Technology
Asus Zephyrus G14 2024 laptop review
Published
4 months agoon
Asus Zephyrus G14 2024 laptop review
The Zephyrus G14 is a very important laptop; because it was the beginning of a new trend; Four years have passed since the introduction of the first generation G14, at that time there was no foreign 14-inch gaming laptop; But now, thanks to Asus, other companies such as Razer, MSI and HP have entered the field of 14-inch gaming laptops.
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Zephyrus G14 2024 video review
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Compact, well-made, and premium design
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Stunning OLED display and powerful speakers
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Standard keyboard and a large trackpad that is not haptic!
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Powerful hardware with optimal performance
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The difference in laptop performance profiles
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Laptop behavior in heavy and continuous processing
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The difference in laptop performance when connected and disconnected from the power outlet
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Laptop performance compared to competitors
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Laptop performance in professional use
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Laptop performance in Blender software
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Laptop performance in the game
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Optimal battery life in normal use
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Zephyrus G14 2024 against the competition
Now we have the lovely G14 laptop model 2024; A device that, with its powerful hardware, stunning OLED display, minimal design, and high-quality metal body, competes with MacBooks and attracts attention.
To buy the 14-inch Zephyrus G14 laptop or other specific laptops, you can visit the Afrashop online store.
Compact, well-made, and premium design
The main and most impressive change in the 2024 model of the G14 laptop compared to previous generations is a 180-degree change in the strategy of Asus designers; I don’t recall Asus ever turning to machining to design and build its gaming laptops and carving the body out of a single block of aluminum; We have always seen Asus laptops at their best with a body made of aluminum sheets or magnesium alloy.
Thanks to the change in the manufacturing process of the laptop, has a noticeable effect on the attractiveness and premium feeling of the Zephyrus G14; Asus, in describing its gaming laptop, calls it “a perfect combination of performance and style” and this Taiwanese company is really right!
The body of Zephyrus G14 is much denser than the previous generation and gives a good sense of quality; We don’t hear a “creaking” sound from anywhere on the laptop, the screen frame doesn’t sway, and the surface of the device doesn’t sink when pressing the keys. Of course, with all these improvements, Zephyrus is still not at the level of premium products such as MacBook and Surface; Although it is very close to them.
The dimensions of the G14 2024 body are noticeably more compact than the previous generation; Last year, the thickness of the laptop reached more than 2 cm; But now it does not exceed about 1.6 cm and of course, the weight of the device has become lighter by about 200 grams; More precisely, the dimensions of the body are 1.59-1.63 x 22.0 x 31.1 cm and its weight is about 1.5 kg.
In the slim body of Zephyrus G14, there are various ports; On the left side of the device, you can see Asus’ dedicated charging port, HDMI 2.1 port, a USB4 Type-C port with DisplayPort 2.0 support and 100W power delivery, a full-size USB 3.2 port, and a headphone combo jack; The right side of the laptop hosts a USB 3.2 Type-C port, another full-size USB 3.2 port, and a high-speed microSD port; eCash was a full-size SD memory card slot, so it was more useful for photographers and videographers.
The 14-inch G14 2024 laptop uses MediaTek’s MT7922 network card, which supports Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6E connectivity and shows stable and satisfactory performance; But if you want, you can easily replace the network card.
In addition to the more compact body, G14 2024 has a much more minimal and simple design; Asus designers have said goodbye to the array of LED lights, or Animematrix, which occupied half of the back of the device in previous models, and instead, they have used a diagonal and narrow strip of LED lights that are placed on the diameter of the laptop, giving it a different and unique look. They gave a laptop. With the help of Asus Armory Crate software, you can customize the lighting effect of these lights or disable them completely.
All in all, the G14’s appearance has now been changed in such a way that it can be taken to meetings as a work laptop, and still maintain a gaming spirit! The Zephyrus G14 2024 laptop can be purchased in white or gray. We have the gray color for review, which looks very attractive and stylish; But soon it gets fingerprints, grease, and stains; So if you are obsessive and sensitive, you should always have a microfiber cloth with you to clean the laptop.
If you think that the G14’s charms are limited to its exterior, I must say that you would be very wrong; The main surprise happens when you open the laptop door and face its screen; Of course, I must say that the hinge of the laptop is very strong and gives the user a sense of confidence; While it opens with one hand.
Stunning OLED display and powerful speakers
The Zephyrus G14 screen can be described in one word as “stunning”; The 14-inch OLED panel of the laptop with a high aspect ratio of 16:10 and its narrow borders give the laptop a very modern look. On the other hand, like expensive and premium laptops, instead of plastic borders, the integrated glass cover covers the entire display surface; However, this glossy coating reduces the readability of the display in bright environments.
Zephyrus G14’s OLED panel with a resolution of 1800 x 2880 pixels and a very good density of 243 pixels provides a clear and sharp image; So that at normal distances from the laptop, the pixels cannot be separated. Asus declares the response time of the panel to be an extremely fast number of 0.2 milliseconds, which is a dream for competitive gamers; But the most impressive feature of the display is its refresh rate.
Zephyrus G14 is the world’s first laptop with an OLED panel that supports variable refresh rate to prevent image tearing while playing games and is compatible with Nvidia’s G-SYNC technology; This feature is one of the most impressive achievements of Asus; I will explain further.
Unlike LCD panels, whose brightness is independent of the image refresh rate, the brightness of OLED panels is provided by the pixels themselves, and this brightness depends on both the intensity of the light produced by the pixels and the image refresh rate; For this reason, if the refresh rate of the image decreases, so-called, the rate of turning on and off pixels also decreases, and as a result, the brightness of the panel decreases.
In order to solve the limitations of the OLED panel, Asus has considered the on-and-off rate of the exposure layer of the pixels to be higher than the refresh rate of the image; This means that when the image is updated at a rate of 120 Hz, the exposure layer is turned on and off with a frequency of 4 times, that is, 480 Hz; So when you are immersed in the game and suddenly the frame rate drops from 100 to 80 fps, the brightness of the image does not drop.
Zephyrus G14 2024 screen performance against other laptops |
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Laptop/test |
White image |
Black image |
contrast ratio |
AdobeRGB |
sRGB |
DCI-P3 |
||||
Maximum brightness |
Minimum brightness |
Average brightness |
Native |
cover |
Average error |
cover |
Average error |
cover |
Average error |
|
Zephyrus G14 2024 |
472 intentions (730 nits HDR) |
— |
0 intentions |
∞ |
95 percent |
— |
148 percent |
0.8 |
100 percent |
1.4 |
Zephyrus G14 2023 |
335 intentions |
17 intention |
3.28 intentions |
102 |
90 percent |
— |
125 percent |
— |
100 percent |
3.3 |
MacBook Air 2024 |
443 intentions |
0.00 nits |
0.67 nits |
661 |
87.9 |
— |
100 |
2.4 |
98.4 |
1.9 |
Zenbook 14 |
512 intention (788 nits HDR) |
0.27 nits |
0 intentions |
∞ |
89.6 |
2.6 |
100 |
0.6 |
99.7 |
1.3 |
Galaxy Book 3 Ultra |
441 intentions |
4 intentions |
0 intentions |
∞ |
97.3 |
3.7 |
99.6 |
1.9 |
99.8 |
2.3 |
MacBook Pro M1 Max |
455 intentions (1497 nits HDR) |
0 intentions |
0 intentions |
∞ |
85 |
— |
121.6 |
— |
97.3 |
2.5 |
The OLED panel of the Zephyrus G14 produces eye-catching and very attractive colors, this panel can cover the very wide AdobeRGB color space by about 95%, the DCI P3 wide color space completely, and the conventional sRGB color space by about 148% with an extremely small error of 0.8 to give The precision and extraordinary coverage of the panel make the G14 laptop an excellent choice for graphic designers.
The G14 laptop achieves an excellent brightness of 730 nits while playing HDR videos and when a small part of the image is lit; Of course, be careful that to enjoy HDR content, you must connect the laptop to electricity. Asus says the laptop’s display supports HDR video with the Dolby Vision standard and has received VESA DisplayHDR and Pantone certifications for HDR support and accurate color reproduction, respectively.
The Asus gaming laptop achieves a brightness of 472 nits during normal content display (SDR) in Zoomit reviews, which is reasonable brightness and provides a pleasant visual experience along with the ultra-high contrast and deep blacks of the OLED panel; However, the glossiness of the panel cover makes it a little difficult to work with the laptop in bright environments.
Asus has complemented the G14’s exceptional visual experience with a superb audio experience; The G14’s speakers are the closest to Apple’s MacBooks of all the Windows laptops I’ve reviewed so far; If you are familiar with the sound of MacBooks, you know know what a great advantage the G14 has over other Windows.
Zefiros G14 uses 6 speakers including two dual woofers; The woofers are placed in pairs on the sides of the laptop in opposite directions (up and down) to prevent the laptop body from vibrating. Asus says the woofers have been enlarged by 125% to produce clearer sound and more punchy bass, while the output volume has also increased by 3.5 times; In reality, the audio experience of the laptop is very pleasing to the ears with little noise and poor sound resolution.
Standard keyboard and a large trackpad that is not haptic!
The 14-inch Asus laptop also has a very efficient keyboard, the depth of movement of the G14 island keys reaches a very good number of 1.7 mm, the size of the keys has increased by 12.24% compared to the previous generation, and their feedback is satisfactory. The keys have a standard arrangement and distance from each other; So that after a short time, you get used to typing with the device. Asus estimates the useful life of the keys up to 20 million times.
Perhaps one of my complaints about the design of the keyboard is its 6-sided power button, which does not have any visual harmony with the rest of the laptop. Don’t be fooled by the fact that the button is made of glass. Because there is no fingerprint sensor in G14; But fortunately, you can rely on facial recognition with Windows Hello for authentication.
The webcam of the device also provides the possibility of video calling with 1080p resolution, which is not at the level of Microsoft Surfaces; Instead, thanks to the neural processing unit at the heart of the processor, Windows Effects Studio can be used for tasks such as subject tracking and automatic frame adjustment, maintaining eye contact and blurring the background in video calls.
The G14 trackpad is very wide and is located in the middle of the laptop so as not to trigger OCD users; ASUS designers have used a 3:2 aspect ratio for the trackpad to match the aspect ratio of the display. The clicks have very good feedback the finger slides easily on the glass surface of the trackpad and its movement is tracked with great accuracy; But I expect a 100 million Toman laptop to use a haptic trackpad instead of mechanical buttons for the click mechanism, just like MacBooks; I hope we will see such a change in the next generation.
Powerful hardware with optimal performance
What we have said about the body and accessories of the laptop is enough; Let’s talk about the most important aspect of gaming laptops; What power does Zephyrus G14 have and how does it appear in playing games?
This year, Asus keeps the powerful RTX 4080 and RTX 4090 graphics exclusive to the larger G16 laptop and offers the 14-inch G14 laptop with 4060 and 4070 graphics; Although it is apparently available in the Iranian market with 4050 graphics. By limiting the G14 to less powerful graphics and injecting 90 watts into the GPU, Asus engineers have managed to make the laptop slimmer. We have the 4070 model for review, which is currently sold in the market at the price of 115 to 120 million Tomans.
