AMD: 'CPU and GPU merge biggest processor evolution since 64-bit'

“Get ready for round two of the "attack of the killer micros. By combining graphics processing unit (GPU) and CPU functions in heterogeneous cores, microprocessors will bring supercomputer performance to the desktop,” said Phil Hester, in a keynote speech at the International Conference on Computer-Aided Design (ICCAD) in San Jose, California, reports EETimes web-site.

The chief technologist at AMD believes that in order to achieve tremendous computing power on the desktop, central processing units (CPUs) should start utilizing heterogeneous multi-core design, where each of the cores will be able to perform certain types of tasks very rapidly. Given that theoretical peak power of modern GPUs is much higher than that of CPUs, it is natural to built in GPUs into CPUs to increase performance.