SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
China Finds Zen: Begins Production Of x86 Processors Based On AMD's IP
Chinese-designed "Dhyana" x86 processors based on AMD's Zen microarchitecture are beginning to surface from Chinese chip producer Hygon. The processors come as the fruit of AMD's x86 IP licensing agreements with its China-based partners and break the decades-long stranglehold on x86 held by the triumvirate of Intel, AMD and VIA Technologies. Details are also emerging that outline how AMD has managed to stay within the boundaries of the x86 licensing agreements but still allow Chinese-controlled interests to design and sell processors based on the Zen design.
AMD's official statements indicate the company does not sell its final chip designs to its China-based partners. Instead, AMD allows them to design their own processors tailored for the Chinese server market. But the China-produced Hygon "Dhyana" processors are so similar to AMD's EPYC processors that Linux kernel developers have listed vendor IDs and family series numbers as the only difference. In fact, Linux maintainers have simply ported over the EPYC support codes to the Dhyana processor and note that they have successfully run the same patches on AMD's EPYC processors, implying there is little to no differentiation between the chips.
The new chips are surfacing against the backdrop of the trade war between the US and China that could escalate quickly, likely reinforcing China's long-held opinion that a lack of native processor production could be a strategic liability. Today's wars are won with chips, and their strategic importance certainly isn't lost on those in the halls of power. In fact, the Obama administration blocked Intel from selling Xeon processors to China in 2015 over concerns the chips were fueling the country's nuclear programs, and subsequent actions by the US have largely prevented China from achieving the technical know-how and equipment to develop its own chips through acquisitions and mergers.
That makes it even more surprising that AMD has managed to establish a franchise that allows Chinese processor vendors to develop and sell x86 processors in spite of US regulations and the licensing restrictions with Intel, but now more information is coming to light about how AMD pulled off the feat.
Related: Intel Launches New Chips in China as US Bans Sales to Supercomputing Centers
Intel Hints at Patent Fight With Microsoft and Qualcomm Over x86 Emulation
Data Centers Consider Intel's Rivals
Tencent Chairman Pledges to Advance China Chip Industry After ZTE "Wake-Up" Call
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 08 2018, @02:10AM (2 children)
Everything i have now is ARM ( or fpga ). I am not a hypocrite, and i eat my own dog food.
(Score: 2) by requerdanos on Sunday July 08 2018, @01:28PM (1 child)
I apologize for the implication; I was really more encouraging others and pointing out that free software provides a ready path than suggesting that you were not serious. It's really possible to do pretty much anything you would do otherwise, without using x86 for anything. The cost-per-speed, cost-per-flexibility, and learning curve maps are different, but Linux (GNU/ and Android flavors) and its software base run as happily on ARM as anywhere else.
As for myself, I use x86 machines because I am seduced by the cheap+fast aspect, but at my desk I do at least have as many ARM systems as x86 systems on my KVM. They compare almost entirely favorably. The ARM systems can do pretty much anything the x86 ones can do (just slower).
One thing I really appreciate is the power efficiency. I replaced an aging Pentium 4 server a few years ago with one of those single-board Olinuxino ARM computers outfitted with a nice fast SSD. The P4 ate hundreds of watts, whereas the Olinuxino is happy with 5 Volts at 1 amp. And the migration wasn't much more than copy over /home and parts of /etc.
Given the advances over the last decade, the biggest advantages x86 chips have are momentum and huge installed base; software compatibility is no longer an x86-only thing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday July 08 2018, @10:10PM
Ya, with raw horsepower, x86 still wins, but i have also found that 'usability' is fine for tasks 99% of real people do, as long as you are not trying to pretend a PI was designed to be a desktop or something and go with 'desktop' class ARM. I agree too, that its hard to beat the power requirements.
Was a huge fan of PowerPC, which could honestly compete on performance, until that ( consumer ) market dried up. Here is hoping RISC-V isn't a pipe dream, or never gets out of 'embedded' silicon.