Question Can you order a CPU by design?

[TheFlash1300]

Can I have a designer CPU, if I have enough money to pay Intel, AMD, or another chip-maker? Is it possible to buy a machine that can make CPUs?

If I have software that is capable of operating only within certain hardware, which is no longer supported and the compatible CPUs and motherboards are discontinued, is there a chance to make producers produce those discontinued components just for me, despite the fact the components are discontinued and no one has produced any of them for years?

 

[Lutfij]

If your wallet is bottomless, then yes it's possible to get your own bespoke processor though you might even need to meet a Minimum Order Quantity for you and the chip makers to end up in a feasible position with said endeavor.

 

[TheFlash1300]

If your wallet is bottomless, then yes it's possible to get your own bespoke processor though you might even need to meet a Minimum Order Quantity for you and the chip makers to end up in a feasible position with said endeavor.

Which is easier and more possible, buying a CPU-makijg machine, or ordering CPUs from chip-makers?

 

[DSzymborski]

Which is easier and more possible, buying a CPU-makijg machine, or ordering CPUs from chip-makers?

It's a process; they don't crank a button and a "CPU making machine" doesn't just churn out CPUs like a soda machine. You'd order something custom and you'll basically need to be a billionaire. Otherwise, a semiconductor facility is going to be in the tens of billions of dollars.

And you wouldn't do it to support old software except in very limited edge cases (for example, some military applications). The money required would be so astronomical that it would almost never make sense to get custom hardware for software running on obsolete hardware, you'd pay to program the software running on modern hardware.

 

[USAFRet]

Which is easier and more possible, buying a CPU-makijg machine, or ordering CPUs from chip-makers?

If you don't have Bill Gates level money, it doesn't matter.

And its not just the physical CPU. You also need a small army of programmers to write the code that runs inside the chip.
Then you need to design and build a compatible motherboard.


3 options:

1. find a period compatible computer to run this old software. eBay or similar.
2. Rewrite this magical software to work with modern hardware.
3. Find a new software package that does what that old one does, but better, and with current hardware.

 

[Rogue Leader]

Which is easier and more possible, buying a CPU-makijg machine, or ordering CPUs from chip-makers?

I used to work for a company that makes "CPU making machines". To make a CPU you're talking about multiple $10m+ machines, operated by highly trained (and paid) engineers, who use designs made by other very highly paid and experienced engineers.

Chip makers have these machines configured to make their products, it takes a lot of time and money to do this. If you called them and asked them to make you a different CPU, and you werent willing to order something like 100,000 of them, and it wasn't inherently similar to what they were already making, spending probably $10m, they would laugh at you and hang up.

 

[kanewolf]

Can I have a designer CPU, if I have enough money to pay Intel, AMD, or another chip-maker? Is it possible to buy a machine that can make CPUs?

If I have software that is capable of operating only within certain hardware, which is no longer supported and the compatible CPUs and motherboards are discontinued, is there a chance to make producers produce those discontinued components just for me, despite the fact the components are discontinued and no one has produced any of them for years?

You would be much more successful to buy old hardware. Buy 20 old sets of hardware and cannibalize them to keep your existing hardware functional. I did exactly this for many years for a federal contractor. I bought Cray supercomputers on E-Bay just for parts. I had "deep pockets" and buying old hardware was the smartest approach.

 

[USAFRet]

If I have software that is capable of operating only within certain hardware, which is no longer supported and the compatible CPUs and motherboards are discontinued

Dare I ask what this software is?
Or is this just a hypothetical rambling?

 

[PEnns]

What you're really saying, is that you want to buy a company like Intel or AMD, but a bit smaller.....because you cannot pay either one of them to do what you want and I doubt they're willing to.

Only a company like those have the tremendous amount of human and mechanical resources PLUS the supplies and logistics to create a CPU from scratch.

 

[USAFRet]

Alternately, can you design and build your own computer/CPU?

Yes!

https://makezine.com/2012/04/30/building-an-8-bit-computer-from-scratch/

https://makezine.com/2009/10/03/building-a-cpu-from-scratch/

http://web.cecs.pdx.edu/~harry/Relay/index.html


Have fun!