All three configurations (config in market terms) of Zephyrus G14 are powered by AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS processor; The processor, which is one of AMD’s powerful laptop models from the Ryzen 8000 family with Zen 4 architecture, is produced with improved 5nm class lithography (4nm according to the manufacturer) and works with a TDP equivalent to 45W by default. This processor uses 8 cores with a base frequency of 4 and a turbo frequency of 5.2 GHz and has the ability to simultaneously process 16 instruction threads.
AMD calls its laptop processor an APU (accelerated processing unit); Because in its heart, in addition to the CPU, the Radeon 780M integrated graphics uses 12 graphics cores with RDNA3 architecture and a working frequency of 2.8 GHz, and offers performance at the level of Nvidia’s GTX 1650 Max-Q graphics. Next to the graphics, the name of the AMD neural processing unit is also visible, which can perform 16 trillion operations per second.
Zephyrus G14 2024 storage performance |
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Laptop/Performance |
SSD volume |
Sequential reading rate |
Sequential write rate |
Zephyrus G14 2024 |
One TB SSD |
4997 megabytes |
3431 MB |
Zephyrus G14 2022 |
One TB SSD |
3617 MB |
2832 MB |
HP Specter x360 16 |
One TB SSD |
6389 megabytes |
4908 MB |
Zephyrus M16 2022 |
One TB SSD |
6631 megabytes |
5015 MB |
The Ryzen 8945HS processor supports dual-channel RAM DDR5-5600 and LPDDR5x-7500 with a capacity of up to 256 GB, But the Taiwanese sell the G14 2024 laptop with 16 or 32 GB LPDDR5x-6400 RAM; A piece that pays the price of the laptop becoming thinner and unlike the previous generation, it is now onboard and cannot be upgraded.
Asus uses a high-speed PCIe 4.0 1TB SSD in all versions of the Zephyrus G14, which achieved read and write speeds of around 5GB and 3.5GB/s in our tests. Zephyrus G14 SSD is not among the fastest, But it fully meets the user’s needs and most importantly, it can be upgraded.
The difference in laptop performance profiles
Before talking about the performance of the device, let’s clarify a little about Asus performance profiles; Because probably most of the users do not know about the existence of these profiles and their effect on the overall performance of the laptop.
For its gaming laptops, Asus has a software called Armory Crate, which can be used to control various parts of the device, from the color profiles of the display to the lighting, and of course the performance profile of the graphics and CPU. In this software, you can change the behavior of the graphics, and adjust the amount of power injected to the graphics and CPU and the speed of the fans.
As for the graphics behavior, we have four modes:
- Optimized mode: Asus recommends it; With this mode, if the laptop is disconnected from the power supply, the Nvidia graphics will be disabled, and when connected to the power supply, the device will go to the Nvidia graphics only in heavy usage such as playing games.
- Eco Mode: As the name suggests, it completely shuts down the Nvidia graphics under all conditions.
- Standard mode: It is Microsoft’s protocol (MSHybrid) and Windows decides when to go for Nvidia graphics or integrated graphics. Although Asus recommends the Optimized mode, But the laptop defaults to Standard mode.
- Ultimate Mode: The integrated graphics is completely removed from the circuit and the screen is connected directly to the Nvidia graphics. This mode has the highest battery consumption, But it may slightly improve the frame rate in some games.
The settings related to the performance profiles of the cooling fans and the power consumption of the processor and graphics of the laptop are as follows:
- Manual profile: the user can change the parameters related to power consumption and fans at will.
- Turbo profile: injects the maximum amount of power to the graphics and processor and is only available when connected to the power supply; In this profile, the laptop is literally noisy and the fans are running most of the time. In the following, you can see that there is not much improvement in the performance of the laptop.
- Performance profile: This is the default profile of the laptop, the sound of the fans is not annoying and the performance of the device is almost equal to the Turbo profile.
- Silent profile: limits the power consumption of the device to reduce the production heat and use less fans. In this CPU performance profile, at least in daily use, it does not suffer much; But the graphics performance experiences a 50-60% drop when connected to electricity.
- Windows profile: the power consumption and heat management of the device is entrusted to Windows itself; Surprisingly, even when using other profiles, when unplugging the laptop, the Windows battery setting changes from Best Performance to Balanced, which negatively affects the performance of the device.
Practically, with Armory Crate software, you can set 20 different modes for laptop performance; But in general, it must be said that the existence of so many profiles and colorful performance modes has no result other than confusing the user; A user who is probably not aware of the existence of a software like Armory Crate and its purpose, and of course he should not be aware, he should not think about the performance profile and power consumption, he should always get the right combination of performance and good charging from the laptop with the least challenge. .
G14 2024 performance in different performance profiles |
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profile/parameter |
CPU power consumption |
CineBench 2024 |
GPU power consumption |
3DMark TimeSpy |
Turbo |
75 watt turbo 60 watts stable |
914 (multi-core) |
70 to 80 watts |
10172 |
Performance |
65-watt turbo 45W stable |
918 (multi-core) |
60 watts |
9572 |
Silent |
65-watt turbo 35 watts stable |
862 (multi-core) |
57-watt turbo 33 watts stable |
5582 |
In the table above, you can see the result of selecting a number of Asus performance profiles along with the scores obtained in the benchmarks with these profiles. Based on the obtained numbers, it is clear that the Turbo profile does not make a significant improvement in the performance of the device, despite the high noise, noticeable increase in power consumption, and the heat it produces.
Laptop behavior in heavy and continuous processing
Due to the inefficiency of the Turbo profile and the drastic drop in graphics performance in the Silent profile, we will put the Performance profile under the microscope. In the first step, it is better to check the behavior of the laptop when connected to the electrical outlet (Plugged) and separated from the electrical outlet (Unplugged).
When the Ryzen 9 8945HS processor in the Dell G14 2024 laptop is under pressure with the CineBench 2024 rendering benchmark, the device with the Performance profile, in both Plugged and Unplugged states, works more or less with the same strategy of the processor; But as you can see below, apparently this strategy is only limited to the CineBench benchmark; Because in other software, we see a noticeable drop in performance.
CPU power consumption
CPU clock
The temperature of the hottest processor core
The G14 2024 laptop injects about 65 watts of power into the processor in the initial moments, then it works with about 55 watts of power from the processor for a few minutes until it finally stabilizes at about 45 watts. The frequency reaches 4.7 GHz at best and finally stabilizes at 4.3-4.4 GHz; While the temperature first increases to 87-88 degrees Celsius, then it fluctuates in the range of 80 degrees Celsius.
Contrary to what we saw about the processor, there is a huge difference between the graphics performance in the Plugged and Unplugged state. When the G14 2024 laptop is subjected to a heavy processing load in the Performance profile for 20 minutes with the heavy graphics benchmark 3DMark TimeSpy, in the plugged state, the power consumption fluctuates in the range of 60 watts, and in the unplugged state, the power consumption remains in the range of 42-43 watts; Therefore, there is a 30% drop in power consumption.
Graphics power consumption
Graphic clock
The temperature of the hottest point of the graphic
In the performance stability test, the RTX 4070 graphics frequency works with a frequency of about 1600 MHz in Plugged mode and about 1400 MHz in Unplugged mode, and the temperature of its hottest point reaches 92-93 and 80 degrees Celsius in these two modes. As you can see, in graphics processing, the device gets hotter than CPU-based processing.
The difference in laptop performance when connected and disconnected from the power outlet
One of the main points about the laptop, which often remains hidden from the eyes of the buyer, is the difference in its performance when connected and disconnected from the power outlet (Plugged and Unplugged); Can a laptop provide the same performance in battery-powered mode as in plugged-in mode? The answer to this question for Windows laptops was a resounding “no” until the release of devices equipped with Snapdragon X processors and a handful of Intel and AMD processors. Can the G14 2024 surprise you?
G14 2024 operation in plugged and unplugged mode |
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profile/parameter |
GeekBench 6.3 |
Speedometer 2.1 |
Python code |
Premiere Pro |
Photoshop |
Forza Horizon 5 – QHD |
Performance Plugged |
2568 12946 |
322 |
40.8 seconds |
8253 |
7350 |
70 frames per second |
Performance Unplugged |
2325 8787 |
201 |
45 seconds |
6637 |
6199 |
30 frames per second |
The G14 2024 laptop in the stress test and performance stability that we did with the CineBench 2024 benchmark, practically provided the same performance in the Plugged and Unplugged state; But as you can see in the table above, we did not get the same result for other software and benchmarks. Unfortunately, the G14 appears between 10 and 60% weaker in Unplugged mode and when browsing the web, running Python code, working with Photoshop and Premiere Pro, or even playing Forza Horizon 5.
Laptop performance compared to competitors
Now let us measure the performance of Zephyrus G14 2024 in comparison with its competitors and its previous generation. Please note that in the continuation of the review, we obtained the benchmarks in the condition that the laptop was connected to the power outlet and used the Performance profile.
Note that in order to get a correct idea of G14 2024’s performance, some benchmarks have tried to reflect the results of MacBook Pro M3 Pro and Zephyrus G16 Core Ultra 9 185H from reliable foreign media; Because these two laptops with a price tag of 100 to 120 million tomans are the main competitors of G14 2024.
Zephyrus G14 2024 performance against competitors (plugged in) |
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Laptop/benchmark |
Technical Specifications |
Web browsing |
Performance in graphics |
CPU performance in rendering |
CPU computing power |
GPU computing power |
3 Dark |
CineBench R23 |
GeekBench 6 |
GeekBench 6 |
|||
Speedometer 2.1 |
TimeSpy |
Single Multi |
Single Multi |
OpenCL Metal/Vulkan |
||
DirectX 12 |
||||||
Zephyrus G14 2024 |
Ryzen 9 8945HS RTX 4070 |
322 |
9572 |
1759 16088 |
2568 12946 |
112783 103313 |
Zephyrus G14 2022 |
Ryzen 9 6900HS RX 6800S |
235 |
9075 |
1536 14218 |
2021 9435 |
72595 80580 |
* MacBook Pro 14 |
M3 Pro 14 Core GPU |
677 |
— |
1889 13289 |
3125 13755 |
41736 68417 |
* Zephyrus G16 2024 |
Core Ultra 9 185H RTX 4070 |
— |
10989 |
1803 17452 |
2556 14460 |
114126 — |
MacBook Air 2024 |
M3 8 Core GPU |
680 |
— |
1897 9872 |
3143 2008 |
25845 41671 |
Zenbook 14 |
Core Ultra 7 155H Intel Arc GPU |
396 |
3453 |
1637 13367 |
2290 12256 |
34889 38268 |
MacBook Pro 14 inch 2021 |
M1 Max 24Core GPU |
300 |
— |
1549 12508 |
2378 12239 |
65432 101045 |
Zephyrus G14 2024 experiences significant improvement in benchmarks compared to the 2022 model; But since Ryzen 9 7945HS and Ryzen 9 8945HS do not have any noticeable difference apart from the neural processing engine, you will probably not experience a significant improvement compared to the 2023 model.
