What if you don't need AES encryption? Now you're just paying for gates you don't need. What if you don't need SIMD instructions? Now you're just paying for gates you don't need.
It doesn't matter. Modern processors have the complete opposite problem. It isn't that transistors are expensive, it's that they're so cheap you end up with too many and they generate too much heat. If you can stick a block on there which 60% of your customers can use and the other 40% can shut off to leave more headroom for frequency scaling, it's a win.
Also, the number of gates you need for a network controller is small.
It doesn't matter. Modern processors have the complete opposite problem. It isn't that transistors are expensive, it's that they're so cheap you end up with too many and they generate too much heat. If you can stick a block on there which 60% of your customers can use and the other 40% can shut off to leave more headroom for frequency scaling, it's a win.
Also, the number of gates you need for a network controller is small.