 

[drea.drechsler]

...
If I have software that is capable of operating only within certain hardware, which is no longer supported and the compatible CPUs and motherboards are discontinued,
...

In such scenarios I believe it far, far cheaper to have someone program an emulator for you. Modern CPU's are so vastly more powerful than older ones it will probably operate faster in a Windows VM on an emulator than running on native hardware even if inefficiently coded.

In fact, there may already be one out there; you just have to find who makes/sells the licenses. The only way to get help on that is clue us in on the specific machine/architecture you need to emulate and/or software you need to run.

If you can't find an appropriate emulator contact the department head at the nearest university with a large or prestigious computer science department. Odds are you'll find a senior level or grad student who'd love to take on such a job since they can also use it to fullfill required course studies/projects.

 

[TheFlash1300]

So, buying chip-making machine or designer components seems to be too expensive for now.

I got another idea. Instead of paying for designer CPUs, is it possible to pay a chip-making company to re-program the CPU they already produce, so that CPU can be compatible with the software I want to use?

For example, if Intel core i-9 is not compatible with my OS, can I pay Intel to reprogram Intel core i-9 CPU, so it can become compatible with my OS, without having to produce completely new CPU, but rather using already existing CPU, a CPU they already produce, but just to change the code in the CPU, so it can become compatible with the OS?

 

[TheFlash1300]

Alternately, can you design and build your own computer/CPU?

Yes!

https://makezine.com/2012/04/30/building-an-8-bit-computer-from-scratch/

https://makezine.com/2009/10/03/building-a-cpu-from-scratch/

http://web.cecs.pdx.edu/~harry/Relay/index.html


Have fun!

8bit is too low. If I'm going to make my own CPU, it must be 32bit or 64 bit.

 

[USAFRet]

So, buying chip-making machine or designer components seems to be too expensive for now.

I got another idea. Instead of paying for designer CPUs, is it possible to pay a chip-making company to re-program the CPU they already produce, so that CPU can be compatible with the software I want to use?

For example, if Intel core i-9 is not compatible with my OS, can I pay Intel to reprogram Intel core i-9 CPU, so it can become compatible with my OS, without having to produce completely new CPU, but rather using already existing CPU, a CPU they already produce, but just to change the code in the CPU, so it can become compatible with the OS?

No.
And even if it were, that is also too expensive.

Instead of all this hypothetical hoo ha....why don't you give us a bit of detail on this issue.

 

[USAFRet]

8bit is too low. If I'm going to make my own CPU, it must be 32bit or 64 bit.

Exactly.
That was just to give you an inkling of the difficulty.

 

[TheFlash1300]

Exactly.
That was just to give you an inkling of the difficulty.

Can a home-made CPU be 32bit or 64bit, or is 8bit the limit?

I would try making my own CPU. If a home-made 64bit CPU is as good and reliable as a 64bit commercial CPU, why shouldn't I make my own CPU?

The only problem I have is that I don't know how to get the instructions and how to insert them in the CPU.

Instead of all this hypothetical hoo ha....why don't you give us a bit of detail on this issue.

I have a coding/game modding project related to an old video game. This is IT hobby. The problem is that the video game won't be compatible forever. Sooner or later, hardware will be too advanced and the OS the game is installed on and the game itself won't be able to run on new hardware. If my old hardware fails, I won't be able to find compatible hardware, because the compatible hardware will be discontinued, and new hardware is not compatible. Given that, my only two options are to either order components by design, or to build my own components.

If I build my own CPU and motherboard, they may not look like commercial ones, but they will still have the same functionality, right?

For example, a home-made Core i-9 won't be a small square, but a very large and bulky object surrounded by cables and indicators (lamps), but it will still be as good and reliable as Core i-9 made by Intel, right? If yes, I don't see any reasons to not make my own Core i-9 when i-9 becomes discontinued, but my software isn't compatible with the next generation of CPUs.

So, what do you think? Is it possible to make 32bit or 64bit CPU at home, or is 8bit the limit?

