Featured in this episode of Chaos Lever
Well it was bound to happen, right? With chipmakers like AMD having 64-bit only versions already, and Window 11 having the same limitation, Intel is finally looking to drop all the old backwards compatible cruft (aka “legacy modes”) that their current lines of processors support in favor of a new chip design named “x86-S,” with the S meaning “Simplified.”
The goals at least are simple, and ironically similar to ones Microsoft had with Windows 11- at a certain point, designing for the future while maintaining unlimited backwards compatibility is a problem. Now it’s true that all the 16/32-bit modes are emulated, take up a tiny fraction of the CPU, and switching into 64-bit ignores it entirely. So some are questioning the point- there’s little need to update it at this point, just copy/paste it.
There’s also the question of patents to consider- the x86-64 ones have expired, but could this new “X86S” mean a chip design novel enough for a new patent? And would that make any difference at all in the marketplace or the datacenter? Only your local patent attorney knows for sure!