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An intel 8088 processor had a 22mm^2 die size at a 3000nm process node size. A modern x86 processor has a ~200mm^2 die size at a 14nm node size, a die size that
by throwaway2048 11y ago
An intel 8088 processor had a 22mm^2 die size at a 3000nm process node size. A modern x86 processor has a ~200mm^2 die size at a 14nm node size, a die size that is 10x larger with features 200x smaller.
Even if a modern x86 chip had to put an entire 8088 on die for legacy compatability (which it definitely would not need to) we are talking less than 0.1% of the die space being taken up by legacy features.
The idea that x86 is somehow doomed to be inefficent because of legacy baggage is quite simply massively overblown.
- rwmj 11y agoWhile you're right that it's not a huge deal, architectural issues are not solved by putting "an entire 8088 on die for legacy compatability" unless you'd want to run the old software at very low speed. Intel solved it with lots of R&D. Their solution involves a layer that translates x86 instructions to native ops[1], plus many little hacks and improvements. [1] http://www.realworldtech.com/nehalem/5/ http://www.realworldtech.com/nehalem/5/