ARM CPUs reaching laptop performance levels?

[Bambew]

I've been thinking about things to come.

Considering that Windows 8 is getting support for ARM processors
Considering the introduction of a Phone/Computer OS hybrid by Canonical
Considering the push of Apple for expansion using external devices through Thunderbolt
Considering Apple's "Back to the Mac" efforts
Considering that old computers are quite capable of running recent OSes and software, implying that hardware requirement for OS and software is kind of slowing down
Considering the convertible tablet devices that we see appearing on the market, like the Asus transformer and the Windows Surface

How much time do you think, until ARM processors reach a performance level high enough that we will see phones and tablets being dockable and turn into full-fledged computers, if it ever happens?

 

[Jaydip]

Welcome to the forums.You have considered a lot of things in a very short time so have some rest Now to answer your question it depends.When ARM will reach current desktop performance levels Intel/AMD won't stand idle.So the performance delta will decrease with time bit I believe it will always be there as they are for different market segments.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

I've been thinking about things to come.

Considering that Windows 8 is getting support for ARM processors
Considering the introduction of a Phone/Computer OS hybrid by Canonical
Considering the push of Apple for expansion using external devices through Thunderbolt
Considering Apple's "Back to the Mac" efforts
Considering that old computers are quite capable of running recent OSes and software, implying that hardware requirement for OS and software is kind of slowing down
Considering the convertible tablet devices that we see appearing on the market, like the Asus transformer and the Windows Surface

How much time do you think, until ARM processors reach a performance level high enough that we will see phones and tablets being dockable and turn into full-fledged computers, if it ever happens?

If it ever happens? It already has. The vast majority of consumers are perfectly happy with the computing power offered to them by their cell phone. Enthusiasts like us are the minority.

I would imagine most corporations are like the one I work for. Still running P4's with 512mb of ram and 20gb hard drives.

 

[SlowSpyder]

If it ever happens? It already has. The vast majority of consumers are perfectly happy with the computing power offered to them by their cell phone. Enthusiasts like us are the minority.

I would imagine most corporations are like the one I work for. Still running P4's with 512mb of ram and 20gb hard drives.

I think a lot of people are happy with that much computing power because they are using flash for storage and running really light weight operating systems.

 

[pelov]

I would imagine most corporations are like the one I work for. Still running P4's with 512mb of ram and 20gb hard drives.

A lot are. Win7 only surpassed XP recently as the most popular OS so that's a telling statistic.

The question to the OP is what kind of performance are you talking about? Current laptop CPUs or of years past? If the A15 can scale as high as they say it can, it might not be a bad netbook-type CPU. If you're wondering whether it can replace your Sandy/Ivy laptop, then no. That likely won't happen for another 5+ years

 

[OBLAMA2009]

go check out the new chromebook and youll see that even the best arm chips dont come close to intel laptop levels. its gonna be a while...

 

[VulgarDisplay]

go check out the new chromebook and youll see that even the best arm chips dont come close to intel laptop levels. its gonna be a while...

You mean they don't come close for you. The other 98% of the people in the world wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

All the tablets out there right now are basically giant cellphones, and they are replacing Laptop/Desktops for more and more people each day.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

You mean they don't come close for you. The other 98% of the people in the world wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

All the tablets out there right now are basically giant cellphones, and they are replacing Laptop/Desktops for more and more people each day.

you mean people dont try to do the things on tablets that they do on desktops/laptops because they know they cant. when you use your intel machine you typically have open a couple browser windows with tabs, a couple, applications like word/excel, email etc... and you just cant come close to doing that with any tablet and wont be able to in the near future

 

[pelov]

you mean people dont try to do the things on tablets that they do on desktops/laptops because they know they cant. when you use your intel machine you typically have open a couple browser windows with tabs, a couple, applications like word/excel, email etc... and you just cant come close to doing that with any tablet and wont be able to in the near future

While that's true, that doesn't mean Intel and AMD are making oodles of $$$. For most people's general usage, their desktops/laptops they already have are capable enough to do that and the only device they're upgrading on a frequent cadence is their phone/tablet.

His point is that most people don't use their PC that way, and if they do they don't have a need for a more powerful CPU. You don't need much processing power to Facebook or watch a movie in HD, and if you need more processing power your several year old desktop is enough.

 

[TuxDave]

You mean they don't come close for you. The other 98% of the people in the world wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

All the tablets out there right now are basically giant cellphones, and they are replacing Laptop/Desktops for more and more people each day.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6422/samsung-chromebook-xe303-review-testing-arms-cortex-a15/5

Hiccups and lag is something that's SUPER noticable.

Technically the Chromebook can do a lot, but for anything other than browsing, YouTube and Google docs use I wouldn't get my hopes up. The heavier apps just don't run smoothly on the platform.

Really? Youtube? So yes, maybe 98% of the population will notice but not care because they're already used to working on clunky old machines.

 

[9enesis]

it would be interesting to see some arm/win8 performance review....on a notebook that is.

 

[OBLAMA2009]

it would be interesting to see some arm/win8 performance review....on a notebook that is.

go check out the new chromebook. its slightly worse than atom

 

[pelov]

go check out the new chromebook. its slightly worse than atom

The Cortex A15 is fast. Across the board we're seeing a 40 - 65% increase in performance over a dual-core Atom. Although it's not clear how performance will be impacted as companies work to stick Cortex A15 based SoCs in smartphones with tighter power/thermal budgets, in notebooks (and perhaps even tablets) the Cortex A15 looks capable of delivering a good 1 - 2 generation boost over Intel's original Atom core.