We haven’t reviewed the MacBook Pro M3 Pro and the Zephyrus G16 2024, the G14’s main competitors on Zoomit; But to some extent, I must say that MacBook Pro outperforms G14 in single-core processing with a 20% difference and G16 in multi-core processing with a 10-15% difference. Another notable issue is the G14’s stark performance gap with the MacBook in web browsing.
If we use computing power as the benchmark to compare graphics performance, the RTX 4070 GPUs in the G14 and G16 laptops offer more or less the same performance; But the MacBook Pro loses to the G14 2024 by a huge margin of 60%.
Laptop performance in professional use
In order to measure the performance of the Zephyrus G14 2024 laptop in professional use as well, we went to Photoshop software, Premiere Pro, running code written in Python and Blender software.
Laptop performance in Photoshop
In the Photoshop software test, which includes tasks such as opening the RAW file, changing the size of photos, correcting the lens, and reducing noise, the G14 2024 laptop remains behind its competitors G16 2024 and MacBook Pro M3 Pro with a difference of 10 and 25%, respectively.
Note that the above result was obtained when the laptop is connected to the power outlet; If we disconnect the G14 from the power supply, we reach a score of 6199; While the MacBook Pro offers the same performance when unplugged; Therefore, unplugged mode, the performance gap between the two laptops increases from 25% to about 40%.
Laptop performance in Premier Pro
In the Premier Pro test, tasks such as outputting 8-bit and 50 Mbps 4K videos with HEVC and H.264 codecs, processing ProRes UHD videos with and without proxy, and implementing graphic effects are examined. In this test, the G14 laptop was able to beat the MacBook Pro M3 Pro by 35%; But it remained with a 10% difference from G16.
If we disconnect the G14 2024 from the power outlet, its score in the Premier Pro test drops by 20% to 6637, which is still higher than the MacBook Pro M3 Pro by about 10%.
Laptop performance in Python code execution
In the Mandelbrot series benchmark, which is written in Python to find the points of a fractal on a mixed screen, the G14 2024 performed brilliantly thanks to its powerful processor that when using Windows PowerShell, the calculation of fractal points was completed 10% faster than the MacBook Air M3 and 32% faster than the powerful and expensive GalaxyBook 3 Ultra laptop.
Windows provides the possibility of using the Linux terminal thanks to its Linux subsystem called WSL. If we use WSL to run the benchmark, the G14’s performance gap with the MacBook Air and GalaxyBook 3 Ultra increases to 36 and 65 percent, respectively.
Laptop performance in Blender software
Blender 3D modeling software can render with the help of CPU and GPU; To evaluate the performance of the G14 laptop, we ran the Blender software benchmark both on CPU and GPU.
As you can see in the chart above, the Ryzen 9 8945HS processor in the Dell G14 laptop is slightly weaker than the 11-core M3 Pro processor in the 14-inch MacBook Pro laptop.
Nvidia’s powerful graphics show its extraordinary processing power well in the graphics rendering test in Blender software. In this test, the G14 2024 laptop outperforms the MacBook Pro M3 Pro by a margin of 175% and is ahead of the GalaxyBook 3 Ultra laptop by a margin of 60%.
Laptop performance in the game
The Zephyrus G14 2024 laptop runs most games easily and with a frame rate of more than 70 frames per second in 1080p resolution. The laptop provides good performance in optimal games such as Forza Horizon 5 even in QHD resolution; But to experience other heavy games in QHD resolution, you should use technologies such as DLSS and Frame Generation.
Zephyrus G14 2024 performance in games |
|||
---|---|---|---|
Game/Performance |
Clarity |
Graphics settings |
Average frame rate |
Cyberpunk 2077 |
1440p |
RT On – Ultra DLSS On-Quality Frame Generation On |
43 frames per second |
1440p |
RT Off DLSS Off Texture Quality: High |
38 frames per second |
|
1080p |
RT On – Ultra DLSS On-Quality Frame Generation On |
75 frames per second |
|
Forza Horizon 5 |
1440p |
Extreme |
70 frames per second |
FarCry 6 |
1440p |
Ultra quality |
63 frames per second |
Red Dead Redemption 2 |
1440p |
Ultra quality |
51 frames per second |
|
1080p |
Ultra quality |
68 frames per second |
Returnal |
1080p |
Epic |
91 frames per second |
Note that all the above results were obtained when the laptop was plugged in; If you want to play in unplugged mode, to have a satisfactory experience, you need to reduce the graphics settings to medium, otherwise, the frame rate will drop a lot; For example, in the case of Forza Horizon 5, the frame rate dropped from 70 to 30 fps.
Optimal battery life in normal use
The Zephyrus G14 laptop provides the energy it needs through a rather bulky 73-watt-hour battery; Along with the laptop, the Taiwanese provide the user with a 180-watt adapter that can charge 50% of the battery capacity within 30 minutes; Asus also provides a compact 100W USB-C charger with the device, which makes it easier to carry the laptop, while you can also use it to charge your smartphone.
Read more: Asus Zenbook 14 OLED laptop review
Zephyrus G14 2024 battery life compared to other laptops |
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---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laptop/Test |
Functional profile |
hardware |
Display |
Battery capacity |
Play offline video |
Everyday use |
Processor and graphics |
Dimensions, resolution, and refresh rate |
watt-hours |
720p Video |
PCMark 10 |
||
minute: hour |
minute: hour |
|||||
Zephyrus G14 2024 |
Performance |
Ryzen 9 8945HS RTX 4070 |
14 inches and 120 Hz 1800 x 2880 pixels |
73 |
7:47 |
6:20 |
Zephyrus G14 2022 |
Performance |
Ryzen 9 6900HS RX 6800S |
14 inches and 120 Hz 1600 x 2560 pixels |
76 |
5:50 |
4:03 |
MacBook Air 2024 |
— |
Apple M3 8 core GPU |
13.6 inches and 60 Hz 1664 x 2560 pixels |
52.6 |
14:13 |
— |
Zenbook 14 |
Performance |
Core Ultra 7-155H Intel Arc |
14 inches and 120 Hz 1800 x 2880 pixels |
75 |
17:25 |
9:09 |
Galaxy Book 3 Ultra |
Performance |
Core i7-13700H RTX 4050 |
16 inches and 120 Hz 1880 x 2880 pixels |
76 |
11:00 |
6:21 |
MacBook Pro 14-inch 2021 |
— |
M1 Max 24Core GPU |
14.2 inches and 120 Hz 1964 x 3024 pixels |
70 |
18:14 |
— |
Zephyrus G14 2024 lasts about 2 hours longer than the 2022 model in daily use and movie playback; But compared to MacBook Pro and MacBook Air or laptops equipped with Core Ultra processors, there is not much to say; However, overall, it seems that you can count on the G14 2024 for a working day in normal and everyday use.
Zephyrus G14 2024 against the competition
Zephyrus G14 2024 is not the most powerful Windows laptop on the market; But the combination it offers in its price range, at least in the Iranian market, cannot be seen in any other Windows laptop; In the range of 100 to 120 million Tomans, Windows laptops are clumsy and worse devices with monstrous hardware or premium ultrabooks with weak hardware.
J14 is a powerful and compact laptop with extremely high build quality, a stunning display, and ear-splitting speakers, which can last a full working day in daily use, offers performance on par with or close to MacBook Pro M3 Pro, and at the same time, it can also meet your gaming needs. Currently, among Windows devices in the Iranian market, only Asus’ own G16 2024 laptop can offer a similar combination.
If you are looking to buy Zephyrus G14 2024, go for the model equipped with RTX 4060; Because this graphic is a more suitable choice for the 14-inch dimensions and thin thickness of the G14, it is not much different from the RTX 4070 model in professional applications such as video editing with Premier Pro, and it is also about 20 million Tomans cheaper.
What do you think about G14 2024? If you are a Windows laptop fan, which one would you choose between this laptop and the G16 2024?
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Apple Intelligence Review
Ten, eleven years ago, when the chief scientist of Siri’s development sat down to watch the movie Her for the second time, he tried to understand what it was about Samantha, the artificial intelligence character of the movie, that made the protagonist fall in love with her without seeing her; The answer was clear to him. Samantha’s voice was completely natural instead of being robotic! This made Siri in iOS 11, which was released about four years later, have a human (Terry) voice.
But Samantha was not just a natural voice, she was so intelligent that you thought she really had the power to think, and Siri iOS 11 was supposed to be more than just a natural voice; Or at least that’s what Apple wanted to show us. In the demo that Apple released that year of its programs for Siri, it showed a normal day in the life of Dwayne Johnson with his best friend Siri. While exercising and tending to her potty, Johnson asked Siri to check her calendar and reminders list, get her a Lyft cab, read her emails, show her photos of the clothes she designed from the gallery, and finally Rock in an astronaut suit. Suspended in space, we see that he asks Siri to make a Facetime call and take a selfie with him.
In almost all of Siri’s more or less exaggerated advertising, Apple tried to present its voice assistant as a constant and useful companion that can handle anything without the need to run a program ourselves. Siri was so important to Apple that Phil Schiller introduced it as “the best feature of the iPhone” at the iPhone 4S unveiling ceremony and said that we would soon be able to ask Siri to do our jobs for us.
But this “soon” took 13 years and we still have to wait at least another year to see the “real Siri” that was shown in the demos; I mean when Siri tries to get to know the user better by monitoring the user’s interaction with the iPhone and makes us unnecessary to open many applications every day.
For now, what the iOS 18.2 beta version of “smarter” Siri has given us is the integration with ChatGPT and a tool called Visual Intelligence, which offers something like Google Lens and ChatGPT image analysis together. To use Apple’s image generators such as ImagePlayground, Genmoji, and ImageWand, you must join a waiting list that will be approved over the coming weeks.
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Siri with ChatGPT seasoning
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visual intelligence; Only for iPhone 16
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And finally: the magic eraser for the iPhone
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Artificial intelligence writing tool
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Detailed features: from smart gallery search to the new Focus mode
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The most exciting features… yet to come!
With this account, Apple Intelligence not only joined the artificial intelligence hype later than its competitors and currently has almost no new and unique features to offer, but it is perhaps the most incomplete product that Cupertino residents have offered to their users.
Still, better late than never, and the future of Apple Intelligence looks even more exciting than its current state.
Siri with ChatGPT seasoning
The integration of Siri with ChatGPT means that instead of relying on Google to answer complex requests, Siri will now rely on the popular OpenAI chatbot (of course, permission must be obtained first; however, for faster responses, this option can be disabled by unchecking “Confirm ChatGPT Requests” In the ChatGPT section of the settings, disable it).
The quality of the answers is what we expect from ChatGPT, and Apple even gives you the option to download this chatbot application in the Apple Intelligence & Siri section of the settings; But the good news is that using ChatGPT is free and there is no need to create an account. If you have a Pro account, you can log into the app, but if you don’t, OpenAI won’t be able to save your requests and use them to train its chatbot later.
Beta version of Apple Intelligence
Request permission to ChatGPT
To use ChatGPT you probably need to change the IP
The real intelligence of Siri is where it determines what request to answer by itself, what request to ask Google, and what request to give to ChatGPT. For example, a question about the weather is answered by Siri, a question about the news of the day is usually left to Google, and if you have a request to produce text or image, Siri goes to ChatGPT; Of course, if you get bored and start your question with “Ask ChatGPT”, Siri will go straight to the chatbot.
