Re: News : ARM Trying to Buy AmperComputing

On 16/01/2025 21:35, Computer Nerd Kev wrote:

ARM SoCs for "ultra-low power" exist for things like smart watches,
laptop makers just don't use them. Note that the big screen on a
laptop is a major power draw too, although a very niche product
using a large eInk display with some of the new partial-update and
colour features might be useful for some people.
 

All true, but my original point was that MIP for MIP ARM is having trouble outperforming *86 at lower power.
Its easy to turn down the clock rate and reduce onchip cache and so on and use way less power.
But not keep the performance as well.

Finding the minimum-power ARM chip able to run Linux would be an
interesting exercise. I gather Linux requires a minimum set of ARM
extensions, as well as an MMU, which may exclude many of the SoC
options intended for embedded applications. Software is as much of
the problem as hardware.

Well the Pi ZERO has to come close.
--
"Strange as it seems, no amount of learning can cure stupidity, and higher education positively fortifies it."
    - Stephen Vizinczey