, the Atom one and Core one?

 

[Exophase]

Oh, thanks to clarify me then. Now seems that they are creating 3 archs then... this one, the Atom one and Core one?

They've already started the very low power uarch line anyway (Quark)

But this would mean a very different set of manufacturing processes.

 

[Grooveriding]

Pathetic if accurate.

 

[cubby1223]

What business outside of data centers care about 30w tdp? Most small businesses only have a handful of computers.

Most small businesses never exceed the processing capacity of core 2 duos.

If intel ignores the pc market, then AMD will take it.

If AMD dumps millions if not billions into matching & surpassing intel's high-end cpus, AMD will have gone bankrupt and out of business due to lack of demand.

 

[el etro]

Is a tendency, guys. Trading lots of bloated logic for more efficiency. You lose some performance at the end, but you do too a pretty good cleaning on the design, making it more area/power efficient. Intel is following the main trend of today CPU industry.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Is a tendency, guys. Trading lots of bloated logic for more efficiency. You lose some performance at the end, but you do too a pretty good cleaning on the design, making it more area/power efficient. Intel is following the main trend of today CPU industry.

I have a "fetish" of sorts, I would love to see a 45nm Penryn or whatever the equivalent quad-core was, shrunk down to 14nm. That might be interesting to see.

 

[Azuma Hazuki]

I have a "fetish" of sorts, I would love to see a 45nm Penryn or whatever the equivalent quad-core was, shrunk down to 14nm. That might be interesting to see.

It would probably be a crappier Silvermont honestly. Slightly higher perf/w and higher TDP, but missing a lot of stuff that's happened since 2008.

 

[Exophase]

It would probably be a crappier Silvermont honestly. Slightly higher perf/w and higher TDP, but missing a lot of stuff that's happened since 2008.

You mean slightly higher perf right? I expect perf/W would be lower.

 

[jdubs03]

The post silicon transition should enable higher electron mobility meaning high currents at a given voltage, this should enable greater performance at the same power levels, not lower. It would be illogical to think that they would reduce performance on a comparable SKU basis, that's like buying a next generation Ferrari that is slower than the previous generation (usually the next gen is higher performing with better fuel consumption). The technological improvement should be better on both sides of the performance/power consumption equation.

If however, I am wrong, then Intel better lower the price of their SKUs because their value proposition will be considerably reduced.

 

[crashtech]

There will always be at least a small market for the highest performing CPUs.

 

[LTC8K6]

There will always be at least a small market for the highest performing CPUs.

Will that market justify the cost of making them?

Does it even do so now?

 

[crashtech]

Will that market justify the cost of making them?

Does it even do so now?

They are being made, and Intel seems to have little trouble selling them.

 

[mikeymikec]

This is why all enthusiasts should hope that Zen is a success, even if you prefer Intel processors.

Re: desktops - Well, it's a golden opportunity for AMD to catch up and produce a product that competes favourably with Intel at all price points without doubling up as a room heater.

 

[TheELF]

If intel manages to get it's mainstream CPU line,even if it's today's line in terms of performance, into smartphones by 2021 then it's pretty much good night to any other chip maker.
We already see for years that portable devices are on the rise against desktop systems.
This would put intel back to being the main CPU manufacturer for everything,no wonder intel doesn't care so much about producing mobile chips and only does enough to keep their name in the game,they are looking at the big picture.

Still it will be sad if single thread speed won't increase anymore.

 

[ShintaiDK]

If you would have bothered to read the article you would have found out it doesn't affect high-end PC CPUs.

This...

Reading comprehension fail among many of the Intel haters here.

...and this :thumbsup:

 

[nerp]

Yeah this is simply to provide different packaging options and versatility for OEMs. You're not going to be performance limited if you're buying a CPU for performance reasons. Intel would not do this for obvious reasons, not to mention the bad PR.

 

[Azuma Hazuki]

I dunno, honestly. Given some of the stuff they've done in the past some paranoid part of me wonders if they've decayed that far into evil and/or incompetence.

From a business standpoint it doesn't make sense, but neither did Microsoft's God-awful Metro UI. I really wonder what ivory tower the strategy guys at very large companies are living in--and if oxygen deprivation is setting in.

Besides, I really don't think silicon has more than one or two node shrinks left in it We need III-V or other new material, like yesterday.

 

[TeknoBug]

This sounds like the lower clocked -S or -T version CPU's.

 

[waltchan]

After finish building a new affordable PC with Pentium G645, I see no major upgrade reason to look above Sandy Bridge.

 

[Glo.]

Think about this.

Connonlake will bring 6 and 8 cores mainstream. What would you prefer? 35W Quad Core CPU that has base clock of 3.5 GHz, and Turbos to 3.9 GHz, or 8 core CPU with base clock of 2.8 GHz, and turbo state of 3.5 GHz max?

This is analogy to this situation.

 

[hhhd1]

Wouldn't you like to have the current level of performance of an i7 skylake + 980gtx in a 2 pound fanless notebook, with an all day battery ?

Obviously, high end processors with many cores like Xeon should not be affected.