It's long been something of a rumor that Nvidia would be and is developing their own x86 cpu. Rivals Intel and AMD obviously are in both GPU and CPU markets, so why wouldn't Nvidia want a slice of that tasty pie? With markets heading towards CPU+GPU on a single chip, Nvidia would otherwise be left holding an empty bag should that roadmap be obtained by its rivals. Nvidia has long had issues with Intel, regarding licensing, speculation about Larabee, and other general disagreements. With its recent relations problems with Apple as a reuslt of the mobile 8x00 series fiasco, and ATI products being moved into Apple's lineup, it would seem Nvidia has more foes than friends these days.
Charlie Demerjian, a long outspoken critic of Nvidia's practices, claims to have inside sources revealing that Nvidia is planning on achieving its x86 goal with Tegra 5, currently slated for a 2012-13 release. He goes on to report that the cpu will be based off an ARM Eagle core, a setup in similar fasion tried by Transmeta, and explains a whole host of problems Nvidia is possibly facing, ranging from x86 licensing to performance, before ultimately declaring the project just isn't feasible.
Harsh rhetoric or hard reality?
