Multicore CPU…useful or just marketing? Intel reckons Android not ready for multicores

So this debate is popping up again as to whether multicore processors are actually doing something useful for the end user.

• Is it making things run faster?
• Is it making devices run more powerful applications/games?
• Is it saving battery?
• Does the presence of multicore produce a positive difference for the end user?

Without immediately going into the actual virtues of having multicore, it is already a growing trend, at least amongst the geeks, powerusers and those that recommend these devices in stores to newbies, that more cores somehow immediately means better. You guys had a long chat about this before on the news that WP8 Lumias may eventually get Qualcomm’s S4 dualcore chip. Some were happy, some were not – why just dual core you cried out.

Is it enough just to look at the performance and stick with that?

For me, I want these extra cores. Why? Because we’re still stuck in this superficial specs race where those with ‘lesser specs’ on paper are dismissed. Although for some reason, when those specs are reversed, folks still give Nokia a bad time (remember the uproar against the 41mp by some? Although some media outlets were pleased too). Either that or make some huge campaign to reeducate the public on the meaning of multicore and what that actually does, if anything positive at all for the end user.

Intel, who have been rather behind ARM with regards to mobile chips have recently claimed that:

Android is Not Ready for Multicore

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2182710/intel-claims-android-ready-multi-core-processors

Is intel just saying this to defend their medfield single core chip from Qualcomm, Samsung, nVidia and co?

Apparently Intel did some internal testing and in their tests, they outperformed  multicore with a single core. Whether this is in actual real life situations and not simply benchmarks, I don’t know. Not only is Intel saying the single core performed better, but the second core became a detriment

because of the way some of the people have not implemented their thread scheduling

 http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2182710/intel-claims-android-ready-multi-core-processors

At least speaking of Android, Intel is saying it does NOT make efficient use of multicore processors.

For the most part, the specs race on Android is the way manufacturers have been differentiating themselves from each other. More numbers = better on the surface.

You can see already that single core devices don’t have to be slow. N9, 900, 808, all single core devices from Nokia with three different OSes, but just optimised on single core running just as fast if not faster than dual core and even quadcore counterparts (on certain tasks). Independent benchmarks from places like Anandtech also showed more cores do not necessarily perform better. But marketing and perceptions have already moved on to desire more cores. The pseudotechy person isn’t going to care that their Android isn’t fully optimised and ready for quadcore. They’re just going to brag about the quadcore and be done with it. That’s mostly the reason I’d need to see Nokia come out with multicore processors. Well not the personal bragging, but getting past the barriers and into consumer awareness and consideration – not being left out simply because it doesn’t meet initial specs and actually give the devices a go.

Source: theinquirer

Via: Pocketnow via WMPU

Category: Nokia