"OTHER" Chip-makers...?

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
I am just your typical Mac user/consumer. I do not know the inner circles of technology companies and such... only what I read here & there online...



But... what are the possibilities of there being "Other" chip manufacturers or technologies that could surpass the current "Gx" series chips or x86 chips...? I mean... I know we (they: Apple) deal with Motorolla and IBM... but what are the possibilities of Apple finding another company out there with a killer "process" or "Technology" that would leap-frog them ahaed of themselves and the competition... or is the reality that ANY new break-throughs are publicly noted in the press before companies can sign any agreements of non-disclosure.



To dumb-down my question; is it possible that there is a MUCH BETTER solution (other than Moto & IBM) that the general public does not KNOW about...? Or is the industry pretty much an "Open Book" where we all know what's currently "Possible" and being tested...?



Just curios... I would LOVE to find out that Apple either Partnered with or ACQUIRED a company that gave them a competative advantage in the Hardware side of things. (Wishful thinking)

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    Well the world of high end semiconductor is made of American companies : Intel, IBM, AMD , Motorola and Japoneses ones (in europe there is only philips). Some japoneses have a great expertise in fab process but they are not leader in the field of desktop chip. But if an alternative should arrive, it may come from the countrie of the rising sun.

    Anyway the problem of changing of chip is the problem of the software compatibilities. If Apple was changing of processor he will loose all his current developper (they work hard for os X, do you want to ask them also to change many lines of their codes : the carbonised applications) ?
  • Reply 2 of 10
    lemon bon bonlemon bon bon Posts: 2,383member
    There was a time when both Apple and IBM where in trouble.



    Fortunes can change.



    Microsoft can count themselves as being 'No.1'.



    But for how long? All empires fall into dust eventually.



    3D chip makers. 3Dfx were king of the hill once upon a time and Nvidia a distant rival.



    Now? Nvidia a top of pile. 3dfx are gone.



    CPU makers. There's literally billions involved in CPU design and fabbing.



    Then there's the time.



    So, for a 'start up' or 'break through' to come out of nowhere and crush IBM, Motorola, AMD and Intel? Improbable at the moment.



    However, look at a company like AMD, who, until the last few years was slowly financially bleeding to death in its battle with Intel. There was the belief that it would go bankrupt before it could realise the potential of the Athlon.



    But they have shown with good design, powerful performance, utilizing the net as a powerful marketing tool (the initial Athlons went down a storm on gaming and tech' sites...) then you can flick the gonad of the ruling Gorilla.



    And with the 'Hammer' they can two by four the gonads of the ruling Gorilla.



    All of a sudden, headway is being made.



    In what? A few years? Not bad.



    I believe that if Apple put its mind to it, it could do most anything.



    And in style.



    From the ultimate gaming machine to a top draw cpu in the mold of the infamous 'Dec Alpha'.



    I think Apple have the potential to think 'different' with CPU design. With it's aqua-sitions, it's partners and it's OS, there's a chance Apple could do something different. What? Well, speculate..? Make it's own chips? Design it's own chips? Co-processor cores and software to accelerate specific aspects of 3D/digital video?



    I've head of Mips processors. There's the Dec Alpha. These are risc? processors that kick the snot out of the G4 Apple has. Then there's the Power '4' super server chip of IBM which needs a fridge to cool it?



    I dunno.



    Given the compact, elegant and cool nature of the Power PC, it won't be long before PowerPCs can go multicore and not need a fridge to cool them. Surely the Intel architecture won't be going multicore any time soon? Heating issues.



    In terms of that, a dual core or quad or octo core IBM G3 with SIMD unit would blow anything out there right now. So it wouldn't matter if the G3 limped to between 1 and 2 gig. Stick a couple on a chip and it's mhz? SMEGahertz!



    Though currently frustrating incremental. There's there potential for the PowerPC to come of age. Still a young tech'. Plenty of room for growth. It might not mean mhz bounty. But performance wise, the future prospects could, potential square off against the x86 opposition.



    And given the mythical murmurings of the G5, mhz could climb beyond 2 gig quite quickly?



    I'm not technical either. But I looks here and there on the net.



    Lemon Bon Bon



    [ 05-20-2002: Message edited by: Lemon Bon Bon ]</p>
  • Reply 3 of 10
    xypexype Posts: 672member
    From what I know that there are a few new companies popping up in Taiwan and China that are right now building new fabs with todays cutting edge tech since China wants domination of the chip-market by 2010 or so. Also Infineon should have fabs as does AMD and many other companies - it shouldn't be entirely impossible for Apple to "outsource" chip fabrication however noone really knows what the situation with Motorola or IBM and whether "outsourcing" wouldn't put Apple into more trouble than it's worth. And I also think that Apple is a big enough customer for both that they can't do the I-don't-care dance just yet.



    Like the blind man said, we will see!



    edit: Infinetion -&gt; Infineon, duh..



