Current Events #13 (MP3 #4)

     A computer processor, or CPU, is a small but very significant chip inside a computer. It is responsible for executing instructions of computer programs and dealing with inputs and outputs. CPUs have always gotten smaller in size yet doubled in speed every 2 years by increasing the amount of transistors in the build (Moore's law). The future of the CPU may not be in getting smaller, however, with Intel's latest announcement of their new product. The Foveros chip will be the first 3D stackable chip to be implemented in the industry. The design philosophy of the chip is dividing key elements of a CPU into sections known as 'chiplets' and making processing components stackable and a premade chip die/mold. The benefits of this philosophy increase power and efficiency of a CPU but also help make it viable to make chips at a 10nm scale, something Intel has faced many bumps in the road doing. The different sections of the processor are made in a process called 2D stacking; essentially the different parts are made using a different node.
     Intel also announced a side project named Sunny Cove. It is a processing architecture that Intel claims will decrease latency and and allow more operations to be conducted simultaneously. Another new project is the new Gen11 integrated graphics, designed to surpass 1 teraflop, which will be part of the Foveros chip. Many questions are raised by the recent announcements, such as if Sunny Cove will have Foveros style chips or not and if the new Foveros chips will be used in smartphones and other mobile devices along side traditional computers. While Intel says that mobile devices are included in the range of devices the Foveros can operate in previous attempts with developing smartphone procesors suggest otherwise.
     My personal reflections are that processors are continuing to get more powerful but perhaps the idea of getting smaller has been ditched. In recent years it seemed like Moore's law would become obsolete, many CPU manufactures saying it was no longer their goal. Building up, instead of increasing transistors per inch and becoming more compact every two years, may keep part of Moore's law alive. It allows for a new, maybe even easier, way to double CPU speed every two years without the stress of making everything so small. The result is the continuation of Moore's law in a way that Gordon Moore probably didn't imagine. I am also eager to see the boost in performance computers get from using this processor. Just how faster will my computer run programs and how many can I run at a time are among the many things I excited to see will be affected by the capabilities of this processor.

Works Cited:

Savov, Vlad "Intel unveils Foveros 3D chip stacking and new 10nm ‘chiplets’" 12 Dec 2018. Web 16 Dec 2018

<https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/12/18137401/intel-foveros-3d-chip-stacking-10nm-roadmap-future>