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Geek Culture / What Makes ARM More Power Efficient Than x86

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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 13th Mar 2011 03:05 Edited at: 13th Mar 2011 04:59
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So here i am again, repopulating the geek culture board with microprocessor related questions! Either way, why are is the ARM architecture more power efficient than the x86 architecture processors? Is it the smaller decoder on the ARM, or the fact that it uses RISC instead of CISC? Thanks for answering! Lol maybe i should consider asking this on a forum that deals with this kind of stuff!

Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place. Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to debug it.
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PAGAN_old
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Posted: 13th Mar 2011 03:16
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i dont know what ARM is but this sounds interesting, i like this kind of stuff

dont hate people who rip you off,cheat and get away with it, learn from them
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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 13th Mar 2011 03:55
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You dont know what ARM is!?!??! If you have ever used a cellphone, handheld gaming device, iPod touch or iPhone, chances are you have used an ARM! (certain for those last 2) It is a low power, high performance, simple architecture that is used in pretty much every mobile device. Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arm_architecture

Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place. Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to debug it.
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TheComet
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Posted: 13th Mar 2011 04:22
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Err... ARM is a brand name of micro processors, where x86 is an instruction set. How is it possible to compare the two with power consumption?

TheComet

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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 13th Mar 2011 05:00
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*edits first post a bit*

You do know what i mean! Im trying to compare ARM processors to processors built on the x86 architecture.

Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place. Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to debug it.
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PAGAN_old
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Posted: 13th Mar 2011 06:39
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Quote: "If you have ever used a cellphone, handheld gaming device, iPod touch or iPhone, chances are you have used an ARM! (certain for those last 2) "


damn i never used any of those

dont hate people who rip you off,cheat and get away with it, learn from them
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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 13th Mar 2011 08:08
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So... You have never used a cellphone, you have never used a handheld gamer, (Gameboy, DS, etc?) or anything like that?!?! Well, then, refer to the wikipedia page i gave ya!

Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place. Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to debug it.
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Interplanetary Funk
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Posted: 13th Mar 2011 13:42
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Quote: "ARM is a brand name of micro processors, where x86 is an instruction set"

no, ARM and x86 are both ARCHITECTURES.

Get on my level
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Diggsey
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Posted: 13th Mar 2011 17:06 Edited at: 13th Mar 2011 17:07
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x86 processors use microcode to execute the individual instructions whereas ARM processors hard-code each instruction. This means that ARM processors can get the same effective speed for a lower clock speed and a lower clock speed means reduced power consumption. The advantage of using microcode in x86 is that it makes the instructions more flexible, and they can be changed easily if a problem is found during development without redesigning the CPU.

[b]
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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 13th Mar 2011 17:55
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Thank you!

@planetary funk You are right...

Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place. Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to debug it.
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PAGAN_old
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Posted: 13th Mar 2011 18:39
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Quote: "So... You have never used a cellphone, you have never used a handheld gamer, (Gameboy, DS, etc?) or anything like that?!?! Well, then, refer to the wikipedia page i gave ya! "


i am real old school

dont hate people who rip you off,cheat and get away with it, learn from them
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crispex
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Posted: 13th Mar 2011 18:45
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ARM processors use a lot less power because the architecture is built to make it lighter, which is why they are considerably much slower than x86 or x64 processors. It has significantly less speed, which means less power being consumed.

I just now realized I've had a typo in my signature for the past 3 years.
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PrimalBeans
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Posted: 17th Mar 2011 09:03
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Err... ARM is a brand name of micro processors, where x86 is an instruction set. How is it possible to compare the two with power consumption?

TheComet I know youve been corrected already... but the corrections are correct in a manner... basically the design is one that intel designed as an architecture and was later copied by both cyrix and amd. It is generally used as an instruction set term because it is compatible across many late model processors. If your familiar with assembly language youll see that its been used with processors with the x86 set. Assembly uses the registers of the cpu its designed for to carry out tasks. While intel created the design it became a common architecture among many companies... (the history of which included the law suit intel vs cyrix and amd being licensed the designs thought intel... creating clones of intels processors.) So really both of you are right partially. To think though that Darkbasic dude isnt 'comparing apples to apples' isnt all that right. Hes comparing intels early model architecture with another architecture. The fact that it became standard and copied is not that relevant. BUT your not wrong... so dont fret...

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TheComet
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Posted: 17th Mar 2011 09:56
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Quote: "no, ARM and x86 are both ARCHITECTURES."


So they are... I stand corrected.

TheComet

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Interplanetary Funk
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Posted: 18th Mar 2011 00:14 Edited at: 18th Mar 2011 00:21
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@PrimalBeans
Quote: "ARM is a brand name of micro processors, where x86 is an instruction set"

look up 5 posts.
ARM is an architecture that companies LICENSE. x86 is also an architecture which (i think) is licensed, they are both instruction set in the sense that the chips are ARCHITECTURALLY designed to run those commands, therefore, they are architectures.

(I'm studying electronic engineering at level 3 and am pretty certain of this)
edit:
just to back this up
Quote: "The term x86 refers to a family of instruction set architectures"

(ok it's a set of architectures, but still they must conform to a certain hardware standard)
Quote: "The ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA) "


After a quick google, I have concluded they are both INSTRUCTION SET ARCHITECTURES and as such the hardware design used to accept these instruction sets will be almost perfectly standard and WILL affect power consumption.

Get on my level
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Dark Java Dude 64
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Posted: 18th Mar 2011 00:22
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Planetary Funk is certainly correct.

Debugging is twice as hard as writing the code in the first place. Therefore, if you write the code as cleverly as possible, you are, by definition, not smart enough to debug it.
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