TECH TALK
Nvidia’s Grace CPU
Jarred Walton
WHEN NVIDIA ANNOUNCED it was buying ARM, the intent was clear: Nvidia wanted a way to compete in the CPU space. That’s set to happen in 2023 with the arrival of the Grace CPUs. It’s still a way off, but the specs already look impressive. The ARM acquisition paves the way for Nvidia to attempt to do in the CPU space what it’s been doing with GPUs for over 20 years.
A decade ago, we first heard about Project Denver, a CPU architecture that would use binary translation to provide x86 compatibility. Intel blocked the x86 compatible aspect, but the chip did see the light of day in a few products, such as the Nexus 9 tablet. With the rise of ARM processors that power nearly all phones and tablets, plus some laptops and even servers, x86 compatibility is a must-have no more.