Modern x86_64 and ARM designers absolutely know a lot about computers, and the expectations of modern software. That’s why we see constant advancements in thing

Modern x86_64 and ARM designers absolutely know a lot about computers, and the expectations of modern software. That’s why we see constant advancements in things like vector instructions... Perhaps the designers know a lot, but Intel and AMD seem to have been driven by sales & marketing, not by knowledgeable designers. Look at the list of "features" being regularly added to Intel CPUs - and then look at how many have been depreciated or removed, and consider the large proportion that have never been widely used. Don't waste those transistors - give me the simpler & cleaner architecture, and a little more cache.