NVIDIA Could Release Its Own CPUs In The Near Future

asturur

2020-09-16 13:02

Ne1l:

Not quite... Microsoft released the Surface Pro X - which has a custom ARM CPU and it runs x86 (32-bit) apps. So half way there already.. Nvidia still own the Transmeta IP, Intel paid them to not continue trying to use it (as part of the IP lease a while back)... that agreement has expired now. Let's see if they try to bundle x86 emulation into their custom CPU's.

Well that is a thing but unlikely what the users of this forum are after. Nvidia can sell tons of CPUs without x86 ( tegra, nintendoSwitch, automotive tv set boxes, new consoles ). But when it come to desktop guru3d-like kind of customer, the one that says `i m not sure i would take the first gen` you probably do not want to hear about emulation of x86 opcodes. You are looking at the fancy stuff for the current and next games.

#5830459

ACEB

2020-09-16 14:04

Surprised no one is mentioning cars, they are all in on AI tech for various things but mostly driverless cars and now they can supply the full package. Complete Nvidia Laptops/tablets and you know full well they are the next apple now and will be developing their own phones and wearables. I'm glad I got some shares at £150 because in 10 years they'll be worth £1500 each

#5830461

anticupidon

2020-09-16 14:09

Nvidia could release CPU... So, that means I could buy a green CPU?

#5830464

Ssateneth

2020-09-16 14:12

Oh great. Now we will have CPU's with power limits too?

#5830465

schmidtbag

2020-09-16 14:14

asturur:

Just to be clear, they can't make x86 cpus. They can make just arm cpus. They can make a new platform not cpus for the computers as we are used now. No retro compatibility with current software.

That's not correct at all - WOS (Windows on Snapdragon) has an x86 compatibility layer. It's slow, but it works. Linux and *BSD have binfmt_misc, where you can run binaries of any architecture you want without a full-blown emulator, so long as you have the appropriate libraries. Mac OS will have Rosetta 2, which their upcoming ARM platforms will use to run older Mac programs. Binary compatibility with ARM is a non-issue no matter what you use.

cryohellinc:

Good. The more competition the better. I think a fully ARM-based laptop can be quite insane.

Such laptops already exist - I'm using one right now (Lenovo Yoga C630; there is an Intel variant of this same name). I get around 15 hours of usable battery life.

asder:

Well, they already make CPUs... The Jetsons have them , also the Nintendo switch has another ...

Came here for this: Nvidia's Tegra series is just a beefed-up ARM CPU with Nvidia graphics.

#5830466

Ne1l

2020-09-16 14:20

asturur:

Well that is a thing but unlikely what the users of this forum are after. Nvidia can sell tons of CPUs without x86 ( tegra, nintendoSwitch, automotive tv set boxes, new consoles ). But when it come to desktop guru3d-like kind of customer, the one that says `i m not sure i would take the first gen` you probably do not want to hear about emulation of x86 opcodes. You are looking at the fancy stuff for the current and next games.

All the fancy stuff in games is done on the GPU nowadays, including texture streaming? With all the microcode updates from Intel, has x86 got any specific and useful features for gamers? My GTX1080Ti is 99% used and my E5-2695 v3 (Turbo unlocked on all 14 cores @3.3GHz) is around 20% when gaming @2560x1440. I don't think it would be too much to expect for Nvidia's ARM CPU to be able to cover that 20% even if it is emulated x86.

#5830470

Ne1l

2020-09-16 14:27

Ssateneth:

Oh great. Now we will have CPU's with power limits too?

:-D Intel already have power limits built in, Before I unlocked my 'v3' Xeon, when I was using all cores it would limit the Turbo to 2.8GHz - after unlocking the Turbo, all 14 run @3.3GHz and the CPU doesn't go above 71c.

#5830475

H83

2020-09-16 14:53

Nvidia have already released some CPUs and they could have released more anytime they wanted because they have an ARM license. They didn´t need to buy ARM for this reason... Unless they are planning something different...

#5830494

schmidtbag

2020-09-16 15:09

H83:

Nvidia have already released some CPUs and they could have released more anytime they wanted because they have an ARM license. They didn´t need to buy ARM for this reason... Unless they are planning something different...

They bought ARM because SoftBank was doing a crappy job at making it competitive, which was hurting their own objectives. Nvidia has the resources and expertise to really push it ahead. They depend on ARM to maximize their own profits in the server and automotive industry, so, I expect to see ARM really turn into something totally new. All I care about is that they don't make the license more expensive, and, that they don't ruin the advantages ARM has over x86 (better efficiency at lower speeds, 0W parked cores, extremely low inter-core latency, etc).

#5830587

Stormyandcold

2020-09-16 17:03

Correction; NVIDIA will release their own CPUs next year. With the Switch Pro rumoured to offer 4K, I'm intrigued on multiple levels what the outcome of this is going to be. I said years ago that Nvidia should buy ARM. If I was Nvidia; I'd buy VIA next... ARM/x86 hybrid CPUs is the real future.

