WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.200 It wasn't long ago that the idea of putting several processors into one package seemed 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 00:00:10.840 --> 00:00:16.880 before Intel and AMD added even more functionality to your computer's most important component. 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 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:26.280 of computing will look like, specifically for laptops and devices that depend heavily 00:00:26.280 --> 00:00:30.680 on good battery life. But what exactly is a hybrid CPU? 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. 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 00:00:40.920 --> 00:00:44.920 used in many ARM chips for smartphones, called Big Little. 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 00:00:48.840 --> 00:00:54.040 word processor or browsing social media, don't necessarily use tons of computing power. 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 00:00:58.600 --> 00:01:02.080 when they're doing those things, even if the system is throttling their clock speed. 00:01:02.080 --> 00:01:06.880 So instead, a hybrid CPU takes advantage of cores that specifically don't have the same 00:01:06.880 --> 00:01:11.480 capabilities as a traditional laptop processor core, but the major plus is that they use 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 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. 00:01:26.080 --> 00:01:31.000 A scheduler is typically built into the operating system and is responsible for deciding the 00:01:31.000 --> 00:01:34.320 order in which your computer will execute tasks. 00:01:34.320 --> 00:01:38.840 In a hybrid CPU, the hardware is specifically designed to coordinate with the operating 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 00:01:44.040 --> 00:01:48.120 to figure out what task makes the most sense to assign to each core. 00:01:48.120 --> 00:01:52.880 So a demanding foreground task like photo editing could get assigned to the big core 00:01:52.880 --> 00:01:57.640 while background tasks will be delegated to the little cores, which are more power efficient. 00:01:57.640 --> 00:02:02.760 But I can hear you already. What about just putting ARM CPUs inside of laptops? 00:02:02.760 --> 00:02:05.800 Apple's doing it, so why doesn't everybody just follow suit? 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 00:02:11.240 --> 00:02:14.920 architecture, the same one they've been using for decades. 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 00:02:21.320 --> 00:02:24.520 well on its in-house designed ARM CPUs. 00:02:24.520 --> 00:02:30.200 But on Windows laptops, trying to translate x86 applications to run on ARM CPUs results 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 00:02:37.600 --> 00:02:42.560 laptop market with ARM CPUs, but the slowdowns that result from the fact that Windows applications 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 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 00:02:53.720 --> 00:02:59.200 perfect solutions. Scheduling for maximum efficiency presents a real engineering challenge. 00:02:59.200 --> 00:03:02.880 And because you're mixing different types of processor cores, code that might work on 00:03:02.880 --> 00:03:06.080 one type of core may not work on another. 00:03:06.080 --> 00:03:11.360 So chip makers might be forced to remove support for certain instructions from one or more 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 00:03:17.240 --> 00:03:20.720 typically assumes all cores support the same instructions. 00:03:20.720 --> 00:03:24.720 But despite those challenges, the technology does have promise. 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 00:03:28.160 --> 00:03:33.000 we shot this episode, there's already one laptop that features an Intel hybrid CPU, 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 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 00:03:47.240 --> 00:03:52.800 my laptop charger, which I've done once or twice. 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 00:04:00.160 --> 00:04:02.200 for topics that we should cover in the future.