ATI GPUs to go diagonal with X Architecture

ATI will soon launch the world's first X Architecture PCI Express graphics chip, the X Initiative said. The X Architecture is about bringing diagonal interconnects, or diagonal routing, into the design of a computer chip.

According to the X Initiative, "The X Architecture rotates the primary direction of the interconnect in the fourth and fifth metal layers by 45 degrees" from the traditional right angles, but remains compatible with "existing cell libraries, memory cells, compilers and IP cores by preserving the Manhattan geometry of metal layers one through three." The X Initiative says this is the first "production-worthy approach" to the "pervasive use" of this design.

Current chips use all right angles to connects its various bits and pieces, but the X Architecture has some advantages. It will reduce wiring with about 20 percent, reducing the chip costs, increasing performance and lower power consumption. Read more at ExtremeTech