Could we see GPUs with iCPUs one day..?

[SkyMembrane]

I've been thinking about this idea for a while, but I've never really talked about it to anyone. I know that it wouldn't be feasible with the usual layout of components, but redesigning how motherboards and sockets are made is doable. I mean, the best combination we've seen up until now are AMD's APUs, which did include Radeon technology, but were never really designed with anything high-end in mind.

On the other end, Intel's CPUs have iGPUs that offer sub-par performance, even at the highest end of the CPU charts.

But what if AMD had the budget to go all out and release something like a full RX480 paired with a Zen CPU that would be equivalent to an entry-level i5, possibly clocked lower than normal to account for the extra heat dissipation required.

With the current form factor of CPUs and their socket, that wouldn't be feasible, but by modifying the motherboard connections to the GPU, possibly by replacing the PCI-e slot for something else, to account for the on-board CPU, it would allow for much better heat dissipation capabilities due to their already much greater size. That would also reduce the distance the information has to travel between the CPU and the GPU, reducing latency.

I think the best use for this would be in laptops and maybe tablets one day. Since they tend to use their own layouts already, modifying them a bit more would probably be doable at reasonnable costs. I mean, allowing better GPUs to go into laptops without having to include 2 separate chips would be awesome, considering how much closer recent mobile GPUs are to their desktop counterparts.

Anyway, leave your opinion on that here if you want loll

 

[TechyInAZ]

It's not a bad idea. But the reason why we don't see GPUs with ICPUs is 1. Rendering on GPUs is a LOT quicker. 2. PCIE isn't fast enough for this kind of tech. The CPU socket is much faster at transferring data.

 

[Shaun o]

It`s not a bad Idea by all means, but you are forgetting that it would greatly cost a lot of money to change all of the current processes to create such a thing.

First the interconnects and the layout of the board to take the chip with a high end Gpu as part of the cpu core.
The second is creating a bit of silicone to accommodate a cpu and full high end Gpu.

And one thing you are forgetting is the dedicated GDDR 5 memory on most graphics cards on where to put it.
Where indeed would you also fit 8Gb for example of GDDR 5 memory.

By the time you look at it the square Nm scale of the chip would be at least x4 or x8 the size.
You know that some cards can use, and often do main system memory as graphics storage.
But even with DDR4 memory it is still much slower than current cards using GDDR 5 memory.

I could very well say that all motherboard manufacturers should place 16Gb of Nand flash memory direct to a motherboard without using a Nvme or M.2 slot.

Used ,or soldered to every single motherboard where the Windows OS is installed too.
Sounds great does it not.

But what happens when the Nand flash wears out, or stops working?

That is why it is prefered that up to a point individual hardware is preferred connected by it`s own interface.
Where as if the route of following what you suggest.

If one part of that package fails, even though the rest of it functions as it does.
In throwing away the part in order to obtain the feature incorporated into it.

Cost wise that would not be effective would it.
As to produce such a thing would result in the end retail cost of much more than buying a cpu.
And separate high end graphics card.

Where it would cost less to have to buy the single bit of hardware in the end to replace the broken part.
How ever you like it, it`s the reason why such things do not exist.

It sounds nice,but in practicality is not viable.

If you look at the current status of how PC`s are put together
Is it not far more convenient that when replacing a part it only involves having to take away the part that has failed and can be singularly replaced without effecting the rest of the system at a greater cost.

By your suggestion you would be taking away that flexibility to change a single part at a cheaper cost.

Because of the combined technology put into the Cpu/ High end gpu incorporated into the die package.
If for some reason the cpu or Gpu part of it failed.

It`s why you don`t see high end GPU`s as part of a combined cpu/gpu die package.

Currently as it stands you have the Pci-e card slot as a backup.