Mark Papermaster: What you're going to see in PCs, as well as in the data center, is more bifurcation of tailored SKUs and processers coming out. Because it's really now where one size doesn't fit all; we're not even remotely close to that. You're going to have a set of applications that actually are just fine with today's core count configurations because certain software and applications are not rapidly changing. But what you're going to see is that you might need, in some cases, static CPU core counts, but additional acceleration.
So, if you look at what we've done in desktop for Ryzen, we've actually added a GPU with our CPU. And that's because it really creates a very dense and power-efficient offering, and if you don't need a high-performance GPU, you can save energy with that sort of tailored configuration. If you do need tailored, extensive acceleration, you can still bolt on a discrete GPU. And the other example in PCs is the
Ryzen 7040; we've actually added AI acceleration right into the APU.
But what you'll also see is more variations of the cores themselves, you'll see high-performance cores mixed with power-efficient cores mixed with acceleration. So where, Paul, we're moving to now is not just variations in core density, but variations in the type of core, and how you configure the cores. It's not only how you've optimized for either performance or energy efficiency, but stacked cache for applications that can take advantage of it, and accelerators that you put around it.
It's just the question where are they going with all that. Their desktop strategy in the last couple of years was... inconsistent at best. Will they leave those models as entry level pricey lifestyle products, will they try to improve the performance to match mid-level PCs, or will they continue treating them as an afterthought?
