SoC vs. CPU – The battle for the future of computing

After more than 50 years at the top of the heap, the CPU finally has some competition from an upstart called the SoC. For decades, you could walk into a shop and confidently pick out a new computer based on its CPU — and now, everywhere you look, from smartphones to tablets and even some laptops, there are SoCs.

Don’t worry, though, CPUs and SoCs are actually rather similar, and almost everything you know about CPUs can also be applied to SoCs.

What is a CPU?

Despite the huge emphasis put on CPU technology and performance, it is ultimately a very fast calculator. It fetches data from memory, and then performs some kind of arithmetic (add, multiply) or logical (and, or, not) operation on that data. The more expensive/complex the CPU, the more data it can process, the faster your computer.

.What is an SoC?

An SoC, or system-on-a-chip to give its full name, integrates almost all of these components into a single silicon chip. Along with a CPU, an SoC usually contains a GPU (a graphics processor), memory, USB controller, power management circuits, and wireless radios (WiFi, 3G, 4G LTE, and so on). Whereas a CPU cannot function without dozens of other chips, it’s possible to build complete computers with just a single SoC.