[citation][nom]Parsian[/nom]Question: Can you do all the task you could do on an x86 on an ARM?Or Is ARM just can handle a subset of instructions can be developed base on need and usage?Thanks[/citation]
Arm is a simple/basic chip design which has traditionally been aimed at the low power market (cell phones, GPS, etc). The nice thing about them is that they run super low power, and super low heat compared to the workload of an equivilant x86 processor. Now it will take several ARM chips to do the load of one x86 processor, but even with all of the extra cores it is still in a lower thermal/power envelope which makes them very interesting for the server market where the cost to run the thing is just as important as the up front cost of buying it. and let us not forget that less heat means less power, less noise, less strain on temperature sensitive parts, and given the ridiculous parallel nature of this design I am sure it can eat through large chunks of heavily threaded data very quickly. Also, due to the simplicity of the design, the chips are relatively easy and chap to produce, which puts them at a more competitive price point compared to traditional server processors.
Here are the problems with it; Nothing big is designed for ARM architecture. This means new software and new bugs to deal with. it will not always be a problem, but there are always going to be growing pains when moving to a new platform. Intel's Atom proc is (according to intel) going to be wattage competitive with ARM on a processor level. What intel is not saying is that Atom still requires a separate north bridge to interface with the world around it, while ARM has everything built in (thus the meaning of 'system on a chip' which Atom is not). Traditionally the chip sets bundled with Atom processors take nearly as much power as the processor itself, which simply defeats the purpose of the thing. If Intel were to employ the same technology on its chip set, then this would not be a problem, but I would be surprised if they did this any time soon.
Lastly, Intel is on the verge of developing some amazing 'many core' CPUs which would have something along the lines on 80 cores on one chip. The tech looked impressive on the demo at their last conference, but there is no word on when these chips would become available. it could give ARM a run for the money though if it is released soon.
As a traditional Intel/x86 fanboy I am actually glad to see Intel having to fight a battle somewhere. I am not saying they have been stagnant, but AMD has simply not given them a real reason to keep moving forward. Perhaps competing with ARM will finally make 8+ core processors a reality in the near future.