Answer with Siri
Answer with Google
Reply with ChatGPT
The new Siri has a good feeling and the color change of the keyboard and the color halo around the screen when interacting with Siri is eye-catching; More importantly, we no longer need to call Siri to ask her name, and by double-tapping the bottom of the screen, the keyboard will pop up and you can type your request to her (a feature that shy people like me appreciate). However, the use of chatbots, which are also the most famous, is not a new thing, and it is unlikely that Siri’s connection with ChatGPT will excite anyone, at least until this moment.
We have to wait until 2025 for the story to become exciting; When Apple promised that finally ” real Siri ” will make us unnecessary to deal with different applications.
visual intelligence; Only for iPhone 16
Apple Intelligence is only available for iPhone 15 Pro and later users and iPads and MacBooks equipped with M-series chips; But the access to the Visual Intelligence feature in the iOS 18.2 version is even more limited and will only be available to iPhone 16 series users; Because of the “Camera Control” button.
Visual Intelligence is a mouthful for a feature that is not Apple’s initiative and we experienced it a long time ago with Google Lens (of course, the Circle to Search feature of Samsung phones has a similar situation). By holding down the camera control button, the camera view will open. If you tap on the Search option on the right, the subject you see in the camera will be searched in the Google Images section to find similar ones on different websites. If you select the Ask option on the left side of the screen, ChatGPT will come into action and analyze the image for you.
The user interface of Visual Intelligence is minimal and eye-catching, and it shows both the subject search results in Google and the ChatGPT answer in a card on the recorded image. In addition, after submitting the image to ChatGPT, you can continue the discussion about the subject of the image with the chatbot integrated in Siri. The results are useful and practical in most cases (for example, when you are looking for the name of a certain plant), but remember that artificial intelligence is not always reliable. For example, when I took a photo of a notebook with an external hard drive design, ChatGPT mistakenly thought that what it was seeing was really an external hard drive and started explaining its specifications.
The images you take with Visual Intelligence are not recorded on the iPhone, and Apple assures that it will not have access to these images; But if you’re logged into your ChatGPT account, OpenAI is likely to store a copy of the image on its servers for analysis.
The only headache of visual intelligence is specific to Iranian users (of course, except that this feature is limited to new iPhones); While image search in Google does not need to change IP, to analyze it in ChatGPT, you will probably have to change your IP. Sometimes this change causes Google search to not work properly, and constantly switching between VPN on and off can be annoying.
And finally: the magic eraser for the iPhone
Apple was a latecomer on the AI train, but the void for a tool to effortlessly remove distracting objects from an image was felt more than any other AI feature on the iPhone. I remember when Google first introduced Magic Eraser, I was quite surprised by its performance. iPhone’s Clean Up function, which has now been added to the Photos application, has exactly the same function, but it no longer has that sense of wonder, because it was released three years late.
Main image
iPhone eraser
Samsung Eraser
Main image
iPhone eraser
Samsung Eraser
Of course, iPhone’s Clean Up tool works cleaner than Galaxy’s Object Eraser in most cases, and if what you want to erase is small, it’s hard to notice its blank spot in the photo. The Clean Up tool automatically detects disturbing objects and draws a line around them. All the processing is done on the phone itself and therefore, it does not take more than a few seconds.
But Clean Up does not have a new feature to offer, and probably most iPhone users who needed such a feature have been using the same Magic Eraser of Google Photos for a long time; Especially since they don’t need new iPhones and Apple Intelligence to use Magic Eraser.
Artificial intelligence writing tool
The iPhone artificial intelligence writing tool (Writing Tools), which is now available as a new option after Copy in the Safari environment and also next to the pen option in the Notes application, is exactly what we have experienced with Google, Microsoft, and ChatGPT products so far; Of course, with this limitation that it does not support the Persian language and therefore, it will not be widely used for Iranian users.
The tool itself consists of various options, including text correction, rewriting, friendly tone, professional tone, summary, summary, key points, listing, and table creation, the last four options in addition to the “Describe your change” bar, which gives users more freedom of action. For example, you can convert the text format to poetry), are still missing in the iOS 18.2 beta version; But it will probably be available with the release of the public version.
New Writing Tools option
Different Options of Writing Tools
Rewrite text rewriting capability
Many rewrites are full of emotional words
friendly tone
Professional tone
summarizing
The last 4 options have not been released yet
If you need to rewrite English texts, Writing Tools has a relatively satisfactory performance; However, Apple’s language model has a habit of using buzzwords and flashy descriptions like “eye-catching”, “unique” or “innovative”, even in summaries! And this issue clearly shows the traces of artificial intelligence in the text.
But the most important features of Writing Tools are the ones that are not yet available in the beta version of iOS 18.2, and I guess they will completely transform the note-taking experience in the Notes application.
Detailed features: from smart gallery search to the new Focus mode
Apple Intelligence is full of smaller features that may be less obvious than linking Siri with ChatGPT and Clean Up, but are likely to be important in simplifying a wide variety of tasks.
Read more: iPhone 16 Pro Review
Smart search in the gallery
Searching images in the gallery has become smarter and understands natural language. For users whose gallery is unorganized and searching among thousands of photos has always been considered an impossible mission, artificial intelligence is really helpful. The results are not always related to the search term, but at least one or two are close to what you are looking for. Interestingly, the new search also recognizes facial expressions such as frowning and smiling and can find specific moments in video clips.
Man with camera
The girl is frowning
Outdoor environment at night
People walking
Intelligent Focus Mode
Apple introduced Focus modes to reduce distractions in iOS 15, and now a new mode has been added to the set of Apple Intelligence features; The Reduce Interruptions mode, which uses artificial intelligence, prioritizes notifications based on the degree of importance and displays only those that are really important from the point of view of artificial intelligence. It is possible to customize this mode like other Focus Modes and you can filter the apps and pages you want.
Smart notifications
Speaking of notifications, let me add that Apple’s AI now categorizes notifications and displays a one-sentence summary of their content. Summary of notifications works both with the iPhone’s own apps such as iMessage, and with third-party apps. When you enable Apple Intelligence, the notification display automatically becomes smart, but you can turn off the notification display completely or just for a specific app by disabling Summarize Previews from the Notifications section in Settings.
Summary of articles in Safari
When you enter Reader mode to read an article in Safari (English articles, of course!), at the beginning of the article you will see an option called “Summarize”, by tapping on it you can read a summary of about 50 words of the entire content within a few seconds.
For the most part, abstracts of non-app articles have a more neutral tone
The summaries of the articles are useful in most cases. For example, when you open the Dragon Age: The Veilguard game review article, you just want to know whether a certain website has a positive or negative opinion about this game. The tendency of Apple’s artificial intelligence to use emotional words can be seen here, and for example, regarding the article about the launch of the M4 Mac minis, seeing adjectives such as “impressive” or “stunning” in the summary seems a bit excessive. However, Summarize seems to be a useful feature for people who are busy and whose English is relatively good.
The most exciting features… yet to come!
About six weeks have passed since the release of the iPhone 16, and Apple’s intelligence capabilities are not yet fully available; Including the Image Playground image generator that turns text commands into cartoon images, or the Image Wand in the Notes app that adds an image related to your writing, or the Genmoji feature that allows you to create custom emojis with a text description.
But in my opinion, what can really make the Apple Intelligence experience unique and “magical” is Siri; Of course, not in its current form, but what is going to be released in iOS 18.3 and 18.4. Apple is working on features like “screen awareness,” “user behavior analysis,” and “in-app actions” to bring its voice assistant closer to the dream it’s had in mind for years.
For example, thanks to the ability to be aware of the screen, you can tell Siri “Send this photo to so-and-so” and Siri will know exactly which photo you are talking about. Siri also has a better understanding of the content of emails and messages, and if you ask Siri to find a specific message for you or tell you when you took a certain photo, it can answer you. And more importantly, Siri’s control over applications will increase significantly and it will be able to do things that it couldn’t do until now.
Of course, we have to wait at least until 2025 for these features to be ready, and it is not clear that Siri’s performance will be exactly what Apple has promised many times. Until then, perhaps the most important challenge facing Apple’s voice assistant is to make users remember that there is such a thing as Siri at all.
An in-depth look at the McLaren W1 supercar
First was F1 and then P1. Now, the W1 has stepped in to take McLaren’s illustrious legacy to new heights. With an astonishing 1,257 horsepower, a combination of advanced aerodynamics and innovative hybrid technology, the McLaren W1 is here to redefine a modern supercar; But can this new model continue the brilliant path started by F1 and P1 and make a place for itself in today’s fast and furious competitive world?
McLaren P1, McLaren W1 and McLaren F1
Eleven years ago, the P1 was recognized as one of the top icons of the automotive industry; The supercar that once held the title of king of the Nürburgring (a famous racetrack in Germany), with its hybrid drivetrain, surprising design, and heart-pounding power, proved McLaren’s power in terms of precision, speed and driving excitement.
Now W1 has entered the field; Not just to retire the P1, of course, but to redefine what it means to be a modern supercar. With technologies inspired by McLaren’s latest achievements in Formula One, the W1 promises a different and unique experience for super-fast car enthusiasts.
McLaren W1 is not only flawless in propulsion power and aerodynamic precision, but its design is such that it can show exceptional performance both on the road and on the track. McLaren used a powerful electric motor in the construction of the W1, which, in addition to increasing acceleration, provides better control of the car in sharp turns and hard roads.
There is no doubt that W1 is more advanced in many aspects compared to previous models; But the question is, can the name of this new car become as immortal as P1 and F1?
Stay tuned as we pit the amazing features of the McLaren W1 against the legendary P1 and see how the upstart British automaker is going to win the supercar throne game.
W1, McLaren’s most powerful production car to date
When it comes to engine power, the W1 and P1 are incomparable. The W1’s astonishing 1,258 horsepower and 1,340 Nm of torque make it the most powerful four-wheeled vehicle ever to come out of the McLaren lineup.
If you’re not too familiar with the concepts of horsepower and torque, you can think of horsepower as an athlete’s final power (eg, the ability to maintain a high speed over a long distance) and torque as their starting force at the start of a run (initial acceleration). Torque is the twisting force that helps the car to start moving and accelerate, while horsepower shows the final power of the engine, which affects the final speed.
Now, if we consider the dry weight of W1 (without liquids such as oil and fuel) which is 1399 kg, its power-to-weight ratio will be only 1.1 kg per horsepower. Such a ratio makes for incredible acceleration and is also a personal record for McLaren.
On the other hand, P1 is slightly lighter than W1 with a dry weight of 1,395 kg; But on the other hand, it has less power. This middle-aged king still produces 903 horsepower and 900 Nm of torque, which, unfortunately, does not even reach the production power of the Nunvar W1 hybrid engine.
McLaren W1 vs P1 performance stats
In terms of performance statistics, the W1 accelerates from a standstill to 97 km/h in just 2.7 seconds, reaches 200 km/h in 5.8 seconds, and breaks the 300 km/h record in 12.7 seconds. The speed of W1 is limited by an electronic limiter to 350 km/h.
