The KiloCore can perform many tasks at once while using only a tiny amount of power.
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- UC Davis has developed a KiloCore CPU that packs 1000 cores
- Useful for parallel tasks like encryption, going through data and encoding videos
- Can handle 115 billion instructions per second
- Cores transfer data directly among each other, rather than on a shared cache of memory
- Each core can shut down when not in use
- While only using 0.7W of power
- Could run of an AA battery
- University had IBM manufacture the chip on a 32-nanometer process
You aren’t about to see mass production of this chip. The university had IBM manufacture the chip on a relatively ancient 32-nanometer process when the industry’s newest processors are usually made using a smaller, more efficient 14nm technique. However, it raises the possibility of many-core processors finding their way into many mobile devices. They’re not universally helpful (many tasks are better-served by a few very fast cores), but they could save a lot of time when your laptop or phone would otherwise churn slowly.
As with most computer science research projects, you shouldn’t be looking for a KiloCore to come to a device near you any time soon. But it’s an interesting look inside the future of computing.