X86 architecture and ARM architecture are two mainstream CPU architectures. The X86 architecture CPU is the leader in the PC server industry, and the ARM architecture CPU is the leader in the mobile terminal.
The X86 architecture and the arm architecture are actually the difference between CISC and RISC. Many users do not understand the difference between the two. In fact, their fields are not the same, and their pursuits are also different.
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The difference between X86 architecture and Arm architecture
1. Pursue difference:
X86 mainly pursues performance, but it will lead to high power consumption and no energy saving, while ARM pursues energy saving and low power consumption, but its performance is poor compared with X86.
2. Different fields:
ARM is mainly used in mobile terminals, such as mobile phones, tablets, etc., while X86 is mainly used in PCs such as Intel and AMD, and X86 servers.
3. Essentially different:
X86 adopts CISC complex instruction set computer, while what ARM adopts is RISC reduced instruction set computer.
4. The difference between CISC and RISC
CISC is a complex instruction set CPU with many instructions, which makes the CPU circuit design complex and consumes a lot of power, but the design of the corresponding compiler is simple.
RISC's reduced instruction set CPU has fewer instructions and relatively low power consumption, but the compiler design is very complicated. Its key lies in the ability to complete multiple instructions in one clock cycle with the pipeline operation.
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X86 VS ARM
The X86 architecture (The X86 architecture) is the computer language instruction set executed by the microprocessor. It refers to the standard number abbreviation of an intel general-purpose computer series, and also identifies a set of general-purpose computer instruction sets. x86 refers to a series of Intel 8086-based and backward compatible CPU instruction set architectures.
In the early days, Intel named processors in a number format such as 80x86, including Intel 8086, 80186, 80286, 80386, and 80486. Since it ends with "86", its architecture is called "x86". Since numbers cannot be used as registered trademarks, Intel and its competitors use registrable names for their new generation of processors, such as Pentium, Core, and Ryzen (launched by AMD).
The 32-bit architecture of x86 is generally called IA-32, and its full name is "Intel Architecture, 32-bit". Its 64-bit architecture was pioneered by AMD and is known as "AMD64". Later, it was also adopted by Intel, and it was called "Intel 64". Also commonly referred to as "x86-64", "x64".
It is worth noting that Intel has also launched the IA-64 architecture. Although the name is similar to "IA-32", the two are completely incompatible and do not belong to the x86 instruction set architecture family. The generalized x86 architecture refers to intel and amd CPUs that support x86 and x64 architectures, but does not include ia64 (Itanium)
The ARM architecture, once called the Advanced RISC Machine (Advanced RISC Machine) and earlier known as the Acorn RISC Machine, is a 32-bit RISC processor architecture. There are also derivative products based on ARM design, important products include Marvell's XScale architecture and Texas Instruments' OMAP series.
The ARM family accounts for 75% of all 32-bit embedded processors, making it the largest 32-bit architecture in the world.
ARM processor is widely used in embedded system design, low power consumption and energy saving, very suitable for mobile communication field. Consumer electronics, such as portable devices (PDAs, mobile phones, multimedia players, handheld video games, and computers), computer peripherals (hard drives, desktop routers), and even military equipment such as onboard computers for missiles .
Under the trend of increasing demand for data centers, the competition for core chips is intensifying. ARM has entered the server market. The area of an ARM single core is only 1/7 of that of an X86 core. With the same chip size, more cores can be inherited. Through the "core" approach, the ARM architecture processor can maintain low power consumption under the rapid performance improvement.
According to the data given by Ampere, the performance of its CPU is 3 times higher than that of traditional x86 processors, and the performance-to-power ratio is nearly 4 times ahead. Compared to x86 server CPUs, the Ampere Altra series can use 50% of the power consumption and provide 200% of the performance.
In recent years, with the rise of the ARM architecture, many giants have begun to develop their own ARM-based server chips, including foreign Amazon, Google and even Microsoft, and domestic Tencent, Alibaba, Huawei, etc. have actively participated in it.
Qualcomm, which once failed, seems to be trying to enter the server chip market again. Last year, it acquired the chip start-up company Nuvia, and the goal of Nuvia was to create high-performance ARM server chips.
ARM's server chips have three major target markets, namely cloud computing, HPC and edge computing.