manufacture's of processor

[abdul moeed58]

why oonly some manufacture's are making processor ?

 

[MeteorsRaining]

It isn't easy to fit billions of transistors with all other connections in a couple square inches of space. Takes up time, research, dedication.

 

[VincentP]

There are two manufacturers of processors used in desktop computers, Intel and AMD.
It would be very difficult for a competitor to break into this market.
There are a number of other manufacturers that make processors for other devices.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

VIA makes some, too.

 

[Pinhedd]

why oonly some manufacture's are making processor ?

There are a large number of different companies that design microprocessors, but only a handful have the ability to actually manufacture them. Much of the value of modern microprocessors and embedded systems is tied up in patents. Manufacturers that wish to create a capable microprocessor need to either do their own research, licence the necessary patents, or infringe upon them. R&D is extremely expensive, Intel dumps billions of dollars every year into R&D in an effort to improve their designs. Licencing is also extremely expensive, but it tends to be more worthwhile when a company has their own patents to offer in exchange (this is what AMD and Intel do). Infringing is not a good idea, many companies did try to compete with Intel by infringing on Intel's patents and Intel sued them into extinction in the 1990s.

Realistically, anyone with the requisite engineering knowledge could come along and design a simple MIPS clone based on 20 year old designs without stepping on many (or any) toes, but there'd be no room for it in the market and as a result it wouldn't sell well enough to justify the cost of design.

Manufacturing complex integrated circuits requires multi billion dollar fabrication facilities. Each of these facilities has a tremendously high operating cost and a rather short lifespan, so it is essential that they operate as close to peak capacity as possible. Intel, Global Foundries (formerly a part of AMD), Samsung, and TSMC are the global leaders in semiconductor and integrated circuit manufacturing. Intel and Samsung manufacture their own devices and designs. Global Foundries and TSMC primarily manufacture designs for fabless companies such as AMD, Qualcomm, and NVidia.

 

[VincentP]

VIA makes some, too.

VIA makes chipsets used on motherboards. Realtek and many other manufacturers make various ICs for these boards. The CPUs are only made by Intel and AMD.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

I actually have a board with a VIA C7:



They are very slow, but they do exist. Usually for embedded and low power scenarios; much like one would use an Atom.

TIL CPU-Z doesn't yet work on Win10...

 

[Pinhedd]

VIA makes some, too.

VIA makes chipsets used on motherboards. Realtek and many other manufacturers make various ICs for these boards. The CPUs are only made by Intel and AMD.

Via also manufactures x86 microprocessors. Not many of them, and not in a large volume, but they do make them.

 

[VincentP]

I actually have a board with a VIA C7:



They are very slow, but they do exist. Usually for embedded and low power scenarios; much like one would use an Atom.

TIL CPU-Z doesn't yet work on Win10...

You're right. I've honestly never heard of these. Latest models I can find were released 2011, but they go back many years.

 

[christopherjames]

It isn't easy to fit billions of transistors with all other connections in a couple square inches of space. Takes up time, research, dedication.

More like a scant few square millimeters.