P1 is slower; But not much. This car reaches a speed of 97 km/h in 2.8 seconds, which is still very fast by today’s standards; However, as the speed increases, the gap between the P1 and the W1 widens, to the point where the P1 needs 6.8 seconds to reach 200 km/h. Interestingly, the maximum speed of P1 is limited to 350 km/h just like W1.
Another interesting point is that the MotorTrend media found out that the acceleration from 0 to 97 km/h P1 is about 0.2 seconds less than the official McLaren statistics. This means that the distance between P1 and W1 in this field is summarized in only one tenth of a second.
Finally, it should be noted that various factors such as altitude above sea level, tires, weather conditions and driver’s weight can affect the time from zero to 97 km/h; Therefore, it is difficult to directly compare the statistics of the two cars in question, unless both cars are tested under almost identical conditions.
McLaren P1 and W1; Hybrid supercars
If you are even a little familiar with McLaren, you probably know that this brand has a special interest in using hybrid engines; But what does hybrid mean? Simply put, a hybrid vehicle has two power sources: usually an internal combustion engine (such as a gasoline engine) and an electric motor. The electric motor can both increase the car’s efficiency and lend extra power to the car and reduce fuel consumption when accelerating or moving at a low speed.
Keep in mind that McLaren, unlike some manufacturers such as Toyota, does not use electric motors solely for environmental purposes or to reduce fuel consumption. For McLaren, the main purpose of using electric motors in its cars is to increase the instantaneous torque and provide additional power that helps the car perform and accelerate faster.
The P1 was the first supercar that McLaren released with a hybrid system, and apparently the automaker realized the brilliance of its idea at the same time; Because since then, a wide variety of McLaren creations, including Artura and Senna, have joined the hybrid front. Of course, not everything became a hybrid; For example, in the chest of the 750S, a single internal combustion engine still beats proudly.
McLaren P1 has better electric range than W1
The W1 is the seal of approval for McLaren’s commitment to high-performance hybrid supercars. The electric engine of this engineering marvel produces 342 horsepower and 440 Nm of torque and can handle a huge SUV alone; But don’t expect much range from all-electric mode. In fact, the W1’s battery can only take the car for 2.4 to 3.2 kilometers, after which the V8 engine kicks in.
In contrast, the P1 has enough electric power to travel more than 10 kilometers on its own battery. Of course, the power of the P1 electric motor is not as powerful as that used in the W1, and this motor can only provide 177 horsepower and 260 Nm of torque.
The McLaren P1 is slightly rarer than the W1
The P1 was initially launched with a price tag of $1.15 million, But some of its special and special versions with unusual designs and features had a higher price. In the used car market, many of these models remain close to their original price, and some examples have even been sold for $2.5 million. Given the inflation of recent years, it’s not surprising that the W1 is now priced at nearly double the price of its predecessor.
In contrast, the McLaren W1 now sells for around $2.1 million; However, the final price depends on the extent to which willing buyers customize it.
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The McLaren W1 supercar is more amazing than you can imagine
On the other hand, McLaren produced a total of 375 P1s, making it one of the rarest vehicles in the world. W1 is also rare; But compared to the P1, some W1s will wear more tires on this dirt globe. McLaren plans to produce 399 units of its new supercar; All of them were registered in the name of their buyers before the official unveiling of the car.
The difference in the McLaren P1 and W1 body
Both the P1 and the W1 are aggressively designed supercars, and their appearance fits perfectly with the general mold of a supercar; But as the English say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder; This means that people may have different views about the attractiveness of each of these two cars. An important point that should not be forgotten is that the design of these cars is not only for beauty but also for practical purposes.
The design of the McLaren P1 body has made it possible to achieve a drag coefficient of 0.34Cd. The drag coefficient is a measure that shows the resistance of an object to the air flow. The lower the drag coefficient of a car, the easier the car can break the air and move forward; But the higher this coefficient is, the more force it will need to accelerate.
Thanks to its ultra-low drag coefficient, the P1 could produce 600 kg of downforce at top speed and stick to the road. The result of this feature was the excellent stability and grip of this supercar even at high speeds.
Despite the impressive performance of the P1, the spec sheet reminds us of the undisputed superiority of the W1. Thanks to its design and components such as its dynamic rear wing, McLaren’s latest behemoth can generate up to 1,000 kg of downforce and literally grip the asphalt.
The exact value of drag coefficient W1 is not yet known; But the W1 is rumored to be 20 percent more aerodynamic than the McLaren Senna, known for its excellent aerodynamic performance.
Also, the W1 managed to improve Senna’s time record for a track car by three seconds. In short, the impact of the aerodynamic and engineering advances on the W1’s performance is staggering.
Apart from all the performance issues, the W1 also shines in its styling. The design of the W1 gives the car a distinctive presence both on and off the track. This “presence” means the visual effect of the car; W1 is designed to attract attention and provoke admiration; Just like a stunning piece of art hanging on the walls of a museum.
Read more: Everything about Cybercube and Robo Van; Elon Musk’s robotic taxis
the last word; “Real supercar” McLaren
McLaren calls the W1 a “Real Supercar”. There is no doubt that McLaren’s latest supercar has surpassed the model that broke the boundaries more than a decade ago in many ways, But the W1 may have a tough road ahead of it to make the same impact that its brother did in its time.
At the time of its launch, the McLaren P1 set countless records; From setting the best times at the Nurburgring to shining at COTA (Auto Racing of America); But at that time, the competition was not so tight.
McLaren W1 alongside McLaren P1 and McLaren F1
The high-performance electric supercar revolution that has taken place in the years since the P1’s launch has changed the scene dramatically. With many automakers investing heavily in electric technology and dramatic improvements in supercar capabilities, setting new records is likely to be an even bigger challenge for the W1.
Don’t forget the McLaren F1; A model that is the most iconic supercar ever built and an irreplaceable jewel in McLaren’s history. By registering and defending the position of “the fastest production car in the world” for more than a decade, this car recorded its name as a legend in history; A record that showed its superiority in speed and engineering.
Even though more than 30 years have passed since the production of the first F1 model, this car still holds the title of the fastest production vehicle with a naturally aspirated engine (without the use of a turbocharger or supercharger). It is not without reason that the F1 is still more famous than the Jaguar XJ220 supercar and is always superior to the P1 and W1. F1’s combination of design, engineering, and performance has left a lasting legacy that continues to influence the automotive world today.
There is no doubt that the McLaren W1 represents the pinnacle of modern supercar technology, combining amazing performance with innovative hybrid technology. As the automotive industry continues to evolve, it will be exciting to watch the W1 perform not only against its predecessors but against a new generation of competitors that will challenge the boundaries of what supercars are capable of.
Technology
What is CPU; Everything you need to know about processors
Published
2 days agoon
07/11/2024What is CPU; Everything you need to know about processors
The central processing unit ( CPU ) is considered a vital element in any computer and manages all calculations and instructions that are transferred to other computer components and its peripheral equipment. Almost all electronic devices and gadgets you use; From desktops and laptops and phones to gaming consoles and smartwatches, everyone is equipped with a central processing unit; In fact, this unit is considered basic for computers, without which the system will not turn on, let alone be usable. The high speed of the central processing unit is a function of the input command, and the components of the computer only gain executive power if they are connected to this unit.
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What is a processor?
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Processor performance
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Operating units of processors
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Processor architecture
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Set of instructions
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RISC vs. CISC or ARM vs. x86
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A brief history of processor architecture
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ARM and X86-64 architecture differences
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Processor performance indicators
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Processor frequency
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cache memory
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Processing cores
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Difference between single-core and multi-core processing
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Processing threads
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What is hypertrading or SMT?
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CPU in gaming
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What is a bottleneck?
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Setting up a balanced system
Since the central processing units manage the data of all parts of the computer at the same time, it may work slowly as the volume of calculations and processes increases, or even fail or crash as the workload increases. Today, the most common central processing units on the market consist of semiconductor components on integrated circuits, which are sold in various types, and the leading manufacturers in this industry are AMD and Intel, who have been competing in this field since 50 years ago.
What is a processor?
To get to know the central processing unit (CPU), we first introduce a part of the computer called SoC very briefly. SoC, or system on a chip, is a part of a system that integrates all the components a computer needs for processing on a silicon chip. The SoC has various modules, of which the central processing unit (abbreviated as CPU) is the main component, and the GPU, memory, USB controller, power management circuits, and wireless radios (WiFi, 3G, 4G LTE, etc.) are miscellaneous components that may be necessary. not exist on the SoC. The central processing unit, which from now on and in this article will be called the processor for short, cannot process instructions independently of other chips; But building a complete computer is only possible with SoC.
The SoC is slightly larger than the CPU, yet offers much more functionality. In fact, despite the great emphasis placed on the technology and performance of the processor, this part of the computer is not a computer in itself, and it can finally be introduced as a very fast calculator that is part of the system on a chip or SoC; It retrieves data from memory and then performs some kind of arithmetic (addition, multiplication) or logical (and, or, not) operation on it.
Processor performance
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Comparison of Intel and AMD CPUs; All technical specifications and features
The process of processing instructions in the processor includes four main steps that are executed in order:
Calling or retrieving instructions from memory (Fetch): The processor first receives these instructions from memory in order to know how to manage the input and know the instructions related to it. This input may be one or infinitely many commands that must be addressed in separate locations. For this purpose, there is a unit called PC (abbreviation of Program Counter) or program counter, which maintains the order of sent commands; The processor is also constantly communicating with RAM in a cooperative interaction to find the address of the instruction (reading from memory).
Decoding or translation of instructions (Decode): Instructions are translated into a form that can be understood by the processor (machine language or binary). After receiving the commands, the processor needs to translate these codes into machine language (or binary) to understand them. Writing programs in binary language, from the very beginning, is a difficult task, and for this reason, codes are written in simpler programming languages, and then a unit called Assembler converts these commands into executable codes ready for processor processing.
Processing or execution of translated instructions (Execute): The most important step in the processor’s performance is the processing and execution of instructions. At this stage, the decoded and binary instructions are processed at a special address for execution with the help of the ALU unit (abbreviation of Arithmetic & Logic Unit) or calculation and logic unit.
Storage of execution results (Store): The results and output of instructions are stored in the peripheral memory of the processor with the help of the Register unit, so that they can be referred to in future instructions to increase speed (writing to memory).
The process described above is called a fetch-execute cycle, and it happens millions of times per second; Each time after the completion of these four main steps, it is the turn of the next command and all steps are executed again from the beginning until all the instructions are processed.
Operating units of processors
Each processor consists of three operational units that play a role in the process of processing instructions:
Arithmetic & Logic Unit (ALU): This is a complex digital circuit unit that performs arithmetic and comparison operations; In some processors, the ALU is divided into two sections, AU (for performing arithmetic operations) and LU (for performing logical operations).
Memory Control Unit (CU or Program Counter): This is a circuit unit that directs and manages operations within the processor and dictates how to respond to instructions to the calculation and logic unit and input and output devices. The operation of the control unit in each processor can be different depending on its design architecture.
