4 ms·

Isn't it cheaper just to use a general purpose CPU than design and fabricate a custom one?

• gaius 13y ago
  At a given volume, a custom CPU is a commodity CPU.
  • wiremine 13y ago
    What volume is that for the type of ARM chip Facebook might be using?
    • gaius 13y ago
      Google is reckoned to have about 2 million servers[1] and they're probably dual- or quad-processor. I guess FB have ambitions at that scale. The expensive bit of running a datacentre is power, both for the machines themselves, and for cooling, and these are linked. For every Watt you put in in electricity, you have to take it out again as heat. It costs more than the real estate and more than payroll. Savings here can add up very quickly. [1] https://plus.google.com/app/basic/stream/z13ttdlibtq5tjv5e04cdnrqhoj1jzbzhr00k https://plus.google.com/app/basic/stream/z13ttdlibtq5tjv5e04...
• wlievens 13y ago
  It doesn't take that many devices too offset design cost.