In professional review already We have been able to try several PC ARMsome of them from the Copilot+ PC range. In fact, so you can take a look, here is a list with all the reviews of ARM teams:
Of these three teams, I personally have been able to try the MacBook Air (although with the M2 chip) and the Acer Swift Go 14 AI. There are two good references because, in addition to both teams are PC ARM, They come with two different operating systems. The point is that, after trying them, what has been my experience with this architecture?
In the following sections I explain the good and bad of the PC ARM. In this case, the term “PC” will apply it literally. I speak, therefore, of personal computers, without distinguishing between the Windows teams and those who come with macos. The goal is to help you decide whether it is worth it or not bet on a team with ARM processor.
THE GOOD OF THE PC ARM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvgme4yxslu
I already advance that I am not going to talk to you about the technical details of the ARM architecture. For that, we have a guide in which we tell you all the details of the ARM processors. The intention is to help you understand what are the ADVANTAGES OF A PC ARM And, on the contrary, some of his disadvantages. Let's start talking about the positive part.
ARM processors stand out in these two fields:
- Great autonomy. ARM chips are those that have historically used mobile devices. They are smaller and efficient, although that means also offer less power than CPU X86. Now, in recent years, ARM chips have become much more capable, which is allowing manufacturers to include them in laptops and even in mini PC. This is allowing teams to offer a real autonomy of more than 9 hourswhich is very difficult to get with X86 processor.
- Maximum silence when working. Another main point of ARM processors is that They are very silent. In certain equipment, manufacturers are disregarding fans, as happens in mobile phones. This is the case of the MacBook Air, which do not include an active cooling system. Generally, ARM chips do not heat up so much, so even in computers that have fans, it is rare for them to start.
Broadly speaking, these would be the two advantages of ARM PCs. Obviously, these chips have other benefits, such as They favor the miniaturization of technology. What happens is that, in the case of computers, this is not so important either. It is more something that benefits, above all, other product lines, such as mobile or dress devices.
And what about AI?
You may miss that you have talked about artificial intelligence. And it is that many equipment manufacturers, especially those who have launched teams from the Copilot+ PC range, presume the capabilities that their equipment has thanks to AI models.
However, although the first computers of this range came with the snapdragon x elite or plus, an arm chip, The functions of AI are not exclusive to this architecture. In other words, ARM has nothing to do with the fact that a computer can execute artificial intelligence models.
Although in the mobile world the ASS chips set up in SOCs have long included an NPU to execute AI models efficiently, this coprocessor is also found in Intel and AMD X8 chips. You must keep in mind that, for now, The best way to execute a language or dissemination model is with graphics cards or GPU. It is true that NPUs are efficient for AI, but serve mainly for basic tasks.
Taking this into account, the power to execute AI models It is not an advantage of the ARM chips. Any CPU or GPU, with more or less performance, is able to deal with local LLM.
Disadvantages of ARM PCs
Let's talk about the Disadvantages of ARM PCs. Basically, there are two points that you must take into account:
- Incompatibility with software. Windows On ARM still presents some relevant incompatibilities. The situation is not so serious in macOS, because it is a much smaller ecosystem where developers are usually very compromised. However, in Windows there are many applications that have not yet launched an ARM version. Some are not even compatible with the emulation of Apps X86 that includes Windows. A clear case is Google Drivewhich in its stable version has not yet launched a native version for ARM in Windows (in Macos it has been for a long time).
- Lack of brute force for some tasks. ARM is a very efficient architecture when we talk about basic tasks, such as navigating or opening office documents. The latest chips also work very well for a bit more advanced tasks, such as photo or video edition. Now, ARM teams are not designed to play or heavy jobs. It is something that you must take into account.
So, are the ARM PC recommended?
After trying them, I am convinced that Yes, ARM PCs are recommended. Perhaps in the case of Windows it is necessary for some developers to step on the accelerator and launch once and for all native versions of their apps. This situation is much more serious in Windows, where there are prominent absences.
Now, If you are looking for a mobility teamhave good autonomy and be silent, The PC ARM is a good candidate. They are ideal equipment for those who work with documents all day and their main application is the browser.
And you, what do you think of the PC ARM? Leave me your opinion below. We read!
