Embedded x86: keystone of your non-PC design?

Those of you considering PC building blocks for your non-PC designs would do well to keep in mind, as your counterparts who are veterans of this architecture direction have already learned, that placing your stakes on a PC roll of the dice isn’t a sure bet. On the one hand, you’ll benefit
from the tremendous pace of innovation endemic to the PC business, along with low prices resulting from the hundreds of millions of PCs sold worldwide each year. On the other hand, that same tremendous pace of innovation also translates to a tremendous pace of obsolescence, which can be problematic for systems with production cycles that measure longer than six months!

Assuming that you build enough sourcing flexibility into your design to comprehend supply impermanence, PC-tailored microprocessors can provide a cost-effective means of achieving your system’s performance targets. And, with the PC industry’s amplified power-consumption focus, battery life, power-supply size, and heat dissipation aren’t the concerns they might have previously been, either. Traditional CPU and DSP suppliers haven’t stood still in the face of the PC-processor onslaught, however, and their alternative solutions remain optimal in many situations. A solid understanding of the historical trends, current status, and future plans of the primary x86 CPU suppliers will enable you to assess which path to take for your next design (see sidebar “Montalv-who?”).