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>> but how can the industry see performance improvements without cost reductions? I imagine for example, data centers willing to pay the same price for a chip
by minthd 12y ago
>> but how can the industry see performance improvements without cost reductions?
I imagine for example, data centers willing to pay the same price for a chip that only reduces power. Or that chips that will be twice as fast but cost double, but they'll allow to double the density in the server room, etc.
BTW that's what already happening in mobile SOC - the new process nodes aren't cheaper, only lower in power.
- ethbro 12y ago> I imagine for example, data centers willing to pay the same price for a chip that only reduces power. That's not valid with the original statement though. Unless the new chip that costs the same but runs at reduced power does not have an lower-cost version that runs at the previous power. Not seeing the logic here. If a mobile SoC of performance X and TDP Y and cost Z on the previous node, and the current node provides performance X at TDP<Y and cost Z on the current node, then you could substitute a lower performance part, running at the previous node's power envelope, and realize cost savings (e.g. performance X(OC <X -> X) at TDP Y(OC <Y -> Y) at cost <Z). I'm not seeing the possibility of "performance improvements without cost reductions" other than at the ultra-high-end (aka "what was previously not possible").