    [ 05-20-2002: Message edited by: xype ]</p>
  • Reply 4 of 10
    xmogerxmoger Posts: 242member
    I don't think out-of-nowhere product releases that will dominate the current players are likely to happen with silicon based processing. Maybe some DNA computing or nanotube research group will have a breakthrough in the next 4-8 years.



    Power density favors the lighter powerpc architecture for multi-core designs, but both Intel and AMD are working on it. Intel's hyperthreading has shown performance increases by ~25% for parellel threads. They also my have parallel process execution by having assymetric processors to combat power consumption. The big cpu gets shut down while there's an i/o request, and the smaller cpu can deal with the smaller load. AMD has said multi-core is becoming more attractive and they've put 2 cpu interfaces in the integrated memory controller on the hammer for future expansion.
  • Reply 5 of 10
    serranoserrano Posts: 1,806member
    someone coming from out of no where? like say Matrox?



  • Reply 6 of 10
    eskimoeskimo Posts: 474member
    Like some others posted the capital investment necessary to build a cutting edge fabrication facility for high end semiconductors today is beyond the reach of any small company. Therefore the only companies with the capability to produce high end CPUs are already in existance. Design companies can exist that are built on a fabless model and farm out their designs to be built on the cutting edge process of an established player in the industry.



    Today's CPUs are very complex, even compared to designs of just two years ago. With designs now approaching 100 million transistors for a single CPU it takes literally hundred of designers and millions of dollars to design a cutting edge processor, along with about three years of time. These factors make it doubtful anyone could really 'sneak up' on Intel, AMD, IBM, and such. There is a limited number of talented experienced designers who have the knowledge necessary to lead in the production of a high end CPU. An increase in the departure of such personel would certainly not go unnoticed.



    The future of the semiconductor industry will be ruled by economics, economics of scale and capital requirements will ensure that if anything there are less 'players' in the future than exist currently. Even long time participants such as Motorola and TI (makes the SPARC processors for Sun Microsystems) have announced they are moving to a "Fab Lite" model where much of their production is handled by the Big 3 foundry services. (TSMC, UMC, and Chartered)



    [quote](in europe there is only philips). <hr></blockquote>



    I think STMicro and Infineon would beg to differ with you



    Edited for your viewing pleasure



    [ 05-20-2002: Message edited by: Eskimo ]</p>
  • Reply 7 of 10
    eupfhoriaeupfhoria Posts: 257member
    [quote]Originally posted by Eskimo:

    <strong>Like some others posted the capital investment necessary to build a cutting edge fabrication facility for high end semiconductors today is beyond the reach of any small company. Therefore the only companies with the capability to produce high end CPUs are already in existance. Design companies can exist that are built on a fabless model and farm out their designs to be built on the cutting edge process of an established player in the industry. However today's CPUs are very complex, even compared to designs of just two years ago. With designs now approaching 100 million transistors for a single CPU it takes literally hundred of designers and millions of dollars to design a cutting edge processor, along with about three years of time. These factors make it doubtful anyone could really 'sneak up' on Intel, AMD, IBM, and such. There is a limited number of talented experienced designers who have the knowledge necessary to lead in the production of a high end CPU. An increase in the departure of such personell would certainly not go unnoticed. The future of the semiconductor industry will be ruled by economics, economics of scale and capital requirements will ensure that if anything there are less 'players' in the future than exist currently. Even long time participants such as Motorola and TI (makes the SPARC processors for Sun Microsystems) have announced they are moving to a "Fab Lite" model where much of their production is handled by the Big 3 foundry services. (TSMC, UMC, and Chartered)







    I think STMicro and Infineon would beg to differ with you </strong><hr></blockquote>



    ever heard of the paragraph?
  • Reply 8 of 10
    eskimoeskimo Posts: 474member
    [quote]Originally posted by Eupfhoria:

    <strong>



    ever heard of the paragraph?</strong><hr></blockquote>



    While thought provoking I fail to see the relevance of your illuminating point to the discussion at hand. While on one hand the paragraph has played a pivotal role in the rise of the semiconductor's importance in every day life, it remains a marginalized factor on future product releases. There is talk in the industry of entire companies moving to a "paragraph lite" model of doing business. The future looks interesting to say the least!



    [ 05-20-2002: Message edited by: Eskimo ]</p>
  • Reply 9 of 10
    [quote]Originally posted by janitor:

    <strong>someone coming from out of no where? like say Matrox?



    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    Matrox has been in the video card business for a little while.
  • Reply 10 of 10
    [quote]Originally posted by Eskimo:

    [QB]Like some others posted the capital investment necessary to build a cutting edge fabrication facility for high end semiconductors today is beyond the reach of any small company. Therefore the only companies with the capability to produce high end CPUs are already in existance. <hr></blockquote>



    I think it is safe to say that this comment is correct, unless you factor in government involvement. Just look at the jetliner industry and Airbus' entrance. Capital intensive industry? yep. technical? yep. The x-factor was government involvement.



    I would not be suprised at all if a company rose out of nowhere (well, asia anyway) where the government decides it is time to play ball, forks the dough, and takes a leap forward.



    This is the way human progress has gone thus far anyway.
Sign In or Register to comment.