What makes CPUs so enduring? Flexibility, compatibility, and cost efficiency are key. As Evan Burness of Microsoft Azure points out, CPUs remain the “it-just-works” technology. Moving complex, proprietary code to GPUs can be an expensive and time-consuming effort, while CPUs typically support software continuity across generations with minimal friction. That reliability matters for businesses and researchers who need results, not just raw power.
Innovation is also reshaping what a CPU can be. Advances in chiplet design, on-package memory, and hybrid CPU-GPU architectures are extending the performance curve well beyond the limits of Moore’s Law. For many organizations, the CPU is the strategic choice that balances speed, efficiency, and cost.
Looking ahead, the relationship between CPUs, GPUs, and specialized processors like NPUs will define the future of HPC. Rather than a zero-sum contest, it’s increasingly a question of fit-for-purpose design. As Addison Snell, co-founder and chief executive officer of Intersect360 Research, notes, science and industry never run out of harder problems to solve.
That means CPUs, far from fading, will remain at the center of the computing ecosystem.
To learn more, read the new report « Designing CPUs for next-generation supercomputing. »
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