 

[LinuxDevice]

You might consider using an FPGA to pretend it is some custom hardware. These can be quite expensive if large enough to emulate anything sophisticated. It wouldn't be unusual for a company to figure out its design for custom hardware using an FPGA (which in turn requires a lot of learning curve and knowledge), and only then creating the hardware. However, it is something you can get in a PCIe card and develop on an ordinary desktop PC. You would not get something as powerful as the Core i-9, but for older generation CPUs, maybe it would work?

 

[TheFlash1300]

You might consider using an FPGA to pretend it is some custom hardware. These can be quite expensive if large enough to emulate anything sophisticated. It wouldn't be unusual for a company to figure out its design for custom hardware using an FPGA (which in turn requires a lot of learning curve and knowledge), and only then creating the hardware. However, it is something you can get in a PCIe card and develop on an ordinary desktop PC. You would not get something as powerful as the Core i-9, but for older generation CPUs, maybe it would work?

So, FPGAs are motherboards with soldered COUs, and you can insert whatever instructions you want, then connect the FPGA to the computer, and you have FPGA that has the instructions of the hardware you need? The FPGA imitates an actual motherboard and processor. Did I get it correctly?

 

[DSzymborski]

Can a home-made CPU be 32bit or 64bit, or is 8bit the limit?

I would try making my own CPU. If a home-made 64bit CPU is as good and reliable as a 64bit commercial CPU, why shouldn't I make my own CPU?

The only problem I have is that I don't know how to get the instructions and how to insert them in the CPU.

It's best to focus on things within the bounds of reality.

You seem to think that a homebrewed 8-bit or 16-bit CPU is akin to making a more powerful CPU that can run existing software; this is a bit like cutting an apple and deciding you're ready to perform a heart transplant.

You'll have a better chance of success becoming a billionaire and ordering a specialized run of CPUs. And that's not even a good option for what you're trying to do. You can almost certainly buy the original rights to the software and hire a team to program a new version for considerably less money.

 

[Richj444]

Can a home-made CPU be 32bit or 64bit, or is 8bit the limit?

I would try making my own CPU. If a home-made 64bit CPU is as good and reliable as a 64bit commercial CPU, why shouldn't I make my own CPU?

The only problem I have is that I don't know how to get the instructions and how to insert them in the CPU.



I have a coding/game modding project related to an old video game. This is IT hobby. The problem is that the video game won't be compatible forever. Sooner or later, hardware will be too advanced and the OS the game is installed on and the game itself won't be able to run on new hardware. If my old hardware fails, I won't be able to find compatible hardware, because the compatible hardware will be discontinued, and new hardware is not compatible. Given that, my only two options are to either order components by design, or to build my own components.

If I build my own CPU and motherboard, they may not look like commercial ones, but they will still have the same functionality, right?

For example, a home-made Core i-9 won't be a small square, but a very large and bulky object surrounded by cables and indicators (lamps), but it will still be as good and reliable as Core i-9 made by Intel, right? If yes, I don't see any reasons to not make my own Core i-9 when i-9 becomes discontinued, but my software isn't compatible with the next generation of CPUs.

So, what do you think? Is it possible to make 32bit or 64bit CPU at home, or is 8bit the limit?

I think someone is pulling legs here.

 

[USAFRet]

For example, a home-made Core i-9 won't be a small square, but a very large and bulky object surrounded by cables and indicators (lamps), but it will still be as good and reliable as Core i-9 made by Intel, right? If yes, I don't see any reasons to not make my own Core i-9 when i-9 becomes discontinued, but my software isn't compatible with the next generation of CPUs.

Do you have the faintest idea of how many transistors are in a current Intel i9 CPU or Ryzen 7?

Don't look it up....give us your best guess.

 

[hotaru.hino]

I'm going to be very blunt here.

If you have to ask these kinds of questions, you're not remotely close to ready in doing any sort of CPU design work.

 

[Deleted member 14196]

I think he’s trolling

 

[hotaru.hino]

I think he’s trolling

I don't think OP is a troll. Just naive.

 

[jacob249358]

If you don't have Bill Gates level money, it doesn't matter.

I think its time we change our poster child rich guy to Elon Musk.