Can't really compare it to a current-gen Atom core as there is no current gen Atom to compare it to that's being stuck inside the same product and OS. It is a decent little chip, though. Underpowered for laptop use, yea, but faster than the Netbook Atoms. The question is how high will the clock speed scale architecturally. It still won't offer anywhere near the performance of a recently released mobile CPU

 

[LoneNinja]

Personally I don't think arm or tablets will replace the pc/laptop any time soon, but I use my pc far less often because of my phone and tablet

 

[happysmiles]

ARM just said they had a processor that's 3x more powerful than their current ones by 2014.

They're catching up quickly.
http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/30/3576560/arm-cortex-a57-cortex-a53-cpu-core

 

[pelov]

ARM just said they had a processor that's 3x more powerful than their current ones by 2014.

They're catching up quickly.
http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/30/3576560/arm-cortex-a57-cortex-a53-cpu-core

The A57 is based on the current A15, with additional tweaks and 64-bit compatibility. It's also meant to scale up in clock speed by a pretty big amount; 3ghz+ iirc. If you want a rough estimate for the performance then just scale up the clock speed on a current A15 and benchmark scores

 

[cytg111]

defn. doable, plus, allthough i am still hoping for the cloud as a concept to "pass", i guess i must brace myself for it to stay (shudder, hate it.).
Consider services like

http://www.cloudcompiling.com/

Alot of stuff is moving to the cloud, so you gotta ask yourself what you really need those local horsepowers for ... gaming? ..
gaming on the PC .. has been predicted dead for a while now right? And judging from all the crappy console ports, well .... Not a future I like at all, but hey, dont shoot the messenger.

 

[frozentundra123456]

You mean they don't come close for you. The other 98% of the people in the world wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

All the tablets out there right now are basically giant cellphones, and they are replacing Laptop/Desktops for more and more people each day.

My feeling is that they may be supplementing the main computer, be it desktop or laptop,
but I am not sure that they are replacing them. And I really dont think you can judge what the "other 98%" of the people can or cannot tell. But I can tell you if I had to do it on my tablet, I would give up online banking and bill paying and mail it in before I would use a tablet to do it.

 

[Keysplayr]

If all you're doing is surfing, using Word, email, facebook type games, then I don't see anyone having any sort of wants if using an ARM CPU.
Now add gaming, video editing, Server applications, databases, and ARM may not be what you want. At least at this moment. There are some pretty good designs using ARM CPU's for server use. And the low power usage is a plus.

 

[Nemesis 1]

go check out the new chromebook and youll see that even the best arm chips dont come close to intel laptop levels. its gonna be a while...

Airmont is due in 2015 said to be = to a 6 core AMD cpu . In a Phone by 2015 I would say arm has work cut out for itself

 

[ShintaiDK]

Airmont is due in 2015 said to be = to a 6 core AMD cpu . In a Phone by 2015 I would say arm has work cut out for itself

Exactly. And by 2015 standards, even Airmont will be considered slow.

There is a reason why sales are as they are. People simply dont have enough performance and wont have....forever?

 

[frozentundra123456]

If all you're doing is surfing, using Word, email, facebook type games, then I don't see anyone having any sort of wants if using an ARM CPU.
Now add gaming, video editing, Server applications, databases, and ARM may not be what you want. At least at this moment. There are some pretty good designs using ARM CPU's for server use. And the low power usage is a plus.

The problems with a tablet are no keyboard/mouse, lack of software, poor security because of lack of software, slow response. Personally, I refuse to use google docs, so no spreadsheet or word processing either. I do have a tablet, and I like it for web surfing and watching netflix/low res videos. That is all it does well. It is not even good for e-mail, because the touch interface is so frustrating. Facebook games, you have to be kidding. It wont even play bejewelled blitz, the game is a slideshow.

 

[Ravynmagi]

How timely... A rumor says Apple could be switching to ARM processors for it's Macs within a couple years.

http://bgr.com/2012/11/05/apple-intel-rumor/

Of course Intel still has some time to prove it can do better to compete against ARM with very low powered processors.

 

[Haserath]

How timely... A rumor says Apple could be switching to ARM processors for it's Macs within a couple years.

http://bgr.com/2012/11/05/apple-intel-rumor/

Of course Intel still has some time to prove it can do better to compete against ARM with very low powered processors.

Apple may switch to ARM, because Apple can design them and get them cheaper?

They already have a custom Apple swift SOC for their phone and tablet.

 

[ShintaiDK]

How timely... A rumor says Apple could be switching to ARM processors for it's Macs within a couple years.

http://bgr.com/2012/11/05/apple-intel-rumor/

Of course Intel still has some time to prove it can do better to compete against ARM with very low powered processors.

Its a respin of the usual rumour.

http://semiaccurate.com/2011/05/05/apple-dumps-intel-from-laptop-lines/

Before that it was Apple switches to AMD and so on.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/computers/will-apple-use-amds-new-fusion-apus-in-its-future-products/4279

There is no performance alternative to Intel. ARM is simply turtle slow.