[Software] The AVX-512 ties the software to the Intel ecosystem

[WilkerCSBD]

Intel has been betting on AVX-512 instructions for years, which bring with them a great controversy with them, since they have garnered a large amount of both praise and criticism for their implementation in Intel CPUs, especially due to the fact that they have consequences in some CPUs like clock speed drops when using them. But Intel has reason to bet on this set of instructions

AVX-512 instructions are the only SIMD-type instructions of that size, allowing CPUs to perform instructions for multimedia, artificial intelligence, and other algorithms that benefit from being calculated in parallel.

The AVX-512 ties the software to the Intel ecosystem
Intel AVX-512

Although I have AMD and Intel use the same ISA and therefore the same set of instructions, in the case of the AVX-512 it can be said that they are included in a superset that goes beyond the usual standard. Adding new instructions to an ISA by a manufacturer is not new and gives you an advantage when a program executes them. Competitive CPUs cannot execute them, as they do not have the internal circuitry to handle such instructions.

This means that if a branch of the code makes use of the AVX-512 instructions then it will benefit from the extra performance. In AVX-512 instructions the thing goes much further, since it is not a simple extension in the number of SIMD operands as there are additional instructions that are not in lower precisions.

In the domestic market this is not important, since maximum compatibility is sought, but in markets such as scientific computing, data centers, the artificial intelligence market, and in general all markets with computing demands greater than the domestic, the rules are different. For example, a scientific laboratory may have developed medical software that makes use of the AVX-512 instructions, since its use already ties that software to Intel processors.

AMD giving the arm to twist with the AVX-512 in Zen 4?
Zen 4 Fake Logo

Rumors about AMD's next great architecture for CPUs, Zen 4, may have adopted the AVX-512 instructions. Which is surprising after years in which AMD had bet on what is called heterogeneous computing, consisting of certain types of algorithms being executed by the GPU.

Has the idea worked for AMD? The reality is that no, since the market that benefits the most from the CPU-GPU duo is not taking advantage of these characteristics well. What's more, AMD's share of the market with an SoC for for example scientific or server computing is non-existent. They have recently released AMD Instinct cards based on their CDNA architecture, but NVIDIA dominates that market with an iron fist.

 

On the other hand, although on paper the CPU and GPU combo has strength, Intel that does not have strength in GPUs and NVIDIA that does not have it in CPUs, have forced a situation in which the CPU-GPU duo is not used and if this is used does not benefit AMD. Hence, it was forced to adopt the AVX-512 instruction set in Zen 4. In order to convince Intel customers who use those instructions to go over the side.