Microsoft reckons its new Prism x86 emulation for Arm PCs is as good as Apple's Rosetta

So, the Arm revolution on the PC is almost here, what with the first Windows laptops packing the supposedly radical new Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chip. But if there is a big question mark hanging over the whole endeavour, it's emulation. More specifically, will the X Elite be any good at running old x86 Windows code?

By contrast, Apple's Rosetta 2 emulation layer for its Apple silicon Macs is pretty impressive. Apple silicon, of course, is Arm-based and replaced the Intel x86 era of Macs. So, there's a direct comparison to be made between Microsoft's Prism and Apple's Rosetta 2. Both performance and efficiency are key, of course. Emulated software is notoriously bad for battery life, so power-efficient code translation would be a huge benefit.But perhaps the most important element in all of this is that the 24H2 update for Windows 11 and Prism itself is specifically optimised for the X Elite chip. Again, the Apple comparison is revealing here.

But here's the real kicker. Prior to co-founding Nuvia in 2019, its CEO Gerard Williams was none other than Chief CPU architect at Apple for nearly a decade. The company was staffed by other former Apple engineers involved in the company's tranistion to Arm. Safe to say Nuvia and therefore Qualcomm knows all about the special sauce in Apple silicon that makes emulation run so well.. But there's much to be proven.

Source: Car News Wire (carnewswire.net)

United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Qualcomm warms bed for Linux on Arm PCsOne eye on Windows, the other winking at penguins
Source: TheRegister - 🏆 67. / 61 Read more »

Microsoft really does not want Windows 11 running on ancient PCsEven tighter requirements mean it's time to put old hardware out to pasture... or find an alternative OS
Source: TheRegister - 🏆 67. / 61 Read more »

A week after Microsoft closed 4 game studios, Microsoft-owned Activision announces a new game studioAndy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80.
Source: pcgamer - 🏆 38. / 67 Read more »

PCIe 5.0 is nearly four years old and it's still virtually worthless in gaming PCsNick, gaming, and computers all first met in 1981, with the love affair starting on a Sinclair ZX81 in kit form and a book on ZX Basic. He ended up becoming a physics and IT teacher, but by the late 1990s decided it was time to cut his teeth writing for a long defunct UK tech site.
Source: pcgamer - 🏆 38. / 67 Read more »

Border Force workers to strike over new rostersMembers of the PCS union based at Heathrow airport will walk out for four days.
Source: Glasgow_Times - 🏆 76. / 59 Read more »

Border Force workers to strike over new rostersMembers of the PCS union based at Heathrow airport will walk out for four days.
Source: Observer_Owl - 🏆 18. / 72 Read more »