In the vast world of digital computing, it comes with no surprise that the infrastructure required to power new inventions such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning is rapidly growing. In order to power our rapidly growing infrastructure, companies as well as individuals are consistently seeking more efficient and cost affordable ways to do so. Luckily, there are advancements being made daily in the technology that powers our infrastructure. The computer processor is the most notable component in regard to providing the compute power that we require on a daily basis for even simple operations such as checking your email, or reading the news. With so many different computer processors available to purchase, it may be difficult to choose one that will best fit your needs. More recently there has been even more confusion, following the sudden rise in popularity of ARM powered computers, such as the Macbook. While many of us commonly attribute computer processors to Intel and AMD, ARM now poses a great threat in the computer processor market, offering increased benefits for everyday users.

Since the inception of computer processors, both Intel and AMD have both been known for offering affordable, yet powerful processors built into computers. These processors are known as x86 processors which utilize a CISC instruction set, short for Complex Instruction Set Computer. This instruction set provides x86 architecture high versatility, and has been used in a variety of different applications and technologies, such as laptops, desktops, and even supercomputers, due to its flexibility. ARM processors, which have more typically been utilized on mobile devices such as phones and tablets, effectively utilize an entirely opposing instruction set known as Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC), meaning that it cannot be used as easily in a variety of different applications, unlike x86 processors. While this may seemingly pose ARM as worse than its counterpart, its introduced compatibility complexity comes with a great variety of benefits.

Amongst the many benefits with reduced instruction sets, higher performance is one of the most important. During operation, computer processors are designated different tasks to complete and compute. These operations typically form “pipelines”, comparable to an assembly line within a factory. Due to naturally reduced complexity, pipelines in ARM processors can be completed almost instantaneously, or as fast as only one instruction per clock cycle (IPC) unlike its counterpart, x86, which generally completes its pipelines within multiple instructions, resulting in more clock cycles, or more simply, forming various different steps within its assembly lines to utilize its many different instruction sets – only to end in completing a single operation. IPC behavior of x86 processing architecture gives ARM processors capability to effectively run circles around its counterparts IPC in most scenarios, allowing for more performant results within daily use.

In addition to the higher performance that ARM architecture poses, it also offers substantial power benefits. A reduced instruction set means fewer transistors, and in return, ARM processors are able to be ultra compact and much smaller in size than x86, boasting a much smaller die within its integrated circuitry (IC). The result of a smaller die is largely beneficial as the overall power efficiency during daily tasks may be significantly lower, with a power usage as low as 5 watts, an extremely competitive advantage in regards to x86’s substantially larger IC, which can use 20-30 watts without performing any extra amount of tasks. ARM processors have the capability to pack more power efficiency into a smaller, more powerful chip.

Computers utilizing ARM architecture are much more affordable than x86, or AMD and Intel processors. While seemingly obvious that a smaller IC should be cheaper, there is even more that ARM has up their sleeve allowing costs to be reduced further. Most x86 processors are socketed, meaning they are interchangeable. A disadvantage of interchangeability is increased overhead, requiring more expensive, specifically compatible components to be paired together with an x86 processor just for it to be operable. In contrast, ARM processors are not socketed, but instead are integrated as a System-on-a-Chip (SoC). Components such as memory, a processing unit (ARM powered), and Input and Output (I/O) functionality are all baked into an SoC rather than seperate interchangeable components– and due to this, components including the processor, may be fully designed and produced by individual manufacturers such as Apple’s integration of ARM in the Macbook, to only be made to include necessary components for a product. Functionally, this may reduce future expandability for end consumers in comparison to its socketable components, but is an advantage in driving end-costs down extensively.

As the landscape of the computer processor evolves, ARM is emerging as a competitor to the well-established x86 based processors produced by Intel and AMD. While x86 processors have long been recognized for their high performance and versatility, ARM's reduced instruction set offers higher performance through faster instruction pipelines and significantly greater power efficiency. ARM’s compact SoC architecture reduces costs further, posing it an attractive option for typical everyday consumers. ARM’s increased popularity in desktop computing represents a shift towards more affordable, energy efficient specialized solutions, challenging the long dominance of x86 processors.