I Was Never Meant to Have This Prototype CPU
TLDRThe video explores a unique and mysterious Centaur prototype CPU, which is an x86 processor not manufactured by Intel or AMD. It features an integrated system on a chip (SoC) design with up to eight cores, support for AVX-512, and an onboard AI accelerator named Encor. Despite its innovative features, the CPU faced stiff competition from established players like Intel and AMD, as well as the rise of GPUs and AI accelerator cards. The video dives into the technical aspects of the CPU, its compatibility issues, and the historical context of Centaur Technology's struggle against industry giants. It also highlights the CPU's development and testing process, including its performance in benchmarks and gaming, and speculates on the reasons behind its cancellation.
Takeaways
- 🔍 The Centaur CPU is a prototype x86 CPU not made by Intel or AMD, featuring an unusual compatibility with an Intel socket on a motherboard that doesn't support Intel CPUs.
- 💻 The motherboard has an LGA 2011 V3 socket, which is physically the same but electrically incompatible with Intel CPUs, indicating a reused design for cost and time efficiency.
- 🛠️ The development platform board is covered in jumpers and dip switches, allowing for changes in CPU characteristics or motherboard behavior for testing purposes.
- 🔗 The CPU is highly integrated, lacking a platform controller hub and including features like USB, SATA, networking, and PCI Express switching, similar to AMD's Threadripper.
- 🔬 The Centaur CPU, code-named Centaur Halls (CHA), includes an onboard AI accelerator named Encor, designed for high-speed connection to the CPU and system memory.
- ⏱️ Despite being slow, the CPU was in active development until at least 2021, as indicated by a BIOS build date, showing significant investment in the platform.
- 🧩 The CPU's performance is underwhelming, with benchmarks showing it to be significantly slower than contemporary CPUs, even when using the AI accelerator.
- 🔢 The CPU can be configured to mimic different CPU models, potentially bypassing software compatibility checks based on CPU model lists.
- 📈 Centaur Technology was founded to create low-cost, energy-efficient CPUs for the sub-$1000 PC market, but faced significant competition and legal challenges from Intel.
- 📉 The industry's rapid shift towards GPUs and AI accelerators for machine learning tasks, along with strong competition from established players like Intel and AMD, made the Centaur Halls CPU less viable over time.
- ❌ By 2021, much of Centaur's engineering staff was sold to Intel, and the Centaur Halls project was likely cancelled, leaving it as a historical curiosity rather than a commercial product.
Q & A
What is a Centaur CPU?
-A Centaur CPU is a prototype x86 CPU that is not made by Intel or AMD. It is designed to fit into an Intel socket on a motherboard but is electrically incompatible with Intel CPUs.
How is the motherboard with the Centaur CPU different from a typical motherboard?
-The motherboard with the Centaur CPU has an Intel socket LGA 2011 V3 but is electrically incompatible with Intel CPUs. It is covered in jumpers and dip switches, indicating it is a development platform board, and has a highly integrated system without a separate platform controller hub.
What is the significance of the QR code and Kodiak assembly label on the motherboard?
-The QR code does not lead anywhere, but the Kodiak assembly label indicates that the board was manufactured by Kodiak, a company that provides PCB assembly and other fabrication services. The date on the label shows the board was made in September 2019.
What is Centaur Technology and what was its role in the CPU market?
-Centaur Technology was founded in 1995 as a subsidiary of IDT by former IBM fellow Glenn Henry. It aimed to build a low-complexity, low-cost, energy-efficient desktop CPU for the sub $1,000 PC market. It later became known for its embedded systems and was acquired by VIA Technologies in 1999.
What is the CHA and how does it differ from a traditional CPU?
-The CHA, or Centaur Halls, is a System on a Chip (SoC) designed by Centaur Technology. It integrates the CPU and chipset onto a single chip, eliminating the need for a separate chipset. It features up to eight cores, AVX-512 support, and an onboard AI accelerator named Encor.
Why did the Centaur Halls project not succeed in the market?
-The Centaur Halls project faced strong competition from established players like Intel and AMD, as well as the rise of GPUs and AI accelerator cards for machine learning tasks. Additionally, the industry was moving too fast, and the performance of Centaur Halls could not compete with the price-to-performance ratio of other available solutions.
What is the purpose of the fuses in the CPU configuration?
-The fuses can lock specific functionality, such as instruction sets or CPU cache. This allows manufacturers to create a range of chips from a single higher-end chip by 'blowing' the fuses to disable unnecessary parts, thus producing a lower-end chip for different market segments.
How does the Centaur CPU perform in terms of speed and performance?
-The Centaur CPU, running at 2 GHz with slow timings, showed poor performance in benchmarks and real-world use. It was significantly outperformed by CPUs available several years prior, such as the Ryzen 7 1700X.
What is the functionality of the USB-C port on the motherboard?
-The USB-C port on the motherboard is a functioning port that likely connects to some kind of hardware interface or another PC for diagnostic and development purposes. It is also compatible with standard USB-C devices like controllers.
Why was the Centaur Technology CPU still being developed as late as 2021?
