(2013-09-22, 10:19)MediaPi Wrote: To say ARM is caught up with Intel - well how can you say that when Intel have just joined the race?
I think the point being made was broader than just mobile SoCs. The A7 core is seriously impressive, clock-for-clock it's faster than some of AMDs last-generation cores. What it shows is that maybe there's a chance that ARM chips could go toe-to-toe with x86 in other markets, eg. servers, and not just micro-servers where they're being proposed currently. I think that's why people were getting excited.
Quote:You raise a good point about Bay Trail using more power. But its pretty impressive the acceleration of Intel's inroads to match ARM's low power usage. And achieving that low power usage will come really soon. They have shown that they can compete now. Since Intel have their own Fabs. They have an advantage over ARM.
I'm not knocking Intel at all, their recent low-power stuff has also been very impressive.
Quote:My point was that Intel are at the heels of ARM in terms of mobile SOC's. Which was non existent a year ago. Bay Trail is their first good shot at mobile SOC. Also because its x86 architecure, it will always be attractive to consumers. I will give Intel a year before they get better power/watt usage SOC compared to ARM. ARMS days are numbered.
I'm not convinced about that. Firstly A7 shows one of ARMs strengths - A7 is an
Apple core based on the ARM architecture, it's not just some pre-baked ARM core. ARM offers hardware designers the scope to tailor the core to their own requirements - Intel won't offer this, not widely at least. Apple want to control the entire stack from hardware to software, and not having control of the core doesn't fit with this.
(2013-09-22, 12:11)MediaPi Wrote: Very good points Starstream.I guess the balls going to be in Intel's court, once they surpass ARM (if they do) if they are going to change the pricing structure. They have recently just made their First Open-Source $199 Development board
That's not really as open as they like to make out.
Quote:So changes will come on how Intel do buisness. They bloody have to, With Lenovo the world’s largest PC vendor making more money from smartphones and tablets than PCs! the divide will just get bigger in the future. The future is mobile. Intel will definitely do what it takes to compete and bribe anyone to get their way.
I don't know how Intel will fare in a low-margin business like SoCs. They are used to high-margin products. It will take a real shift in their corporate philosophy to make big in-roads into SoCs I think. I don't believe that they can bully their way into the mobile market - they are up against some very large corporations who have other options which are just as good (or good enough, as Starstream pointed out).