#5830589

Denial

2020-09-16 17:05

Nvidia's been releasing it's own CPUs since 2008.. Most of them are just generic ARM flips but they did also have several iterations of Denver which was a very custom solution. The question is whether they'll work on a desktop/server class CPU or help facilitate others to do so in a more competitive fashion, after they take over ARM. For us the issue lies with Windows/Game compatibility on ARM. The Surface X is probably the best Windows on ARM experience... and it's not great.

#5830593

Stormyandcold

2020-09-16 17:08

Denial:

Nvidia's been releasing it's own CPUs since 2008.. Most of them are just generic ARM flips but they did also have several iterations of Denver which was a very custom solution. The question is whether they'll work on a desktop/server class CPU or help facilitate others to do so in a more competitive fashion, after they take over ARM. For us the issue lies with Windows/Game compatibility on ARM. The Surface X is probably the best Windows on ARM experience... and it's not great.

It's akin to first gen RTX. It'll get better and I think in a very short time it'll be great.

#5830605

Ne1l

2020-09-16 17:24

ACEB:

I'm glad I got some shares at £150 because in 10 years they'll be worth £1500 each

I got some back in 2008 @$12... sold 180 after a few years @$40 but kept the bulk.. glad I did now 🙂 I was going to buy £10k worth back in 1999 when I got an IT OPS job working shifts and had money to burn but I didn't understand the tax side of things so chickened out. Back then Nvidia was splitting shares almost on a monthly basis.. without splitting that would now be 3,333,333.33 (never tortured myself to work out with the splits.. probably 7-10M :-$) I would have bottled it years ago so it's all water under the bridge.. :-D *I first heared of Nvidia when I saw Sega Virtual Fighter Arcade and my first card was the TNT.. detonator drivers were insane!!)

#5830611

Stormyandcold

2020-09-16 17:30

Ne1l:

I got some back in 2008 @$12... sold 180 after a few years @$40 but kept the bulk.. glad I did now 🙂 I was going to buy £10k worth back in 1999 when I got an IT OPS job working shifts and had money to burn but I didn't understand the tax side of things so chickened out. Back then Nvidia was splitting shares almost on a monthly basis.. without splitting that would now be 3,333,333.33 (never tortured myself to work out with the splits.. probably 7-10M :-$) I would have bottled it years ago so it's all water under the bridge.. :-D *I first heared of Nvidia when I saw Sega Virtual Fighter and my first card was the TNT.. detonator drivers were insane!!)

That's not blood your avatar is wiping, it's tears lol.

#5830643

Ne1l

2020-09-16 18:25

Stormyandcold:

That's not blood your avatar is wiping, it's tears lol.

your right I just worked it out for the first time.... 10000 GBP to USD in 1999 1.62 x 10000 = $16200 nvidia share price 1999 $16200 / 1.6 = 10125 NVDA Split History Table Date Ratio 06/27/2000 2 for 1 = 20250 09/17/2001 2 for 1 = 40500 04/07/2006 2 for 1 = 81000 09/11/2007 3 for 2 = 121500 121500 * 510 = 61,965,000 ... like I said I'd have bottled it years ago.. but a good story to tell the grandkids ;-)

#5830701

MonstroMart

2020-09-16 20:00

Having 3 players in both the CPU desktop and GPU desktop market would be ideal.

#5830741

Reddoguk

2020-09-16 20:51

They could make a killer console or TV box with Nvidia Gpus and Cpus. They could make a new shield but with way more processing power.

#5830771

Fediuld

2020-09-16 21:33

Andy Watson:

I wonder what the timescale is likely to be, surely it must be 2022 at the earliest?

NV makes ARM CPUs right now. If you want to use ARM go do so, but NV will never EVER get an x86 licence to make standard CPUs.

#5830772

Fediuld

2020-09-16 21:34

MonstroMart:

Having 3 players in both the CPU desktop and GPU desktop market would be ideal.

How? Buying ARM doesn't give them the licence to make x86 Also Nvidia already makes ARM CPUs is not like they don't have the licence to do so. Simply NGreedia will lock ARM CPUs for everyone else than themselves. Not the first time has done so. Multiple companies bought just to kill any competition. 3DFX, Ageia, want more?

#5830785

H83

2020-09-16 21:50

schmidtbag:

They bought ARM because SoftBank was doing a crappy job at making it competitive, which was hurting their own objectives. Nvidia has the resources and expertise to really push it ahead. They depend on ARM to maximize their own profits in the server and automotive industry, so, I expect to see ARM really turn into something totally new. All I care about is that they don't make the license more expensive, and, that they don't ruin the advantages ARM has over x86 (better efficiency at lower speeds, 0W parked cores, extremely low inter-core latency, etc).

But Nvidia could push the envelope like Apple did with their custom design, they didn´t had to wait for ARM to bring something better. So i can´t see how this improves Nvidia´s chances of doing a better CPU unless i´m seeing this the wrong way.