14 DAY TRIAL // Montalvo Systems is secretly designing a new breed of energy-efficient multicore processor. The company has finished the design of a chip aimed at mobile computing. When it gets finished, it will be compatible with all the x86 software that can run on both AMD and Intel chips.
Despite the software compatibility, the chips built by Montalvo systems will be radically different from any existing chip design. For instance, its cores won't be projected symmetrically, as standard processor designs do. Montalvo's bold design will implement a bunch of highly-performing cores, mixed with lower-performing ones. This approach is extremely similar to the Cell chip produced by IBM, Toshiba, and Sony.
This "core salad" on the same patch of silicon will allow the chip improve its power management and cut down power consumption according to the system workload. The applications that can run on lower resources will be directed towards the lower performing (and lower-power) cores, while the hardcore computing will be performed on the larger cores. Moreover, applications that require a lot of CPU resources during startup will be initialized in the big cores, then shifted to the lower ones.
Processor with asymmetrical cores are ideal for running multimedia applications if they are pre-programmed for this task. Let's not forget that the Cell processor is currently powering Sony's PlayStation 3 gaming console, which deals with multimedia content. For instance, the Cell chip has a primary microprocessor core and a cluster of "synergistic processing elements" that usually manage video streaming or networking management functions.
The Cell design can also be used for hardcore computing at the same efficiency as in multimedia processing. IBM has equipped its server blades with Cell CPUs, while Mercury has also implemented Cell chips inside its computers. Toshiba only uses fewer synergistic core versions of the chip to power its TV sets.
Montalvo has great plans with the chip, once it is finished. It is alleged to power mobile computing systems, handheld devices and even the next generation of smartphones.