Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Three months ago, on the 15th of March, Xing Hai Technologies released the first generation Qinglong CPU based on the “Weave Architecture.” The product code was Dragon-1K. In CPU operating mode, its performance was roughly equivalent to Intel’s i7-8700K, scoring about 140000 points in comprehensive test runs. In GPU operating mode, its graphics performance was equivalent to NVIDIA’s GTX1060 graphics card. Its running score was also about 140000 points. Its performance was enough for everyday office, gaming, and entertainment. Its individual price was only 1,000 dollars.
Moreover, the simplified version of the Xuanwu First Gen (Turtle-1K) built based on the Dragon-1K used in laptops was even as cheap as 350 dollars. Although the CPU’s price-performance ratio was rather high, it had been ridiculed and degraded by many people due to it falling behind Intel’s most advanced CPU by a huge margin in terms of performance. Chen Jin even encountered malicious interviews by foreign evaluators that deliberately wanted to embarrass him publicly. At that moment the reply Chen Jin gave was: Wait 115 days, we will far exceed you.
This triggered a massive response on the internet both in and out of the country.
“Bluff”, “Acting”, “Disgrace”, “Best joke of the year”…
There were countless condemning and mocking comments targeted against him.
But Chen Jin was not joking. This day was the 28th of June, 105 days after the incident, 10 days from delivering a slap in the foreigners’ faces. Zhong Xin International did perform rather well. They were not dragging Chen Jin behind. After going through a three-month research period, they finally tackled the production issues of the 10-nanometer desktop CPU, successfully realizing tape out. They could now produce the greatly enhanced Qinglong Second Gen CPU (Dragon-2K).
Through the phone, Zhang Wei Jin explained to Chen Jin’s avatar, “Mr. Chen, we have taken two approaches to solve the issues on the 10-nm desktop CPU’s conformity rate. Firstly, we tuned down the lithography speed of the super-resolution lithography machine by approximately a third. This reduced the error rate by a significant margin. Secondly, we altered the lithography method. We split the whole CPU into eight cores, turning it into eight modules, then combined them back together to reform a complete CPU… it’s somewhat similar to building blocks. The assembling method added a lot of procedures to the production line. Production efficiency dropped quite a lot as well. But if we do not do so, it would be difficult to increase conformity rates. Its consequences would be, with four times the performance and about five times the production cost, the Qinglong Second Gen CPU’s individual pricing cannot be made lower than 4,000 dollars per unit.”
Chen Jin nodded. A four times improvement in performance would imply that its test run score would be boosted from the Qinglong First Gen’s 14000 points to above 56000 points. On the other hand, Intel’s most powerful iX-9900K’s test run score was only at around 30000 points. Its performance almost doubled its opponents at an instant. However, due to realistic concerns on heat dissipation and stability, the Qinglong Second Gen’s operating frequency was only 3.2 Gigahertz… its settings were rather conservative, just a normal 220-watt TDP Air Cooler sufficed its usage. Intel’s iX-9900K, on the contrary, had an operating frequency as high as 5 Gigahertz and even 5.5 Gigahertz under turbo mode. The heat produced could only be suppressed by water cooling. In order to squeeze the performance of the CPU to the extreme, many overclockers were able to push the CPU into smoke.
For a CPU like the iX-9900K that used graphene cooling, its operating frequency was once pushed by overclockers to an exaggerating 9 Gigahertz while scoring a staggering 54000 points in the running test. Based on the score, the performance of the Qinglong Second Gen CPU was only slightly above the iX-9900K. It wasn’t as “far exceeding” as what Chen Jin said.
However, Xing Hai Technologies’ desktop CPU could also perform overclocking! A better CPU integrated with graphene cooling technology and great potential in overclocking was built based on the Qinglong Second Gen: the “Susaku Second Gen” CPU (Phoenix-2K). The base operating speed of the Phoenix-2K was 3.6 Gigahertz and 4.0 Gigahertz under turbo mode… its initial performance was improved by at least 12% from the Qinglong Second Gen. As for how capable its overclocking abilities were and what would be its peak score in running tests, it all depended on how well the computer wizards could push the Susaku series.
Aside from the Qinglong series for normal usage, the Susaku series made for computer fanatics, and the Xuanwu series used on laptops, there was another one prepared for business users: the “White Tiger” series. This series featured high performance, high stability, and long-term operation. Qinglong, White Tiger, Susaku, and Xuanwu. These four beasts of a CPU signified the rise of domestic desktop CPU and blew the horn calling for the Z’s to completely replace foreign CPU. Moreover, due to the special characteristics of the “Weave Architecture” where transistors could be freely combined, these CPU’s would be equivalent to GPU’s with a similar score. It was said that NVIDIA’s RTX2080 graphics card only scored around 450000.
“Let’s proceed. Don’t let those who are watching us wait too long.” Besides, for the conference of this second-generation CPU, Chen Jin would control his avatar robot to make a “public” appearance and “personally” host the event.
…
At Eight o’clock at night, Xing Hai Technologies’ new product conference began. In the limelight of up to 10 thousand audience members, Chen Jin, who was wearing an ear microphone and fiddling with something in his hands, strolled to the center of the stage. He turned to the audience and kept quiet for a brief moment.
Out of everyone’s expectation, there was no cumbersome and inexhaustible introduction about the second-generation CPU’s performance parameters made by the tycoon standing on stage. Contrarily, he slowly lifted the flat, square-shaped object in his hands. The audience sitting in the front row could even see the golden needles on the underside of the square object. The tycoon’s stern expression was suddenly smudged with hostility. With a growl-like voice, he said, “Are you afraid? This is our ‘core’ deterrent!”
Having said that, the tycoon walked off the stage. The “shortest product conference” in history thus ended. But a data form appeared on the big screen behind the stage, displaying the performance parameters of the four desktop CPUs.
The running score was specifically highlighted. The running score of all four CPUs with different positioning were 550 thousand, 510 thousand, 680 thousand, and 160 thousand respectively.
The backcourt experience zone was opened. All audience members could now experience Xing Hai Technologies’ second-generation desktop CPU’s powerful performance and witness them going ham on foreign products. Seeing was believing!
…
On that night, the whole internet was flipped around by Z netizens who were overwhelmed with pride.
“Are you afraid? This is our ‘core’ deterrent!”
“Are you afraid? This is our ‘core’ deterrent!”
“Are you afraid? This is our ‘core’ deterrent!”
This phrase was from end to end in all social media, especially under the official Weibo of Intel, Nvidia, the M Embassy, and some other institutions. This phrase queued up for some thousands or even ten thousand times on their wall in an oddly neat manner.
…
In the M nation, at the White House, Dana Trump was looking at a video showcasing a young man that haughtily spouted words with a chilling and vicious expression on his face. “Are you afraid? This is our ‘core’ deterrent!”
After understanding what he meant from his translator and concurrently remembering the assault panickily reported by the CIA, Dana Trump’s face was flushing and turning pale alternatingly. He grabbed his chest, almost vomiting blood in that instant.