Intel's x86 processor architecture has been the dominant CPU instruction set for many decades, since IBM decided to put the Intel 8086 microprocessor into its first Personal Computer. Later, in 2006, Apple decided to replace their PowerPC based processors in Macintosh computers with Intel chips, too. This was the time when x86 became the only option for the masses to use and develop all their software on. While mobile phones and embedded devices are mostly Arm today, it is clear that x86 is still the dominant ISA (Instruction Set Architecture) for desktop computers today, with both Intel and AMD producing processors for it. Those processors are going inside millions of PCs that are used every day. Today I would like to share my thoughts on the demise of the x86 platform and how it might vanish in favor of the RISC-based Arm architecture.

Both AMD and Intel as producer, and millions of companies as consumer, have invested heavily in the x86 architecture, so why would x86 ever go extinct if "it just works"? The answer is that it doesn't just work.

GIGABYTE Technology, an industry leader in high-performance servers, graphics and gaming platforms with a broad portfolio of workstation products, and Cavium, Inc., a leading provider of semiconductor products for enterprise, data center, cloud, wired and wireless networking, today announced the availability of ThunderXStation: the industry's first 64-bit Armv8 workstation platform based on Cavium's flagship ThunderX2 processor.

Workstations are standalone platforms with high performance CPUs, lots of memory and excellent graphics capabilities, widely used for advanced software development. ThunderXStation integrates dual socket ThunderX2 motherboard in a 4U tower suitable for office environments. Arm has a very strong ecosystem with millions of developers and is the processor of choice for a variety of verticals such as mobile, embedded and IoT. Arm software developers currently utilize binary translators and cross compilers resulting in increased development and debug cycles. By delivering native performance and eliminating the need for cross compilers, ThunderXStation simplifies software development for Arm and significantly improves time to solution delivery.

GIGABYTE Technology, a leading producer of high-performance server hardware, and Cavium, Inc., a leading provider of semiconductor products that enable intelligent processing for enterprise, data center, cloud, wired and wireless networking, today announced production availability of GIGABYTE's Arm server platforms, based on ThunderX2 SoC product family.

GIGABYTE, with its award-winning product portfolio, has long been recognized in the industry as a leader in design and innovation. With a broad offering of commercially-available Arm-based server solutions, GIGABYTE continues to demonstrate engineering expertise in system-level integration. Through its world-wide presence, GIGABYTE is uniquely positioned to accelerate the adoption and deployment of ThunderX2-based systems into the cloud and hyperscale data center applications.