Register unit (Register): The register unit is a unit in the processor that is responsible for temporarily storing processed data, instructions, addresses, sequence of bits, and output, and must have sufficient capacity to store these data. Processors with 64-bit architecture have registers with 64-bit capacity, and processors with 32-bit architecture have 32-bit registers.
Processor architecture
The relationship between the instructions and the processor hardware design forms the processor architecture; But what is 64 or 32-bit architecture? What are the differences between these two architectures? To answer this question, we must first familiarize ourselves with the set of instructions and how to perform their calculations:
Set of instructions
An instruction set is a set of operations that any processor can execute naturally. This operation consists of several thousands of simple and elementary instructions (such as addition, multiplication, transfer, etc.) whose execution is defined in advance for the processor, and if the operation is outside the scope of this set of instructions, the processor cannot execute it.
As mentioned, the processor is responsible for executing programs. These programs are a set of instructions written in a programming language that must be followed in a logical order and exactly step-by-step execution.
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What is the difference between mobile, laptop, desktop, and server processors?
Since computers do not understand programming languages directly, these instructions must be translated into a machine language or binary form that is easier for computers to understand. The binary form consists of only two numbers zero and one and shows the two possible states of on (one) or off (zero) transistors for the passage of electricity.
In fact, each processor can be considered a set of electrical circuits that provide a set of instructions to the processor, and then the circuits related to that operation are activated by an electrical signal and the processor executes it.
Instructions consist of a certain number of bits. For example, in an 8-bit instruction; Its first 4 bits refer to the operation code and the next 4 bits refer to the data to be used. The length of an instruction set can vary from a few bits to several hundreds of bits and in some architectures it has different lengths.
In general, the set of instructions is divided into the following two main categories:
- Computer calculations with a reduced instruction set (Reduced instruction set computer): For a RISC-based processor (read risk), the set of defined operations is simple and basic. These types of calculations perform processes faster and more efficiently and are optimized to reduce execution time; RISC does not need to have complex circuits and its design cost is low. RISC-based processors complete each instruction in a single cycle and only operate on data stored in registers; So, they are simple instructions, they have a higher frequency, the information routing structure in them is more optimal, and they load and store operations on registers.
- Complex instruction set computer: CISC processors have an additional layer of microcode or microprogramming in which they convert complex instructions into simple instructions (such as addition or multiplication). Programmable instructions are stored in fast memory and can be updated. In this type of instruction set, a larger number of instructions can be included than in RICS, and their format can be of variable length. In fact, CISC is almost the opposite of RISC. CISC instructions can span multiple processor cycles, and data routing is not as efficient as RISC processors. In general, CISC-based processors can perform multiple operations during a single complex instruction, but they take multiple cycles along the way.
RISC vs. CISC or ARM vs. x86
RISC and CISC are the two starting and ending points of this spectrum in the instruction set category, and various other combinations are also visible. First, let’s state the basic differences between RISC and CISC:
RICS or Reduced Code of Practice |
CISC or Complex Instruction Set |
---|---|
RISC instruction sets are simple; They perform only one operation and the processor can process them in one cycle. |
CISC instructions perform multiple operations, but the processor cannot process them in a single cycle. |
RISC-based processors have more optimized and simpler information routing; The design of these commands is so simple that they can be implemented in parts. |
CISC-based processors are complex in nature, and instructions are more difficult to execute. |
RISC-based processors require stored data to execute instructions. |
In CISC-based processors, it is possible to work with instructions directly through RAM, and there is no need to load operations separately. |
RISC does not require complex hardware and all operations are performed by software. |
CISC design hardware requirements are higher. CISC instructions are implemented using hardware, and software is often simpler than RISC. This is why programs based on the CISC design require less coding and the instructions themselves do a large part of the operation. |
As mentioned, in the design of today’s modern processors, a combination of these two sets (CISC or RISC) is used. For example, AMD’s x86 architecture originally uses the CISC instruction set, but is also equipped with microcode to simplify complex RISC-like instructions. Now that we have explained the differences between the two main categories of instruction sets, we will examine their application in processor architecture.
If you pay attention to the processor architecture when choosing a phone or tablet, you will notice that some models use Intel processors, while others are based on ARM architecture.
Suppose that different processors each have different instruction sets, in which case each must be compiled separately for each processor to run different programs. For example, for each processor from the AMD family, it was necessary to develop a separate Windows or thousands of versions of the Photoshop program were written for different processors. For this reason, standard architectures based on RISC or CISC categories or a combination of the two were designed and the specifications of these standards were made available to everyone. ARM, PowerPC, x86-64, and IA-64 are examples of these architecture standards, and below we introduce two of the most important ones and their differences:
A brief history of processor architecture
In 1823, a person named Baron Jones Jacob Berzelius discovered the chemical element silicon (symbol Si, atomic number 14) for the first time. Due to its abundance and strong semiconductor properties, this element is used as the main material in making processors and computer chips. Almost a century later, in 1947, John Bardeen , Walter Brattin and William Shockley invented the first transistor at Bell Labs and received the Nobel Prize.
The first efficient integrated circuit (IC) was unveiled in September 1958, and two years later IBM developed the first automated mass production facility for transistors in New York. Intel was founded in 1968 and AMD was founded a year later.
The first processor was invented by Intel in the early 1970s; This processor was called Intel 4004 and with the benefit of 2,300 transistors, it performed 60,000 operations per second. The Intel 4004 CPU was priced at 200 and had only 640 bytes of memory:
Intel CPU C4004 P0339
After Intel, Motorola introduced its first 8-bit processor (the MC6800) with a frequency of one to two MHz, and then MOS Technology introduced a faster and cheaper processor than the existing processors used in gaming consoles of the time, namely the Atari 2600 and Nintendo systems. Used like Apple II and Commodore 64. The first 32-bit processor was developed by Motorola in 1979, although this processor was only used in Apple’s Macintosh and Amiga computers. A little later, National Semiconductor released the first 32-bit processor for public use.
In 1993, PowerPC released its first processor based on a 32-bit instruction set; This processor was developed by the AIM consortium (consisting of three companies Apple, IBM, and Motorola) and Apple migrated from Intel to PowerPC at that time.
The difference between 32-bit and 64-bit processor (x86 vs. x64): Simply put, the x86 architecture refers to a family of instructions that was used in one of the most successful Intel processors, the 8086, and if a processor is compatible with the x86 architecture, that processor known as x86-64 or x86-32 for Windows 32 (and 16) versions bit is used; 64-bit processors are called x64 and 32-bit processors are called x86.
The biggest difference between 32-bit and 64-bit processors is their different access to RAM:
The maximum physical memory of x86 architecture or 32-bit processors is limited to 4 GB; While x64 architecture (or 64-bit processors) can access physical memory of 8, 16, and sometimes even up to 32 GB. A 64-bit computer can run both 32-bit and 64-bit programs; In contrast, a 32-bit computer can only run 32-bit programs.
In most cases, 64-bit processors are more efficient than 32-bit processors when processing large amounts of data. To find out which programs your operating system supports (32-bit or 64-bit), just follow one of the following two paths:
- Press the Win + X keys to bring up the context menu and then click System. -> In the window that opens, find the System type section in the Device specification section. You can see whether your Windows is 64-bit or 32-bit from this section.
- Type the term msinfo32 in the Windows search box and click on the displayed System Information. -> From the System Information section on the right, find the System type and see if your Windows operating system is based on x64 or X32.
The first route
The second path
ARM was a type of computer processor architecture that was introduced by Acorn in 1980; Before ARM, AMD, and Intel both used Intel’s X86 architecture, based on CISC computing, and IBM also used RISC computing in its workstations. In fact, Acorn was the first company to develop a home computer based on RISC computing, and its architecture was named after ARM itself: Acorn RISC Machine. The company did not manufacture processors and instead sold licenses to use the ARM architecture to other processor manufacturers. Acorn Holding changed the name Acorn to Advanced a few years later.
The ARM architecture processes 32-bit instructions, and the core of a processor based on this architecture requires at least 35,000 transistors. Processors designed based on Intel’s x86 architecture, which processes based on CISC calculations, require at least millions of transistors; In fact, the optimal energy consumption in ARM-based processors and their suitability for devices such as phones or tablets is related to the low number of transistors compared to Intel’s X86 architecture.
In 2011, ARM introduced the ARMv8 architecture with support for 64-bit instructions and a year after that, Microsoft also launched a Windows version compatible with the ARM architecture along with the Surface RT tablet.
ARM and X86-64 architecture differences
The ARM architecture is designed to be as simple as possible while keeping power dissipation to a minimum. On the other hand, Intel uses more complex settings with the X86 architecture, which is more suitable for more powerful desktop and laptop processors.
Computers moved to 64-bit architecture after Intel introduced the modern x86-64 architecture (also known as x64). 64-bit architecture is essential for optimal calculations and performs 3D rendering and encryption with greater accuracy and speed. Today, both architectures support 64-bit instructions, but this technology came earlier for mobile.
When ARM implemented 64-bit architecture in ARMv8, it took two approaches to this architecture: AArch32 and AArch64. The first one is used to run 32-bit codes and the other one is used to run 64-bit codes.
ARM architecture is designed in such a way that it can switch between two modes very quickly. This means that the 64-bit instruction decoder no longer needs to be compatible with 32-bit instructions and is designed to be backward compatible, although ARM has announced that processors based on the ARMv9 Cortex-A architecture will only be compatible with 64-bit instructions in 2023. and support for 32-bit applications and operating systems will end in next-generation processors.
The differences between ARM and Intel architecture largely reflect the achievements and challenges of these two companies. The approach of optimal energy consumption in the ARM architecture, while being suitable for power consumption under 5 watts in mobile phones, provides the possibility of improving the performance of processors based on this architecture to the level of Intel laptop processors. Compared to Intel’s 100-watt power consumption in Core i7 and Core i9 processors or even AMD processors, it is a great achievement in high-end desktops and servers, although historically it is not possible to lower this power below 5 watts.
Processors that use more advanced transistors consume less power, and Intel has long been trying to upgrade its lithography from 14nm to more advanced lithography. The company recently succeeded in producing its processors with the 10nm manufacturing process, but in the meantime, mobile processors have also moved from 20nm to 14nm, 10nm, and 7nm designs, which is a result of competition from Samsung and TSMC. On the other hand, AMD unveiled 7nm processors in the Ryzen series and surpassed its x86-64 architecture competitors.
Nanometer: A meter divided by a thousand is equal to a millimeter, a millimeter divided by a thousand is equal to a micrometer, and a micrometer divided by a thousand is equal to a nanometer, in other words, a nanometer is a billion times smaller than a meter.
Lithography or manufacturing process: lithography is a Greek word that means lithography, which refers to the way components are placed in processors, or the process of producing and forming circuits; This process is carried out by specialized manufacturers in this field, such as TSMC. In lithography, since the production of the first processors until a few years ago, nanometers showed the distances of placing processor components together; For example, the 14nm lithography of the Skylake series processors in 2015 meant that the components of that processor were separated by 14nm. At that time, it was believed that the less lithography or processor manufacturing process, the more efficient energy consumption and better performance.
