Previously I wrote a post about how AMD's FX-8150 processor wasn't a disappointment but was actually a trend. It seemed to me that AMD was making a move to consolidate their high end consumer line of processors with their server line of processors. Now it seems that Intel is doing the same thing with its new high end CPU called the Core i7-3960X. One of the best reviews about the Core i7-3960X that I found was put out by Tom's Hardware. In the review of the Core i7-3960X they explain that this six core chip is really an eight core Xeon server processor with two of the cores disabled. So now we see that both of the major CPU manufacturers for the home PC are using the same strategy of offering a "server" CPU for their high end processors. What will that mean for the "average" PC user like myself and others? Well, the Core i7-3960X is a major disappointment compared to AMD's FX-8150 release for the the average PC user.
AMD is a smaller company than Intel so their move to consolidate their high end processors with their server processors is understandable. AMD will probably never catch up to Intel when it comes to having the "fastest CPU" crown. The fact that AMD's high end home PC users would be using a server CPU would not be that big of a deal. The fact that Intel has abandoned the high end home PC CPU market is bad news though. The Tom's Hardware article I quoted above shows that Intel's new Core i7-3960X is not that much faster than its older high end processors. When AMD went to the new server based architecture they actually took a small step back in performance. AMD was widely criticized for this. Intel though has not received the same criticism for making the same exact move and effectively standing still in terms of performance. The bottom line is that performance has stood still even though both companies have introduced a new CPU architecture.
In the short run this
generation of CPU's that the major manufacturers are offering don't
match the need of the consumer market. Consumers either need
performance to go up and prices to stay the same or performance to stay
the same and prices to come down. Either of these scenarios represents
value for the consumer but these outcomes probably won't happen.
Currently prices have stayed the same and performance at a practical
level has stayed the same.
I think the old world of
increasing computer power at standstill prices
is over. I think we are entering an era where performance will be at a
standstill and prices will rise over time. With the way the economy is
now prices will only go up for the same or less performance. Consumers
will be subsidizing the development of server technology that they will
not benefit from for a long time. Marketing will be focused on giving
the consumer less while convincing them that they are getting more,
better and newer products. In upcoming posts I will explore how this performance stagnation problem has affected me and will affect other regular consumers like me.
