Subj : Nvidia almost produced an x86 CPU to rival AMD and Intel, but was
To   : All
From : TechnologyDaily
Date : Sat Dec 07 2024 18:45:05

Nvidia almost produced an x86 CPU to rival AMD and Intel, but was forced to 
move to Arm due to 'certain legal issues'

Date:
Sat, 07 Dec 2024 18:35:00 +0000

Description:
Nvidia almost produced an x86 CPU to rival Intel, but was forced to move to 
Arm due to 'legal issues'.

FULL STORY
======================================================================Nvidias 
Project Denver began as x86 but transitioned to Arm Insider reports legal 
constraints drove Nvidia's pivot The Arm-based Project Denver CPU debuted in 
2011 

During a technical session at the recent SC24 event, Dave Ditzel, founder of 
Esperanto Technologies, offered some fascinating insights into Nvidias early 
server processor efforts. 

According to HPCwire , Ditzel, who was previously CEO of Transmeta, revealed 
that Nvidias first server CPU, Project Denver , initially started as an x86 
CPU but transitioned to Arm due to legal constraints. 

Ditzel says Nvidias shift to Arm was influenced by its licensing of 
Transmetas Tokamak technology, which could translate x86 code into a RISC 
instruction set. Failed attempt to acquire Arm 

IAs he explained, Nvidia brought out a product called Denver. It was actually 
that same design. It originally started as an x86 [CPU], but through certain 
legal issues, had to turn itself into an Arm CPU. 

This decision, he said, laid the foundation for Nvidias alignment with Arm 
architecture. Tokamak, developed by Transmeta, was intended to be its 
third-generation x86 chip following the Crusoe and Efficeon processors. 
However, the project was never officially launched and was instead licensed 
to companies like Intel and Nvidia. 

ntel, despite acquiring the design, did not announce a product based on it 
either. You can guess as to all the reasons why or buy me a beer sometime, 
Ditzel said. 

Nvidia officially introduced Project Denver as an Arm-based CPU in 2011, 
later integrating it into its Tegra lineup. HPCwire reports that while there 
was initial enthusiasm around Arm servers, adoption was limited by challenges 
in the software ecosystem. Nvidia has since developed its Grace CPU and 
abandoned its attempt to acquire Arm after regulatory opposition. 

Ditzel founded chip design firm Esperanto about seven years ago and because 
of his previous bad experiences with licensing x86, he opted for RISC-V 
because it was cheap and there were no legal concerns to get bogged down by. 

At least we have a playground where we can test some new things out, and some 
lawyer is not going to be ringing your bell, Ditzel said. More from TechRadar 
Pro Nvidia's most powerful chip produced gets tested This 192-core RISC-V 
processor could be AMD and Intel's biggest rival yet Google's super powerful 
Arm-based CPU is now available



======================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/pro/nvidia-almost-produced-an-x86-cpu-to-rival-amd-a
nd-intel-but-was-forced-to-move-to-arm-due-to-certain-legal-issues


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