The Difference Between RISC(ARM, PowerPC) And CISC(x86)

[Jack.EXE]

People have been asking me lately, what's the difference between ARM and PC(x86)? Why Is a 4 core tablet $399 and a Dual Core Tablet $899?

 

If you've asked these questions, then You're in the right place. I am here to explain the difference.

 

 

It all goes back to RISC vs CISC, if you don't know what these mean, here:

 

RISC: Reduced Instruction Set Computing

ARM, PowerPC, And Similar Architectures fall in this area.

ex: "Load X" "Load Y" "Add X+Y" "Save Z"

 

CISC: Complex Instruction Set Computing

x86 and similar Architectures Fall in this area

ex: "Load X+Y" "Save Z"

 

Now that we have this covered, I'll continue.

 

Any RISC architecture is incompatible with Any CISC architecture, this is why we do not have PS3 Emulators, Emotion Engine is a CISC architecture, while PowerPC is a RISC architecture,

PS2 gets emulators, PS3 does not.

 

So why does a 4 core RISC tablet cost less than a 2 core CISC tablet?

 

RISC, while being very power efficient, is not very powerful, While CISC is only somewhat efficient, It is Very Powerful, so a 4 core ARM tablet cant hold up against a 2 core x86 tablet.

 

Just how many ARM cores does it take to take on an x86 core? It's not that simple, There's more factors to a pc or tablet than just the number of cores. but that's for another thread.

 

The important thing is you learned something today (I hope).

[Glenwing]

A good and concise explanation, nicely done.

[Emperor_Piehead]

I wish I could use this to explain to console gamers why ps3 and xbox 360 games don't work with next gen consoles.

[Jack.EXE]

I wish I could use this to explain to console gamers why ps3 and xbox 360 games don't work with next gen consoles.

You can, although it's directed towards tablets, the fundamentals are the same.

[Nertballs]

nicely explained! When's the next lesson? :P

[Emperor_Piehead]

You can, although it's directed towards tablets, the fundamentals are the same.

I meant more in the part of they will not have a clue i'm saying. I've tried to explain it before and they just didn't understand it.

[Emperor_Piehead]

nicely explained! When's the next lesson? :P

@Kuzma has done 3 really informative writes. One about optimization of pc cores in video games, one about intel cores vs amd cores, and one about memory bandwith in graphics cards. 

[Kuzma]

@Kuzma has done 3 really informative writes. One about optimization of pc cores in video games, one about intel cores vs amd cores, and one about memory bandwith in graphics cards. 

:D thank you

[Kuzma]

I just thought I'd add to this by mentioning that the simplicity of RISC causes programming in things like ASM to be MUCH longer to do. For those of you who have ever done ARM programming in Assembly (like me) you will know there is a crap tonne of push and pops of r1-12 compared to the x86 assembly which contains a lot more libraries and feels like a higher level language like C.

[MdX MaxX]

But wait, isn't the CPU in the PlayStation 2 based on MIPS, a RISC architecture? Or am I missing something?

Anyway, this is a great high-level overview.

[Kuzma]

But wait, isn't the CPU in the PlayStation 2 based on MIPS, a RISC architecture? Or am I missing something?

Anyway, this is a great high-level overview.

pretty much all consoles are RISC ^_^

[Jack.EXE]

MIPS is based on RISC, but is actually between RISC and CISC. That's why while we have emulators they took a while to get here.

[Jack.EXE]

Close enough to be emulated by both architectures anyway.

[qwertywarrior]

there seems to be some issues with the OP's post ( sorry if im wrong but i have read a lot about this years ago)

 

 

 

Any RISC architecture is incompatible with Any CISC architecture, this is why we do not have PS3 Emulators, Emotion Engine is a CISC architecture, while PowerPC is a RISC architecture,

 

The PS2's CPU core is a two-way superscalar in-order RISC processor.

many consoles are RISC based ( i think pretty much 95%+)

the ps3 doesnt have an emulator because its too powerful

rule of thumb is that a 1mhz console needs a 8mhz system to emulate it (around 8x speed)

and its actually very hard to emulate CISC cpus because they arnt well documented and bloated

check out this where they tried to emulate the first xbox which used a intel celeron CPU

http://www.ngemu.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132032

 

"the reason RISC is cheap" what u mean is ARM  (powerpc systems from IBM are really expensive)

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7112/the-arm-diaries-part-1-how-arms-business-model-works

their business model makes ARM cheap (its not the only reason ofc)

 

intel throws a hell lot of money into its FABs and R&D   They are at the bleeding edge which means it costs them a lot

[speciealpha]

thankyou!!! this was very informative!

[Jack.EXE]

there seems to be some issues with the OP's post ( sorry if im wrong but i have read a lot about this years ago)

 

 

 

 

The PS2's CPU core is a two-way superscalar in-order RISC processor.

many consoles are RISC based ( i think pretty much 95%+)

the ps3 doesnt have an emulator because its too powerful

rule of thumb is that a 1mhz console needs a 8mhz system to emulate it (around 8x speed)

and its actually very hard to emulate CISC cpus because they arnt well documented and bloated

check out this where they tried to emulate the first xbox which used a intel celeron CPU

http://www.ngemu.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132032

 

"the reason RISC is cheap" what u mean is ARM  (powerpc systems from IBM are really expensive)

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7112/the-arm-diaries-part-1-how-arms-business-model-works

their business model makes ARM cheap (its not the only reason ofc)

 

intel throws a hell lot of money into its FABs and R&D   They are at the bleeding edge which means it costs them a lot

 

You are correct, but you still get the general idea of the thread though, right?

[xinsight]

On 8/9/2013 at 9:35 PM, Jack.EXE said:

People have been asking me lately, what's the difference between ARM and PC(x86)? Why Is a 4 core tablet $399 and a Dual Core Tablet $899?

 

If you've asked these questions, then You're in the right place. I am here to explain the difference.

 

 

It all goes back to RISC vs CISC, if you don't know what these mean, here:

 

RISC: Reduced Instruction Set Computing

ARM, PowerPC, And Similar Architectures fall in this area.

ex: "Load X" "Load Y" "Add X+Y" "Save Z"

 

CISC: Complex Instruction Set Computing

x86 and similar Architectures Fall in this area

ex: "Load X+Y" "Save Z"

 

Now that we have this covered, I'll continue.

 

Any RISC architecture is incompatible with Any CISC architecture, this is why we do not have PS3 Emulators, Emotion Engine is a CISC architecture, while PowerPC is a RISC architecture,

PS2 gets emulators, PS3 does not.

 

So why does a 4 core RISC tablet cost less than a 2 core CISC tablet?

 

RISC, while being very power efficient, is not very powerful, While CISC is only somewhat efficient, It is Very Powerful, so a 4 core ARM tablet cant hold up against a 2 core x86 tablet.

 

Just how many ARM cores does it take to take on an x86 core? It's not that simple, There's more factors to a pc or tablet than just the number of cores. but that's for another thread.

 

The important thing is you learned something today (I hope).

This THREAD needs a revisit and update to the CISC vs RISC arch & cpu battleground. Especially with the Apple M1 and ARM / RISC V silicon pushing past x86 CISC stuff.