High Performance General-Purpose Microprocessors: Past and Future

It can be observed from looking backward that processor architecture is improved through spirally shifting from simple to complex and from complex to simple. Nowadays we are facing another shifting from complex to simple, and new innovative architecture will emerge to utilize the continuously increasing transistor budgets. The growing importance of wire delays, changing workloads, power consumption, and design/verification complexity will drive the forthcoming era of Chip Multiprocessors (CMPs). Furthermore, typical CMP projects both from industries and from academics are investigated. Through going into depths for some primary theoretical and implementation problems of CMPs, the great challenges and opportunities to future CMPs are presented and discussed. Finally, the Godson series microprocessors designed in China are introduced.