-The BIOS build date of 2021 indicates that Centaur Technology was deep into the development of the platform, suggesting significant investment in the project. However, the exact reasons for the continued development so close to the acquisition of Centaur's engineering staff by Intel are not detailed in the script.
What are the unique features of the Centaur CPU that set it apart from other x86 CPUs?
-The Centaur CPU features an onboard AI accelerator named Encor, which provides high-speed bidirectional connectivity to the CPU and system memory. It also has the ability to misreport its CPU ID, potentially allowing it to bypass certain software restrictions.
Outlines
🔍 Exploring the Centaur CPU Prototype
The video begins with a discussion about a mysterious Centaur CPU, which is a prototype x86 CPU not manufactured by Intel or AMD. The CPU is designed to fit into an Intel socket on a motherboard that is physically similar but electrically incompatible with Intel CPUs. The motherboard features a unique set of jumpers and dip switches, indicating its use as a development platform. The video also introduces the sponsor, iFixit, which specializes in game console parts. The Centaur Technology company's history is briefly mentioned, highlighting its founding in 1995 and its focus on creating low-cost, energy-efficient CPUs for the sub $1,000 PC market.
💡 Centaur's Innovative CPU Design and Legal Battles
The video dives into the technical aspects of the Centaur CPU, revealing that it is a System on Chip (SoC) with up to eight cores and support for AVX-512. It also features an onboard AI accelerator named Encor, which provides high-speed access to the CPU's cache and system memory. The narrator discusses the legal disputes between Intel and VIA Technologies, which led to a cross-licensing agreement allowing Centaur to continue creating x86 designs. The development timeline of the CPU is explored, with the BIOS build date indicating active development until 2021. The video also demonstrates the CPU's functionality and its ability to alter its CPU ID to mimic other models.
📊 Performance Testing and Real-World Usage
The video presents the results of performance testing for the Centaur CPU, showing it running Windows 10 and demonstrating its capabilities with various software and games. The CPU's performance is found to be significantly slower than contemporary chips, with a Cinebench R20 score that is only half of that achieved by a Ryzen 7 1700X from seven years prior. Despite its limitations, the CPU is shown to be fully functional, even running a light-hearted game called 'Doug Hug.' The USB-C port's functionality is tested, confirming that it works as expected.
🤔 The Centaur CPU's Market Position and Historical Context
The video provides a historical context for the Centaur CPU, discussing the challenges it faced in a rapidly evolving market dominated by Intel and AMD. It outlines the CPU's intended positioning against Intel's Xeon CPUs and the competitive landscape, including the launch of Intel's Cascade Lake, Ice Lake, and AMD's EPYC processors. The rise of GPUs and AI accelerators in machine learning tasks is also highlighted, which may have contributed to the Centaur CPU not reaching the market. The video concludes with speculation about Intel's potential involvement in the cancellation of the Centaur Halls project.
🧩 The Legacy of Centaur Technology
The final paragraph reflects on the Centaur Halls CPU as potentially the last in-house designed SoC by Centaur and its connection to the Xian chips. It is considered a 'missing link' between the current state of x86 architecture and the earlier VIA Nano designs. The video concludes with a call to action for viewers to support iFixit, a sponsor that provides parts and guides for repairing game consoles, emphasizing the importance of reducing electronic waste.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Centaur CPU
💡Intel socket LGA 2011 V3
💡Development platform board
💡AI accelerator
💡AVX-512
💡CPU ID
💡BIOS
💡PCI Express
💡Cinebench
💡Linux
💡iFixit
Highlights
The discovery of a prototype x86 CPU not made by Intel or AMD, raising questions about its origin and capabilities.
The CPU is a Centaur Technology product, a company known for its energy-efficient desktop CPUs.
The motherboard features an Intel socket LGA 2011 V3 but is electrically incompatible with Intel CPUs.
The development platform board is covered in jumpers and dip switches, indicating its use for testing various CPU and motherboard behaviors.
An onboard AI accelerator named Encor is found, offering a high-speed connection to the CPU and system memory.
The CPU supports AVX-512, similar to AMD's recent Zen 4 architecture, without requiring downclocking.
Centaur Technology was founded in 1995 to create low-cost, energy-efficient CPUs for the sub $1,000 PC market.
The CPU has probe points useful for developers to diagnose power delivery or bus issues.
The QR code on the board leads to Kodiak Assembly, a company providing PCB assembly services, with a manufacturing date of September 2019.
Centaur's x86 CPU design was possible due to a cross-licensing agreement with Intel that ended in 2017.
The CPU's unique feature is its integration of an AI accelerator and the absence of a platform controller hub.
The BIOS build date is from 2021, indicating active development just two months before Intel acquired Centaur's staff.
The CPU can be configured to mimic different CPU models, potentially bypassing application compatibility checks.
Performance testing reveals the CPU to be significantly slower than contemporary CPUs, even when using the onboard AI accelerator.
The CPU's development was likely halted due to rapid industry advancements and competition from GPUs and AI accelerator cards.
Centaur's engineering staff was sold to Intel in 2021, leaving Via with mainly intellectual property.
The CPU's existence provides a link between Centaur's past products and the current state of x86 CPU development.