The distance between the placement of components in processors is not so relevant nowadays and the processes used to make these products are more contractual; Because it is no longer possible to reduce these distances beyond a certain limit without reducing productivity. In general, with the passage of time, the advancement of technology, the design of different transistors, and the increase in the number of these transistors in the processor, manufacturers have adopted various other solutions such as 3D stacking to place transistors on the processors.
The most unique feature of ARM architecture can be considered as keeping the power consumption low in running mobile applications; This achievement comes from ARM’s heterogeneous processing capability; ARM architecture allows processing to be divided between powerful and low-power cores, and as a result, energy is used more efficiently.
ARM’s first attempt in this field dates back to the big.LITTLE architecture in 2011, when the large Cortex-A15 cores and the small Cortex-A7 cores arrived. The idea of using powerful cores for heavy applications and using low-power cores for light and background processing may not have been given as much attention as it should be, but ARM experienced many unsuccessful attempts and failures to achieve it; Today, ARM is the dominant architecture in the market: for example, iPads and iPhones use ARM architecture exclusively.
In the meantime, Intel’s Atom processors, which did not benefit from heterogeneous processing, could not compete with the performance and optimal consumption of processors based on ARM architecture, and this made Intel lag behind ARM.
Finally, in 2020, Intel was able to use a hybrid architecture for cores with a powerful core (Sunny Cove) and four low-consumption cores (Tremont) in the design of its 10 nm Lakefield processors, and in addition to this achievement, it also uses graphics and connectivity capabilities. , but this product was made for laptops with a power consumption of 7 watts, which is still considered high consumption for phones.
Another important distinction between Intel and ARM is in the way they use their design. Intel uses its developed architecture in the processors it manufactures and sells the architecture in its products, while ARM sells its design and architecture certification with customization capabilities to other companies, such as Apple, Samsung, and Qualcomm, and these companies They can make changes in the set of instructions of this architecture and design depending on their goals.
Manufacturing custom processors is expensive and complicated for companies that manufacture these products, but if done right, the end products can be very powerful. For example, Apple has repeatedly proven that customizing the ARM architecture can bring the company’s processors to par with x84-64 or beyond.
Apple eventually plans to remove all Intel-based processors from its Mac products and replace them with ARM-based silicon. The M1 chip is Apple’s first attempt in this direction, which was released along with MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac Mini. After that, the M1 Max and M1 Ultra chips also showed that the ARM architecture combined with Apple’s improvements could challenge the x86-64 architecture.
As mentioned earlier, standard architectures based on RISC or CISC categories or a combination of the two were designed and the specifications of these standards were made available to everyone; Applications and software must be compiled for the processor architecture on which they run. This issue was not a big concern before due to the limitations of different platforms and architectures, but today the number of applications that need different compilations to run on different platforms has increased.
ARM-based Macs, Google’s Chrome OS, and Microsoft’s Windows are all examples in today’s world that require software to run on both ARM and x86-64 architectures. Native software compilation is the only solution that can be used in such a situation.
In fact, for these platforms, it is possible to simulate each other’s code, and the code compiled for one architecture can be executed on another architecture. It goes without saying that such an approach to the initial development of an application compatible with any platform is accompanied by a decrease in performance, but the very possibility of simulating the code can be very promising for now.
After years of development, currently, the Windows emulator for a platform based on ARM architecture provides acceptable performance for running most applications, Android applications also run more or less satisfactorily on Chromebooks based on Intel architecture, and Apple, which has a special code translation tool for has developed itself (Rosetta 2) supports older Mac applications that were developed for the Intel architecture.
However, as mentioned, all three perform weaker in the implementation of programs than if the program was written from scratch for each platform separately. In general, the architecture of ARM and Intel X86-64 can be compared as follows:
architecture |
ARM |
X86-64 |
---|---|---|
CISC vs. RISC |
The ARM architecture is an architecture for processors and therefore does not have a single manufacturer. This technology is used in the processors of Android phones and iPhones. |
The X86 architecture is produced by Intel and is exclusively used in desktop and laptop processors of this company. |
Complexity of instructions |
The ARM architecture uses only one cycle to execute an instruction, and this feature makes processors based on this architecture more suitable for devices that require simpler processing. |
The Intel architecture (or the X86 architecture associated with 32-bit Windows applications) often uses CISC computing and therefore has a slightly more complex instruction set and requires several cycles to execute. |
Mobile CPUs vs. Desktop CPUs |
The dependence of the ARM architecture on the software makes this architecture be used more in the design of phone processors; ARM (in general) works better on smaller technologies that don’t have constant access to the power supply. |
Because Intel’s X86 architecture relies more on hardware, this architecture is typically used to design processors for larger devices such as desktops; Intel focuses more on performance and is considered a better architecture for a wider range of technologies. |
Energy consumption |
The ARM architecture not only consumes less energy thanks to its single-cycle computing set but also has a lower operating temperature than Intel’s X86 architecture; ARM architectures are great for designing phone processors because they reduce the amount of energy required to keep the system running and execute the user’s requested commands. |
Intel’s architecture is focused on performance, so it won’t be a problem for desktop or laptop users who have access to an unlimited power source. |
Processor speed |
CPUs based on ARM architecture are usually slower than their Intel counterparts because they perform calculations with lower power for optimal consumption. |
Processors based on Intel’s X86 architecture are used for faster computing. |
operating system |
ARM architecture is more efficient in the design of Android phone processors and is considered the dominant architecture in this market; Although devices based on the X86 architecture can also run a full range of Android applications, these applications must be translated before running. This scenario requires time and energy, so battery life and overall processor performance may suffer. |
Intel architecture reigns as the dominant architecture in tablets and Windows operating systems. Of course, in 2019, Microsoft released the Surface Pro X with a processor that uses ARM architecture and could run the full version of Windows. If you are a gamer or if you have expectations from your tablet beyond running the full version of Windows, it is better to still use the Intel architecture. |
During the competition between Arm and x86 over the past ten years, ARM can be considered the winning architecture for low-power devices such as phones. This architecture has also made great strides in laptops and other devices that require optimal energy consumption. On the other hand, although Intel has lost the phone market, the efforts of this manufacturer to optimize energy consumption have been accompanied by significant improvements over the years, and with the development of hybrid architecture, such as the combination of Lakefield and Alder Lake, now more than ever, there are many commonalities with processors. It is based on Arm architecture. Arm and x86 are distinctly different from an engineering point of view, and each has its own individual strengths and weaknesses, however, today it is no longer easy to distinguish between the use cases of the two, as both architectures are increasingly supported. It is increasing in ecosystems.
Processor performance indicators
Processor performance has a great impact on the speed of loading programs and their smooth execution, and there are various measures to measure the performance of each processor, of which frequency (clock speed) is one of the most important. So be careful, the frequency of each core can be considered as a criterion for measuring its processing power, but this criterion does not necessarily represent the overall performance of the processor and many things such as the number of cores and threads, internal architecture (synergy between cores), cache memory capacity, Overclocking capability, thermal power, power consumption, IPC, etc. were also considered to judge the overall performance of the processor.
Synergy is an effect that results from the flow or interaction of two or more elements. If this effect is greater than the sum of the effects that each of those individual elements could create, then synergy has occurred.
In the following, we will explain more about the factors influencing the performance of the processor:
Processor frequency
One of the most important factors in choosing and buying a processor is its frequency (Clock Speed), which is usually a fixed number for all its cores. The number of operations that the processor performs per second is known as its speed and is expressed in Hertz, MHz (MHz for older processors), or GHz.
At the same frequency, a processor with a higher IPC can do more processing and is more powerful
More precisely, frequency refers to the number of computing cycles that processor cores perform per second and is measured in GHz (GHz-billion cycles per second).
For example, a 3.2 GHz processor performs 3.2 billion operations per second. In the early 1970s, processors passed the frequency of one megahertz (MHz) or running one million cycles per second, and around 2000 the gigahertz (GHz) unit of measurement equal to one billion hertz was chosen to measure their frequency.
Sometimes, multiple instructions are completed in one cycle, and in some cases, an instruction may be processed in multiple cycles. Since different architectures and designs of each processor perform instructions in a different way, the processing power of their cores can be different depending on the architecture. In fact, without knowing the number of instructions processed per cycle (IPC) comparing the frequency of two processors is completely meaningless.
Suppose we have two processors; One is produced by Company A and the other by Company B, and the frequency of both of them is the same and equal to one GHz. If we have no other information, we may consider these two processors to be the same in terms of performance; But if company A’s processor completes one instruction per cycle and company B’s processor can complete two instructions per cycle. Obviously, the second processor will perform faster than the A processor.
In simpler words, at the same frequency, a processor with a higher IPC can do more processing and is more powerful. So, to properly evaluate the performance of each processor, in addition to the frequency, you will also need the number of instructions it performs in each cycle.
Therefore, it is better to compare the frequency of each processor with the frequency of processors of the same series and generations with the same processor. It’s possible that a processor from five years ago with a high frequency will outperform a newer processor with a lower frequency because newer architectures handle instructions more efficiently.
Intel’s X-series processors may outperform higher-frequency K-series processors because they split tasks between more cores and have larger caches; On the other hand, in the same generation of processors, a processor with a higher frequency usually performs better than a processor with a lower frequency in many applications. This is why the manufacturer company and processor generation are very important when comparing processors.
Base frequency and boost frequency: The base frequency of any processor is the minimum frequency that the processor works with when idle or when performing light processing; on the other hand, the boost frequency is a measure that shows how much the processor performs when performing heavier calculations or more demanding processes. can increase. Boost frequencies are automatically applied and limited by heat from heavy processing before the processor reaches unsafe levels of computing.
In fact, it is not possible to increase the frequency of a processor without physical limitations (mainly electricity and heat), and when the frequency reaches about 3 GHz, the power consumption increases disproportionately.
Cache memory
Another factor that affects the performance of the processor is the capacity of the processor’s cache memory or RAM; This type of RAM works much faster than the main RAM of the system due to being located near the processor and the processor uses it to temporarily store data and reduce the time of transferring data to/from the system memory.
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What is L2, L1, and L3 cache memory and what effect does it have on processor performance?
Therefore, cache can also have a large impact on processor performance; The more RAM the processor has, the better its performance will be. Fortunately, nowadays all users can access benchmark tools and evaluate the performance of processors themselves, regardless of manufacturers’ claims.
Cache memory can be multi-layered and is indicated by the letter L. Usually, processors have up to three or four layers of cache memory, the first layer (L1) is faster than the second layer (L2), the second layer is faster than the third layer (L3), and the third layer is faster than the fourth layer (L4). . The cache memory usually offers up to several tens of megabytes of space to store, and the more space there is, the higher the price of the processor will be.
The cache memory is responsible for maintaining data; This memory has a higher speed than the RAM of the computer and therefore reduces the delay in the execution of commands; In fact, the processor first checks the cache memory to access desired data, and if the desired data is not present in that memory, it goes to the RAM.
- Level one cache memory (L1), which is called the first cache memory or internal cache; is the closest memory to the processor and has high speed and smaller volume than other levels of cache memory, this memory stores the most important data needed for processing; Because the processor, when processing an instruction, first of all goes to the level one cache memory.
