https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/former-silicon-valley-vets-create-risc-v-microprocessor-that-can-run-cpu-gpu-and-npu-workloads-simultaneously Skip to main content (*) ( ) Open menu Close menu Tom's Hardware [ ] Search Search Tom's Hardware [ ] RSS US Edition flag of US flag of UK UK flag of US US flag of Australia Australia flag of Canada Canada * * Reviews * Best Picks * Raspberry Pi * CPUs * GPUs * News * Coupons * More + Newsletter + PC Components + SSDs + Motherboards + PC Building + Monitors + Laptops + Desktops + Cooling + Cases + RAM + Power Supplies + 3D Printers + Peripherals + Overclocking + About Us Forums Trending * AI PCs * Intel awarded $8.5B * World Backup Day Deals * Nvidia Blackwell * Core i9-14900KS When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's how it works. 1. PC Components 2. CPUs New RISC-V microprocessor can run CPU, GPU, and NPU workloads simultaneously News By Aaron Klotz published 4 April 2024 A completely open-source 'ultimate' chip? * * * * * * * Comments (5) Stock image of silicon dies (Image credit: Shutterstock) X-Silicon Inc. (XSi) has created a new RISC-V microprocessing chip architecture that combines a RISC-V CPU core with vector capabilities and GPU acceleration into a single chip. The CPU/GPU hybrid chip is open-source, Jon Peddie Research reports, and it's designed to handle a variety of different functions, including AI, which dedicated CPUs and GPUs would normally handle. The catch is that it's supposed to do all this in a far more efficient manner. The new CPU/GPU hybrid is designed as a "jack of all trades" processor. According to JPR, the industry has been seeking an open-standard GPU that's flexible and scalable enough to support a variety of markets, including virtual reality, automobiles, and IoT devices. This new RISC-V CPU/GPU aims to solve this issue by providing manufacturers with a single open chip design that can handle any desired workload. X-Silicon's chip is unlike other architectures, as its design combines the capabilities of a CPU and GPU into a single-core architecture. This isn't like the typical designs from Intel and AMD where there are separate CPU cores and GPU cores. Instead, the core itself is designed to handle both CPU and GPU tasks. In that sense, it sounds a bit like Intel's abandoned Larabee project, which attempted to use x86 for graphics and other workloads. The chip utilizes X-Silicon's C-GPU architecture that merges GPU acceleration into a RISC-V vector CPU core. The architecture has a RISC-V vector core with a 32-bit FPU and Scaler ALU. It features a Thread Scheduler, Clipping Engine, Rasterizer, Texture Unit, Neural Engine, and Pixel Processor. The chip is intended to handle applications including AI, high-performance computing (HPC), geometry computing, as well as 2D and 3D graphics. X-Silicon RISC-V C-GPU details (Image credit: X-Silicon) In theory, the ability of X-Silicon's hybrid chip to handle CPU and GPU code in the same core affords it many advantages. The chip uses the open-source RISC-V ISA for CPU and GPU, running a single instruction stream. This provides low-memory footprint execution and better efficiency, as there's no copying of data between the CPU memory space and GPU memory space. The CPU/GPU cores can be meshed together into a muti-core design, enabling manufacturers to scale up processing power as needed. In a multi-core format, multiple cores are tiled across a chip and connected using a speedy fabric. Fast on-chip SRAM or eDRAM caches are also implemented in this design, and these serve as an L2 cache that can aggregate data from multiple cores. Each core can be scheduled to run graphics, AI, video, physics, HPC, or other workloads independently of the other cores as needed. With this design, X-Silicon's C-GPU architecture can potentially run any type of CPU or GPU workload. X-Silicon claims to already have the Vulkan graphics API working with "fused GPU acceleration." This should greatly help with its development and adoption on Android devices. As the new design is based on RISC-V, anyone can utilize the architecture without having to pay instruction-set royalty fees -- unlike x86 and ARM. If it works as intended, the chips could shake up the microprocessor industry. The standard designs currently used are, in theory, not as flexible or capable as what X-Silicon claims to have created. Whether it all works as well in practice as it does on paper remains to be seen, though we might not have to wait long to find out. Software development kits will reportedly be released to early partners sometime this year. Stay on the Cutting Edge Join the experts who read Tom's Hardware for the inside track on enthusiast PC tech news -- and