I keep hearing about the need for an 'x86 license' but I think that only applies to licensing a particular bus protocol, IE if you want to make a cpu that is socket/mobo compatible with say, a C2D. If you're willing to use your own bus standard, the ISA is available as it's not license/patentable, and if you're already making your own chipsets it's not that big a hurdle.

(And isn't HyperTransport open anyways, so just make HT compatable CPUs sans license fees...)

Would Intel and/or AMD refusing to grant Nvidia an x86 license constitute monopoly abuse? (Since it is Intel's architecture I would assume that AMD cannot grant it).

Since the x86 market is effectively the "PC market", and since Windows doesn't come for any other architecture, Nvidia could well make this case.

I suppose part of it depends on the Intel-AMD antitrust trial (where AMD is making this exact case).

One thing that some are forgetting is the fact that Nvidia acquired Transmeta license ;) (no need for Intel)

Now if they could just emulate the CPU on their graphic GPU (now that would be interesting)

A VIA Nano on a Nvidia chipset with integrated graphics and a VIA VT1708B sound chip in a NetBook

I want one.

Cyril, are you still giving credence to Charlie the dumpster-diver? Shame on you replacing your vast common-sense with Charlie's imaginative inventions. The work at Stexar before its acquisition had nothing to do with the development of x86 CPUs. Stexar was actually financed by AMD and was pursuing graphics/video excellence on behalf of AMD. When AMD stupidly bought ATi, they immediately dropped Stexar.on the assumption that ATi would give them all the graphics/video processing they needed. A personal acquaintance of mine used to work at Stexar. A brilliant bunch of engineers just dropped into nVidia's lap for a song....

Seems as if Charlie has just regurgitated his Inquirer speculation of 2 years ago. See:-

http://www.theinquirer.net/en/inquirer/news/2006/10/23/nvidia-stexa...

As usual Charlie got the wrong end of the stick. Any x86 technology in a Stexar product would have been supplied by AMD. Stexar was concentrating on advanced graphics/video signal processing.

When you publish the next article based on another "hot rumor" from our dear friend Charlie, please, please do independent research. Maybe "the Tech Report" should be renamed "the Tech Second-hand Opinion Column"?? Grrrrrrrr.......

If they made a multi core CPU with lots of simple CPUs, you could have a nice server cpu.. :P

Yes, Intel holds most x86 patents. But patents don't last eternally. Next year patents based on the i486 design should fall.

So nvidia could create an i386/i486 compatible x86 CPU, add some new proprietary instructions from their own IP portfolio (maybe they bought Ageia for something more than just Physx), and when it comes to parallelized instructions, they surely don't need MMX or SSE, they can easily create their own equivalent.

The last piece of the puzzle would be a decent compiler for their new cpu, and with CUDA they should have some knowledge for doing this.

Nvidia licensed Itanium. New brandings will include:
- Nvidium GTX
- Nvidium GT
- Nvidium SLI

nVidia might even get at the performance level of 486 with this "covert operation"

i heard charlie has a crush on suzie, the office copy girl, but he's too nervous about asking her out.

he's been trying to subtly hint his desires to her, but all that keeps coming out are nvidia rumors.

Stexar? Nvidia has Intel engineers?! I wouldn't put it past Jen Sun to go as far as making an x86 design in anticipation of getting a license. That man is crazy like an asian dictator.

Also, what's to stop Nvidia from making CPUs with other instruction sets? They could just rape some Linux distro and make NvOS or nOS or even nLinux or something gay like that and pump it full of CUDA juice. Sure, this would take a decade to do but they're crazy.

There is no way they'd spend a lot on R&D without an x86 license first, they would risk wasting all that R&D money. I bet this is just a rumor distortion referring to their SoC Tegra.

This is just a product of the rumor mill.
Anyone can throw a wrench into the "corpo-machines" (as I call them) and suddenly Intel is creating Hard Drives. AMD is launching a brand of sports car, Asus is creating a game console and Microsoft is making a battery powered 360... that runs off of 2AA batteries!
What will nVidia reveal? Lord behold, another gfx card.
Meh.

nVidia buys VIA?!

Charlie might have been right about the G86, but that doesn't mean he is always right ...

Charlie is a nub.

<obligatory "Charlie has a bias" comment>