Question...Why can't there be a hybrid CPU?

[shake]

Hi,

Totally new here so apologies in advance if I've done something wrong with my post.

I'm looking at building a new PC, still rocking a 2600k and it feels weird having the same computer for so long, so... I've been researching 1950x for the multi tasking for 3d rendering etc but I also use After Effects and Photoshop a lot and that is better with single core performance, say a 8700k, so in the brain drain of thinking which way i should go I have this noob question:

Why can't there be a serious multicore CPU like the 10 core i9 or 1950x that has 1 core (the first one) which is like a 8700k in terms of performance, with the others being lower as per the normal versions? So in single core software or games it's fast but when you need multitasking the others kick in and the first one maybe even steps down to equal out?

I'm sure someone who know's what they are talking about will answer this and make it seem obvious but goddammit I want intel/AMD to make it happen so I can stop changing my shopping cart and just buy something!

 

[Jokester]

This is what boost clocks in effect do, with single core CPU loads boosting further than heavily multithreaded loads.

 

[shake]

But is there anything technically stopping one core being hypothetically, a killer 4.8ghz all the time and the other 15 were 3.4ghz for example?

 

[Devrij]

Would you even be able to run two different architectures off the same cache? I think if you had to run it as a separate module fed by a different cache it would be very inefficient and expensive.

 

[Dvader]

I am in the same position bar the 2700k. Making an intelligent choice is becoming a headache. 1950x vs 8700k

 

[sandys]

That can be done there is nothing stopping it, just added complexity on the software side, it is what they do in phones, thing is for the die area used and software effort required, there is no great benefit on the desktop, you may as well just make all the cores good and rely on boost, with each generation of chip you will find this side of things (dynamic boost) getting better, the 1950x boost upto 4.2 for 2 cores/4threads) and drops off too 3.4 should you use more, but that speed can be anywhere between 3.4 - 4.2, Intel does something similar.

For my threadripper I only overclock it for benching, I am quite happy with its auto turbo/xfr boosting so leave it stock for most use.

some info on Ryzen mobile boost as an example here

 

[GWANGY]

Wouldn't you need some sort of weird cooling setup as well? As the portion of the die thats running at 5.2ghz will be extremely hot, while the rest will be normal temps ... As others have said this pretty much what intel/amd is doing to a greater or lesser degree . I think the i5-8400 is the premier example normal clocked at 2.8ghz but turbos up to 4.00ghz, all in 65w.....

 

[namnoc]

It's finance that stops it. A great deal of R&D to produce a niche product that won't sell unless priced similarly to the other CPUs, so will never regain the development costs.

 

[shake]

Would it not be existing cpu's just configured together (obviously quite a bit of R&D to merge them but it's not alien tech) but those cpu's would still be available separately. Adding a relatively low cost 7700 chip with really good single core performance for adobe suite, games etc, at normal temps, merged with existing multiple 10,12,16 core tech. Most of this stuff at the higher end is niche already in general terms but i'm sure most people at this higher end would want this as it covers all software bases. In my dreams this all works perfectly...maybe if I click my shoes together and wish?...

 

[DragonQ]

Lots of phone grade CPUs have "small" and "large" cores, I don't know if there's any reason why that can't be done on a desktop architecture.

 

[Pants]

I wonder what would happen if they took the die space of a 4 core, to make one banging single core chip.

 

[Killer7xx]

That basically exists already, like others have said, current CPUs will boost single cores in singlethreaded use scenarios. Also core parking exists to put unused cores to sleep, however that introduces latency as they have to be woken up when multi threaded tasks are run. It can introduce significant stutters into applications like videogames which have fluctuating core usage.

 

[geordiejc]

just overclock all cores to max stable overclock, job done.

 

[Overlag]

I wonder what would happen if they took the die space of a 4 core, to make one banging single core chip.

the PC would run like **** with only 1 core.

 

[Phil2008]

Yeah I was just going to say,, When I am messing in windows or cpu its doing light work, it runs at 1.6ghz with 1volt. You cant get more hybrid than that.

 

[Orcvader]

Power saving features already make the CPU pretty power efficient, recent architectures have been designed to be more power smart these days with various ways of lowering usage when it's uneeded.

As for a "killer" core that can overclock better than the rest, it's possible, in fact Intel's LGA 2066 boards have an option to fine tune the voltage/clocks per core but... good luck finding the best settings for each core considering there's so many of them .

Just remember all of Intel's Celeron/Pentium/i series already use the same core architecture, as well as AMD with their Ryzen series including the new Ryzen based APUs, it's still up to the manufacturing process if all cores can equally clock high or not.

 

[sanaxe1]

Isn't this what most mobile socs do...

 

[Phil2008]

My cpu is clocked to 4.4ghz but most of the time when idling in windows or browsing the net it clocks down to 1.6ghz. Its got the easy life as I dont often do much gaming now.

 

[Mercutio]

I think the point is its either VERY expensive (relative to the number of folks bothered enough to realise it's probably the best solution for most cases) to make different cores on the same lithography. Mixing lithography would be stupidly expensive also so... it's just not economically viable. The chips are built to run happily at a certain speed on certain silicon and... they all just get pushed as fast as they will go.