have for over 25 years. We'll send breaking news and in-depth reviews of CPUs, GPUs, AI, maker hardware and more straight to your inbox. [ ][ ]Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands[ ]Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors[Sign me up] By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Aaron Klotz Aaron Klotz Social Links Navigation Freelance News Writer Aaron Klotz is a freelance writer for Tom's Hardware US, covering news topics related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards. See more CPUs News More about cpus Loongson Chinese chipmaker gains traction replacing American processors - Longsoon ships 10,000 chips into schools Asus ROG Crosshair X670E Extreme Asus adds AMD Ryzen Zen 5 Granite Ridge CPU support for its X670E motherboards Latest Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III / Warzone Nvidia Game Ready Driver adds ReBAR support to 'Horizon Forbidden West' and game support for recent additions to 'Modern Warfare 3' See more latest > See all comments (5) [ ] 5 Comments Comment from the forums * ezst036 Hopefully the designs come together with the ultimate socket and the ultimate motherboard otherwise it is the ultimate thing we cannot use. Or the ultimate UEFI/BIOS update, chip uses potential socket AM5/ LGA1700? Reply * Findecanor Whatever it is, at least it is both buzzword and superlative-compliant ... The description reminded me of Tachyum's promises of a "universal processor", which we also know very little about. Although people have compared RISC-V's vector unit with GPU's compute units for a while now. I could find only one of the "14" patents: an application for a Dynamic processing memory core on a single memory chip. In descriptions of the company, it supposedly in the "embedded", "low power" sector. Is their target to be GPUs in smartphones? Reply * TheoKrom There is also another one by Think Silicon targeted without Vector support for low end devices. Reply * ekio Wow, a core that can handle cpu/gpu/npu tasks... If this is efficient, that means that most of the transistors can be used instead of a small part of the die. But I bet this kind of tech will be killed by a bigger company that doesn't want any threat to their old business model. Reply * Conor Stewart Whilst it claims to be a RISC-V processor and have a "RISC-V ISA compliant CPU", will the chip as a whole actually fully comply with the RISC-V ISA and it's extensions? I would be very surprised if they are able to create this and have the whole thing fully compliant. They do only say it is "RISC-V based". as its design combines the capabilities of a CPU and GPU into a single-core architecture. This isn't like the typical designs from Intel and AMD where there are separate CPU cores and GPU cores. The chip uses the open-source RISC-V ISA for CPU and GPU There seems to be a lot of contradiction or confusion. Why do they need to specify they use RISC-V for the CPU and GPU if the CPU and GPU are actually combined into a single core and uses a "single-core architecture". The CPU/GPU cores can be meshed together into a muti-core design Note the plural here in "cores" and that they say "CPU/GPU cores", if it was one single core then wouldn't they just say their hybrid core can be meshed into multi core designs? RISC-V microprocessing chip architecture that combines a RISC-V CPU core with vector capabilities and GPU acceleration into a single chip. Again this seems to imply that the CPU cores and the GPU acceleration are separate. Interestingly they call them CPU and GPU cores but when referring to what they have made they only refer to it as a "hybrid chip" why not call them hybrid cores? From this quote they also say it combines a CPU core with a GPU acceleration into a single chip, this seems to me to also be implying that the CPU and GPU are actually separate. Also very important is what it says in the image: Proprietary HAL for low level access If it is fully RISC-V based and compliant then why do they need a proprietary HAL? Also in the image: RISC-V ISA compliant CPU They also say elsewhere that the CPU and GPU are RISC-V ISA so is the GPU not compliant? Too much of what they say could be seen as vague or slightly contradicting itself so something doesn't seem quite right. They really should clarify exactly what they mean. It seems to me they may be using separate CPU and GPU cores but claiming it is a single core architecture because they are both RISC-V based. Reply * View All 5 Comments Show more comments Most Popular [missing-im]'Intel Air' employee flight shuttle resumes regular operations to Oregon, other fab sites - Another sign that Intel is on the upswing? 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