- Level two (L2) cache memory, which is called external cache memory, has a lower speed and a larger volume than L1, and depending on the processor structure, it may be used jointly or separately. Unlike L1, L2 was placed on the motherboard in old computers, but today, in new processors, this memory is placed on the processor itself and has less delay than the next layer of cache, namely L3.
- The L3 cache memory is the memory that is shared by all the cores in the processor and has a larger capacity than the L1 or L2 cache memory, but it is slower in terms of speed.
- Like L3, L4 cache has a larger volume and lower speed than L1 or L2; L3 or L4 are usually shared.
Processing cores
The core is the processing unit of the processor that can independently perform or process all computing tasks. From this point of view, the core can be considered as a small processor in the whole central processing unit. This part of the processor consists of the same operational units of calculation and logical operations (ALU), memory control (CU), and registers (Register) that perform the process of processing instructions with a fetch-execution cycle.
In the beginning, processors worked with only one core, but today processors are mostly multi-core, with at least two or more cores on an integrated circuit, processing two or more processes simultaneously. Note that each core can only execute one instruction at a time. Processors equipped with multiple cores execute sets of instructions or programs using parallel processing (Parallel Computing) faster than before. Of course, having more cores does not mean increasing the overall performance of the processor. Because many programs do not yet use parallel processing.
- Single-core processors: The oldest type of processor is a single-core processor that can execute only one command at a time and is not efficient for multitasking. In this processor, the start of a process requires the end of the previous operation, and if more than one program is executed, the performance of the processor will decrease significantly. The performance of a single-core processor is calculated by measuring its power and based on frequency.
- Dual-core processors: A dual-core processor consists of two strong cores and has the same performance as two single-core processors. The difference between this processor and a single-core processor is that it switches back and forth between a variable array of data streams, and if more threads or threads are running, a dual-core processor can handle multiple processing tasks more efficiently.
- Quad-core processors: A quad-core processor is an optimized model of a multi-core processor that divides the workload between cores and provides more effective multitasking capabilities by benefiting from four cores; Hence, it is more suitable for gamers and professional users.
- Six-core processors (Hexa-Core): Another type of multi-core processor is a six-core processor that performs processes at a higher speed than four-core and two-core types. For example, Intel’s Core i7 processors have six cores and are suitable for everyday use.
- Octa-Core processors: Octa-core processors are developed with eight independent cores and offer better performance than previous types; These processors include a dual set of quad-core processors that divide different activities between different types. This means that in many cases, the minimum required cores are used for processing, and if there is an emergency or need, the other four cores are also used in performing calculations.
- Ten-core processors (Deca-Core): Ten-core processors consist of ten independent systems that are more powerful than other processors in executing and managing processes. These processors are faster than other types and perform multitasking in the best possible way, and more and more of them are released to the market day by day.
Difference between single-core and multi-core processing
In general, it can be said that the choice between a powerful single-core processor and a multi-core processor with normal power depends only on the way of use, and there is no pre-written version for everyone. The powerful performance of single-core processors is important for use in software applications that do not need or cannot use multiple cores. Having more cores doesn’t necessarily mean faster, but if a program is optimized to use multiple cores, it will run faster with more cores. In general, if you mostly use applications that are optimized for single-core processing, you probably won’t benefit from a processor with a large number of cores.
Let’s say you want to take 2 people from point A to B, of course a Lamborghini will do just fine, but if you want to transport 50 people, a bus can be a faster solution than multiple Lamborghini commutes. The same goes for single-core versus multi-core processing.
In recent years and with the advancement of technology, processor cores have become increasingly smaller, and as a result, more cores can be placed on a processor chip, and the operating system and software must also be optimized to use more cores to divide instructions and execute them simultaneously. allocate different If this is done correctly, we will see an impressive performance.
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How do processors use multiple cores?
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How do Windows and other operating systems use multiple cores in a processor?
In traditional multi-core processors, all cores were implemented the same and had the same performance and power rating. The problem with these processors was that when the processor is idle or doing light processing, it is not possible to lower the energy consumption beyond a certain limit. This issue is not a concern in conditions of unlimited access to power sources but can be problematic in conditions where the system relies on batteries or a limited power source for processing.
This is where the concept of asymmetric processor design was born. For smartphones, Intel quickly adopted a solution that some cores are more powerful and provide better performance, and some cores are implemented in a low-consumption way; These cores are only good for running background tasks or running basic applications such as reading and writing email or browsing the web.
High-powered cores automatically kick in when you launch a video game or when a heavy program needs more performance to do a specific task.
Although the combination of high-power and low-consumption cores in processors is not a new idea, using this combination in computers was not so common, at least until the release of the 12th generation Alder Lake processors by Intel.
In each model of Intel’s 12th generation processors, there are E cores (low consumption) and P cores (powerful); The ratio between these two types of cores can be different, but for example, in Alder Lake Core i9 series processors, eight cores are intended for heavy processing and eight cores for light processing. The i7 and i5 series have 8.4 and 6.4 designs for P and E cores, respectively.
There are many advantages to having a hybrid architecture approach in processor cores, and laptop users will benefit the most, because most daily tasks such as web browsing, etc., do not require intensive performance. If only low-power cores are involved, the computer or laptop will not heat up and the battery will last longer.
Low-power cores are simple and inexpensive to produce, so using them to boost and free up powerful, advanced cores seems like a smart idea.
Even if you have your system connected to a power source, the presence of low-power cores will be efficient. For example, if you are engaged in gaming and this process requires all the power of the processor, powerful cores can meet this need, and low-power cores are also responsible for running background processes or programs such as Skype, etc.
At least in the case of Intel’s Alder Lake processors, the P and E cores are designed to not interfere with each other so that each can perform tasks independently. Unfortunately, since combining different processors is a relatively new concept for x86 processors, this fundamental change in the x86 architecture is fraught with problems.
Before the idea of hybrid cores (or the combination of powerful cores or P and low consumption or E) was proposed, software developers had a reason to develop their products. They did not see a form compatible with this architecture, so their software was not aware of the difference between low-consumption and high-consumption cores, and this caused in some cases Reports of crashes or strange behavior of some software (such as Denuvo).
Processing threads
Processing threads are threads of instructions that are sent to the processor for processing; Each processor is normally capable of processing one instruction, which is called the main instruction, and if two instructions are sent to the processor, the second instruction is executed after the first instruction is executed. This process can slow down the speed and performance of the processor. In this regard, processor manufacturers divide each physical core into two virtual cores (Thread), each of which can execute a separate processing thread, and each core, having two threads, can execute two processing threads at the same time.
Active processing versus passive processing
Active processing refers to the process that requires the user to manually set data to complete an instruction; Common examples of active processing include motion design, 3D modeling, video editing, or gaming. In this type of processing, single-core performance and high-core speed are very important, so in the implementation of such processing, we need fewer, but more powerful, cores to benefit from smooth performance.
Passive processing, on the other hand, is instructions that can usually be easily executed in parallel and left alone, such as 3D rendering and video; Such processing requires processors with a large number of cores and a higher base frequency, such as AMD’s Threadripper series processors.
One of the influential factors in performing passive processing is the high number of threads and their ability to be used. In simple words, a thread is a set of data that is sent to the processor for processing from an application and allows the processor to perform several tasks at the same time in an efficient and fast way; In fact, it is because of the threads in the system that you can listen to music while surfing the web.
Threads are not physical components of the processor but represent the amount of processing that the processor cores can do, and to execute several very intensive instructions simultaneously, you will need a processor with a large number of threads.
The number of threads in each processor is directly related to the number of cores; In fact, each core can usually have two threads and all processors have active threads that allocate at least one thread to perform each process.
What is hypertrading or SMT?
Hyperthreading in Intel processors and simultaneous multithreading (SMT) in AMD processors are concepts to show the process of dividing physical cores into virtual cores; In fact, these two features are a solution for scheduling and executing instructions that are sent to the processor without interruption.
Today, most processors are equipped with hyperthreading or SMT capability and run two threads per core. However, some low-end processors, such as Intel’s Celeron series or AMD’s Ryzen 3 series, do not support this feature and only have one thread per core. Even some high-end Intel processors come with disabled hyperthreading for various reasons such as market segmentation, so it is generally better to read the Cores & Threads description section before buying any processor. Check it out.
Hyperthreading or simultaneous multithreading helps to schedule instructions more efficiently and use parts of the core that are currently inactive. At best, threads provide about 50% more performance compared to physical cores.
In general, if you’re only doing active processing like 3D modeling during the day, you probably won’t be using all of your CPU’s cores; Because this type of processing usually only runs on one or two cores, but for processing such as rendering that requires all the power of the processor cores and available threads, using hyperthreading or SMT can make a significant difference in performance.
CPU in gaming
Before the release of multi-core processors, computer games were developed for single-core systems, but after the introduction of the first dual-core processor in 2005 by AMD and the release of four, six and eight-core processors after that, there is no longer a limit to the help of more cores. did not have Because the ability to execute several different operations at the same time was provided for the processors.
In order to have a satisfactory gaming experience, every gamer must choose a balanced processor and graphics processor (we will examine the graphics processor and its function in a separate article) in a balanced way. If the processor has a weak or slow performance and cannot execute commands fast enough, the system graphics cannot use its maximum power; Of course, the opposite is also true. In such a situation, we say that the graphics has become a bottleneck.
What is a bottleneck?
In the field of computers, botlink (or bottleneck) is said to limit the performance of a component as a result of the difference in the maximum capabilities of two hardware components. Simply put, if the graphics unit receives instructions faster than the processor can send them, the unit will sit idle until the next set of instructions is ready, rendering fewer frames per second; In this situation, the level of graphics performance is limited due to processor limitations.
The same may happen in the opposite direction. If a powerful processor sends commands to it faster than the graphics unit can receive, the processor’s capabilities are limited by the poor performance of the graphics.
In fact, a system that consists of a suitable processor and graphics, provides a better and smoother performance to the user. Such a system is called a balanced system. In general, a balanced system is a system in which the hardware does not create bottlenecks (or bottlenecks) for the user’s desired processes and provides a better user experience without disproportionate use (too much or too little) of system components.
It is better to pay attention to a few points to set up a balanced system:
- You can’t set up a balanced system for an ideal gaming experience by just buying the most expensive processor and graphics available in the market.
- Butlink is not necessarily caused by the quality or oldness of the components and is directly related to the performance of the system hardware.
- Graphics botlinking is not specific to advanced systems, and balance is also very important in systems with low-end hardware.
- The creation of botlinks is not exclusive to the processor and graphics, but the interaction between these two components prevents this problem to a large extent.
Setting up a balanced system
In the case of gaming or graphics processing, when the graphics do not use their maximum power, the effect of processor power on improving the quality of the user’s gaming experience will be noticeable if there is high coordination between the graphics unit and the processor; In addition, the type and model of the game are also two important factors in choosing hardware. Currently, quad-core processors can still be used to run various games, but Hexa-core processors or more will definitely give you smoother performance. Today, multi-core processors for games such as first-person shooters (FPS) or online multiplayer games are considered essential for any gaming system.
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