What is an SoC chip and what is the difference between it and a CPU?

 

While you can upgrade or replace almost any part of a Windows or Linux computer, be it the processor, graphics card, or even the RAM, you cannot replace or upgrade even a small part like the RAM if the computer is a modern MacBook or iMac based on an M1 chip. Or M2 and the reason for that is not due to a technical defect at all, but rather the development of the technology used in those devices! As Apple relied on its modern devices on a chip of its manufacture, as well as the case of Google and its Tensor chip. Most companies are now starting to manufacture their own processing chips for the computers and devices they produce, thanks to SoC technology.

 

You may have heard or read before about SOC - an acronym for System On a Chip or System on a Chip - but the question here is what is that technology? What is its relationship to the processor and other components? How did it evolve? Is it possible to use it on personal desktop devices? There are many questions that I am pleased to answer for you below.

 

SoC chip | All in one!

 

You must have used file compression programs such as 7Zip or WinRAR, even once, to collect more than one file and put them into one compressed folder that is smaller in size and preserves all information without compromising performance or accuracy. You can say that technology companies used the same principle but on the main components of the computer! Not only pressure but also integrating them into one integrated chip, which is called the SoC.

 

The CPU, GPU, RAM, and even the modem for receiving the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signal, along with some peripheral processors such as the artificial intelligence processor and other essential components, are all placed in one small integrated chip. That is, the SoC chip is the same as the processor, but with the rest of the other basic parts.

 

This is in contrast to what is known in ordinary computers, where each part is independent and has its own place on the motherboard, such as the CPU Socket slot, the PCIe slot for the graphics card, the DIMM slot for the RAM, etc., which require a large space and energy, not to mention an independent cooling system for each. part approx.

 

You will say ok but what about performance? In fact, you will be surprised that the performance is very high in exchange for a small size and much lower energy consumption, especially with the new chipsets based on the same system SoC that Apple offered us in recent years, such as the M1 series, which we talked about in many articles, or the second generation of them, the M2, whose performance, in general, will astound you. Apart from that, SOC technology is credited with making our phones smarter, thinner, and lighter, and it will make even computers stronger, smaller, and less expensive in the near future. Of course, this development did not come in vain but rather dates back many years.

 

The digital world before the SoC or system on the chip

 

Certainly, you will not be surprised by the huge size of computers at the beginning of their era, which was about the size of one or two rooms from the rooms of our current homes, and as we know, they became smaller with the passage of time, especially after the invention of the integrated circuit or IC in the fifties of the last century, which contributed to the collection of thousands of delicate electronic components Very, such as transistors, resistors, and capacitors that connect together to form integrated electronic circuits within one piece of silicon, which led to the replacement of bulky components with relatively smaller ones, until the early seventies of the last century when Intel unveiled the first single-chip CPU processor "Intel 4004". Which combines central processing elements into one integrated circuit, which was a quantum leap in the field of technology at the time.

 

Then, specifically in 1974, Texas Instruments released the first microcontroller, or "programmable silicon chip," which was like a miniature computer! It is composed of microprocessors in addition to RAM with input and output devices integrated with the central processor within one chip, instead of the old technology, which required the presence of an IC for each component, whether the processor, RAM, or even the control unit, and others.

 

This invention helped in the emergence of small computers, digital game consoles, and other devices that require simple processing operations. However, the microcontroller was not used in computers, due to its limited capabilities compared to the central processor, separate random access memories, and even the graphics processor, which still provides adequate performance.

 

This remained the case even after the advent of traditional phones, where the processor, RAM, and other components worked separately on the same motherboard until smartphones appeared and changed everything! Instead of relying on microcontroller chips or even microprocessors, the invention of the SoC appeared, which adopts the same principle as microcontrollers, but with the development of the chip's absorptive capacity to include other components. Therefore, smartphones have become like a pocket of the laptop computer, only thanks to this invention that brought together all the basic components, on top of which is the processor, within a single silicon chip, the size of which is smaller than a coin.

 

The most important uses of the system on the chip

 

Certainly, the lesson behind this invention is to place the largest possible number of components that the computer needs to work within one piece in order to achieve several goals such as reducing energy consumption, reducing manufacturing costs, improving performance, and reducing the actual size of the device as a whole. All of this greatly helps in designing smartphones, tablets, and laptops that are more powerful than ever before with greater battery life and sleek, streamlined looks.

 

Therefore, no smartphone is devoid of system-on-chip technology offered by chips such as Snapdragon or even MediaTek, Samsung Xeno, and Kirin from Huawei, not to mention the chips that Apple has used in its products over the past 14 years, starting with SoC chips based on ARM architecture and manufactured by companies Then, in 2010, Apple introduced its first A4 SoC chip to power iPhones and iPads.

 

SoC chips remained widespread among tablets and smartphones, until 2020 when the Apple M1 chip appeared to be the first SoC that could be used in computers, whether desktop or mobile, such as the MacBook and iMac. Regardless of the above, it is expected that SoC chip technology will invade our future world with all its applications.

 

Will we see SoC technology in more future computers?

 

Although the SoC is a great technology, its current uses are limited to smartphones, tablets, and Apple devices, including iMac desktop computers, as well as mini computers such as the Raspberry Pi, since it saves energy consumption, gives higher performance, and is small in size, however, we may not see it on computers. Windows desktops need qualitative cooling at the present time, apart from that, the SoC technology will not give you the ability to upgrade components such as the processor or graphics card and even RAM memory, but despite all of the above, we do not know what the future holds for us, and perhaps we will see Supercomputers using SoC or system on chip in the near future.