1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,200 It wasn't long ago that the idea of putting several processors into one package seemed 2 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:10,840 exotic. But with modern multi-core CPUs that integrated graphics, maybe it was only a matter of time 3 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:16,880 before Intel and AMD added even more functionality to your computer's most important component. 4 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:22,000 The CPU. Both companies are working on hybrid CPUs that could really shake up what the future 5 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:26,280 of computing will look like, specifically for laptops and devices that depend heavily 6 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:30,680 on good battery life. But what exactly is a hybrid CPU? 7 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:36,240 The basic idea is that it's a multi-core CPU where all the cores are not the same. 8 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:40,920 Instead, you get a mix of high power and low power cores, a paradigm that's already 9 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:44,920 used in many ARM chips for smartphones, called Big Little. 10 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:48,840 The advantage of this is many of the tasks we do on our laptops, such as working in a 11 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:54,040 word processor or browsing social media, don't necessarily use tons of computing power. 12 00:00:54,040 --> 00:00:58,600 So the processing cores, which are designed to do a lot more, can still use a lot of electricity 13 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:02,080 when they're doing those things, even if the system is throttling their clock speed. 14 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:06,880 So instead, a hybrid CPU takes advantage of cores that specifically don't have the same 15 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:11,480 capabilities as a traditional laptop processor core, but the major plus is that they use 16 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:17,680 a lot less energy. But when your PC is doing something that needs some extra processing muscle, you still have 17 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:26,080 those higher power cores for the heavy lifting. Assigning tasks to the low power or the high power cores is the responsibility of a scheduler. 18 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:31,000 A scheduler is typically built into the operating system and is responsible for deciding the 19 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:34,320 order in which your computer will execute tasks. 20 00:01:34,320 --> 00:01:38,840 In a hybrid CPU, the hardware is specifically designed to coordinate with the operating 21 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:44,040 system scheduler so that the CPU and Windows, or whatever OS you're using, can work together 22 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:48,120 to figure out what task makes the most sense to assign to each core. 23 00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:52,880 So a demanding foreground task like photo editing could get assigned to the big core 24 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:57,640 while background tasks will be delegated to the little cores, which are more power efficient. 25 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:02,760 But I can hear you already. What about just putting ARM CPUs inside of laptops? 26 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:05,800 Apple's doing it, so why doesn't everybody just follow suit? 27 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:11,240 Well, the big difference is that AMD and Intel's hybrid projects are still built around x86 28 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:14,920 architecture, the same one they've been using for decades. 29 00:02:14,920 --> 00:02:21,320 And the one that most Windows applications are written for. Apple has the luxury of being able to rewrite its own operating system and software to work 30 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:24,520 well on its in-house designed ARM CPUs. 31 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:30,200 But on Windows laptops, trying to translate x86 applications to run on ARM CPUs results 32 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:37,600 in significant performance loss. In fact, Qualcomm, a major manufacturer of ARM chips, has tried to break into the Windows 33 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:42,560 laptop market with ARM CPUs, but the slowdowns that result from the fact that Windows applications 34 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:47,760 won't run natively on ARM has prevented Qualcomm from becoming a major player in the laptop 35 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:53,720 processor market. But this doesn't mean that just because hybrid processors run on x86 architecture, that they're 36 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:59,200 perfect solutions. Scheduling for maximum efficiency presents a real engineering challenge. 37 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,880 And because you're mixing different types of processor cores, code that might work on 38 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:06,080 one type of core may not work on another. 39 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:11,360 So chip makers might be forced to remove support for certain instructions from one or more 40 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:17,240 cores to ensure programs can run on both sets of cores without causing an error, as software 41 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:20,720 typically assumes all cores support the same instructions. 42 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:24,720 But despite those challenges, the technology does have promise. 43 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:28,160 Intel in particular has sunk a great deal of money into developing it, and at the time 44 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:33,000 we shot this episode, there's already one laptop that features an Intel hybrid CPU, 45 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:38,920 codamed Lakefield. We also know AMD has filed a patent for a similar technology, though it's unclear when 46 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:47,240 we'll see hybrid CPUs from Team Red. But as for me, I just want something that will last a long time, even if I misplace 47 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:52,800 my laptop charger, which I've done once or twice. 48 00:03:52,800 --> 00:04:00,160 So thanks for watching guys, if you liked this video give it a thumbs up, if you really really liked it, maybe subscribe, and be sure to hit us up in the comments with your suggestions 49 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:02,200 for topics that we should cover in the future.