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Why so little performance improvements year after year?

I know we all love performance increases, but what Scenarios do you think more CPU speed is beneficial to our main use for our PCs (assuming it is the same as mine) - which is gaming.

I sincerely believe the next big wins are in software architecture, and some kind of integrated hardware configuration. Specifically, I think that software will drive the hardware up-take (just look at what mobile has done). It is almost like we are all waiting with bated breath for that next step forward.
 
Random Guy said:
I know we all love performance increases, but what Scenarios do you think more CPU speed is beneficial to our main use for our PCs (assuming it is the same as mine) - which is gaming.

I sincerely believe the next big wins are in software architecture, and some kind of integrated hardware configuration. Specifically, I think that software will drive the hardware up-take (just look at what mobile has done). It is almost like we are all waiting with bated breath for that next step forward.
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Not really at all, the increase in power in mobile drove the software. Its not like before smartphones people were writing loads of apps and THEN we started to get hardware increases. The hardware came first, smart phones were capable of doing more and software was writen. The first software was slow laggy and very limited because the first mobile chips were VERY slow, the chips got faster, the software got more complex. Hardware absolutely drove the software in the mobile market. Every generation they add more power in hardware brings more complex and powerful software and games.

One of the reasons there hasn't been another push in power used in gaming is in part, because it becomes more difficult to simply do more in a game. If it takes a certain amount of time to do one thing, adding several other things to use the new power takes longer, and longer = costs more.

But we have games that can fully use a quad core, we don't have games that can really fully use an 8 core because we don't have 8 cores in mainstream.

Remember we didn't have games that would use dual cores, till after the hardware was released, then quad cores got released and a couple years later we were getting games that really could push a quad core... we don't have games that can really push an 8 core easily because there isn't enough 8 core cpu's in mainstream so why make software that will use it.

One of the advantages of the consoles is well, by mid way through next year there will likely be 20-30million 8 core consoles. The disadvantage is of course that because Jaguar is low clocked and low power, a quad core FX at 4Ghz + will theoretically match a 8 core Jaguar at half the speed, but throw in windows overhead and more than 4 high clocked cores should get pushed really very hard and 8 cores will, with extra settings on PC's, hopefully be pushed fairly hard in the next couple years.
 
MrMarvelous said:
Do you guys think that progress with regards to performance will slow down a lot now since Intel are basically competing against themselves?
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It already has slowed down a lot; Intel's main competitor is ARM now rather than AMD, hence why we have seen a change in focus from performance to power consumption.
 
drunkenmaster said:
One of the advantages of the consoles is well, by mid way through next year there will likely be 20-30million 8 core consoles.
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This, along with the mainstream adoption of 4K monitors, is likely to be the main driving factors in spurring performance increases in the desktop segment.
 
I know this is a CPU thread and I really don't mean to derail it, but I did really find it kind of funny that earlier it was mentioned about Nvidia stretching out their lineup for longer.

Anyway on the CPU front I think drunkenmaster has pretty much nailed it. Intel will of course introduce more cores eventually, but I expect they will go 6 core for mainstream whereas AMD have already shown that 8 cores will be their mainstream direction.
 
bru said:
I know this is a CPU thread and I really don't mean to derail it, but I did really find it kind of funny that earlier it was mentioned about Nvidia stretching out their lineup for longer.

Anyway on the CPU front I think drunkenmaster has pretty much nailed it. Intel will of course introduce more cores eventually, but I expect they will go 6 core for mainstream whereas AMD have already shown that 8 cores will be their mainstream direction.
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I hope intel does that with Skylake in 2 years time when games will be more multithreaded and as you mentioned AMD already has 8 cores more or less as mainstream.
 
There is only so much you can do with single core performance. The clock speed increases, but not enough to keep up. And all that clock speed generates monster heat. All those transistors on such a small die cause problems. Yield issues, electro-migration, which limits the clock speed and voltage you can use, thus degrading your single-core performance.

Better use your transistors more efficiently with a multi-core or GPGPU. That's if the software side can make the most of the architecture. On consoles, it's a no brainer.

It might kick off again if we find a better manufacturing solution that drastically reduces thermal dissipation and electric resistance (graphene?). Until then... It's gonna plateau as we reach the limit of the technology.
 
drunkenmaster said:
Not really at all, the increase in power in mobile drove the software.
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In a way, you are proving my point i.e. Software driving Hardware adoption (which was preceded by Hardware innovation). Simply put, the point I have is that at present, where is the justification for the massive increases we want to see in CPU Tech, when as gamers, these are of arguably very limited value from a Price:Performance perspective?
 
There should really be a push for more innovative cooling methods. That could keep the mhz increasing. The heat isnt that high so as to abandon the whole thing.
 
Calabi said:
There should really be a push for more innovative cooling methods. That could keep the mhz increasing. The heat isnt that high so as to abandon the whole thing.
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How innovative can you get in a 15mm thick laptop? That's what the unwashed masses want, that's where CPU design is going
 
d_brennen said:
How innovative can you get in a 15mm thick laptop? That's what the unwashed masses want, that's where CPU design is going
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There are lots of potential cooling methods. Yeah maybe not many are viable for laptops but they could start on the desktop then move onto miniaturising.
 
Calabi said:
There are lots of potential cooling methods. Yeah maybe not many are viable for laptops but they could start on the desktop then move onto miniaturising.
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Desktop is a dying market, there won't be any game changing innovations any time soon. How long have we been rocking big lumps of copper and aluminium? :p
 
spoffle said:
Consoles haven't slowed development, I'd argue that they've indirectly spurred it on if anything.
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After consoles overtook PC's in gaming popularity the was a slow yet noticeable slowing down of innovation/development so that the games didn't have to be gutted to work on the consoles, it was gradual but it defiantly happened.
 
This is why i am hoping for more 64 bit pc games after new consoles get in the market.
 
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