In fact todays microprocessors are darn fast, and total system speed is hampered by latency across current generation acrchitecture. CPU's (all) spend a very high precentage of time waiting for data from bus archtecture. It all boils down to as few as 16 pins, or (x) pins, for that matter, betweeen the cpu and the board, bus architecture to the DIMM, SIMM, and beyond. The picosecond switching in the cpu, and the latency at the pins and beyond within the system architecture. . these are major factors affecting the end users dynamic experience with the box...Not to mention bloatware. Nut the bottom line is that todays processors are extremely fast, it's the old hurry up and wait.
INTC will feel the same threat that Microsoft feels from Java as Samsung and other RAM manufacturers make strides in their intelligent ram (IRAM) technology, simplified: putting microprocessors in the ram (currently in 1 MB, now scaling to 16) eliminating the portion of the latency. You can bet your stock that INTC skunkworks are working on this technology, and will attempt to "Intelize" this tecnolgy just as Microsoft is attempting to "Redmond-ize" Java.
Pressure from vice video and general multimedia have been addressed by Intel by adding DSP to the CPU. future architecture will embed DSP in RAM.
It's interesting the comments regarding commoditization within this thread. The cpu product life cycle rapidly leads to last quarters then current generation product in the hands of chip brokers and the laws of supply and demand. INTC succesffully manipulates to their profit and market benefit supply of the latest generation cpu's, hence maximum profitability (in my view, in a commodity market). Just like Peruvian shrimpers, freezing up last years record catch, and selling out of freezer stock during this years lack of harvest... (buy or get low, sell high). Similar to other commodity marketplaces, the manufacturer gets the bulk of profitability, while downstream, profits aggregate at diminishing levels. At the vendor to consumer level, its the slimmest (went out shopping for a pc box lately?) |
