The end of the CPU?
AMD unveiled the new lineup of Radeon RX Vega graphics cards for high end gaming that demands high resolutions and VR capabilities. But how do developers make those games? The answer is with AMD’s also newly announced Vega-based GPUs that wields a staggering 2TB of on board upgradable solid-state memory.
What's the idea behind owning a card like this you might ask?
AMD's API will allow developers to talk directly to the GPU and the 2TB of on-board SSD storage simultaneously, bypassing the CPU, PCIe bus, and system interface, which create bottle-necking.
So why might this be the end of the CPU?
As momentum for tech in this field evolves with media content creators and API developers, people will wake up to the idea that the CPU will become irrelevant when comparing the performance of having dedicated GPU systems running an operating system... These systems will be targeted for consumers who want the best performance in gaming, video editing and development tasks. Graphic card companies could put an end to the console vs PC war by making both feel obsolete...
This thought of having stand alone GPU systems has been theorized in the tech community for a long time. A GPU is a supercomputer inside of a computer, when you start to think of CPU’s and GPU’s in that manner you start to ask yourself “do I really need the lesser of the two?”
Conclusion... I suspect that dedicated gaming cards with most of the features and component hardware being built into the video card locally will soon become a highly sought after product that consumers will ask for as demands in VR gaming and editing platforms become more enhanced, this would most certainly be a huge success in the consumer market if AMD or Nvidia were to strive to push a product like this at a consumer price point to the market. The new The Radeon Pro SSG retails for $7,000 starting.