You can also add AMD's lack luster cache structure that they've been messing with per each generation but choose not to fix. If AMD can re-design both the IMC and cache, they'll be way better off in both efficiency and performance.
Mate, they need to design better 90% of the things in their CPU's
Let us spice up the things.
Situation right now reminds me of the late K7 days. Thunderbird, Palomino, Thoroughbred A/B and Barton... Same old guys, same old critters in terms of performance margin... I had them all, they actually so sucked tech wise, although P4 sucked also altough they are now like these
tractors(couldn't hold my self with this deja vu), I loved the Tualatin much.
They need to scrap everything again. That's my only suggestion... Their hybrid path they currently are introducing is for the sake of servers, to introduce a universal computable machine model doing simple math on GPU and complex on x86 part, no additional TESLA or Larrafailbree, but they are rushing too fast in my opinion, they have not the balls for it now. To me it is all useless, they are half baked stillborns from Frankensteins lab.
And currently no useful software is made for it either OS wise. If M$ or Linux will introduce a heterogeneous OS that really uses data smartly and decides witch calculation it will be like, at last a OS from the new century. A winrar extraction, antivirus or even the heck pr0n video - hey GPU wake up and work, or even a dedicated ARM part in the CPU whatever it will be like just a simple math and same with the doing complex math CPU. Then yes yes - only apu's FTW. CPU is a dinosaur from stone age to me then as for a buyer.
So the salt is, that the data scheduler in the APU must be very tightly binded with the OS kernel. And apps should be compiled that way also with certain flags. And yes, we have a revolution. Greener world, less electricity bill, and the heck a faster cooler computer. So we are mimicking what mobile devices will actually do in near future. Still now for all mobile OS'es, GPU only does the UI part and still taxing with large I/O and memory overhead, so OS wise it is like a workaround still, not a new approach. Intel is an idiot and makes it even worse, for android introducing a recompiler on the fly to use ARM apps on their stupid/hot x86 crippled Atom. It is complete a nonsense evolution wise.
Intel can afford that due to their fab technology that currently only they had in the world. They can build a CPU like that any moment actually. But they are lazy, as there is NO competitor, they just die-shrink what they have = invest zero money in R/D and sell! = profit still counts as win, despite the stupid way how it was achieved.
AMD could do this and evolve only notebook mobile solutions and save money and R/D for desktops, and make simple behemoth chips like K8 was. It is funny to see that this chip still performs worse than a proper K10.5. I still think that the best thing was using GPU integrated in North Bridge for office home theater systems. Beat me if I am wrong...