this post was submitted on 19 Jul 2023
6 points (87.5% liked)

Linux

7806 readers
157 users here now

Welcome to c/linux!

Welcome to our thriving Linux community! Whether you're a seasoned Linux enthusiast or just starting your journey, we're excited to have you here. Explore, learn, and collaborate with like-minded individuals who share a passion for open-source software and the endless possibilities it offers. Together, let's dive into the world of Linux and embrace the power of freedom, customization, and innovation. Enjoy your stay and feel free to join the vibrant discussions that await you!

Rules:

  1. Stay on topic: Posts and discussions should be related to Linux, open source software, and related technologies.

  2. Be respectful: Treat fellow community members with respect and courtesy.

  3. Quality over quantity: Share informative and thought-provoking content.

  4. No spam or self-promotion: Avoid excessive self-promotion or spamming.

  5. No NSFW adult content

  6. Follow general lemmy guidelines.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

I'm searching for a Notebook and I came across one that had a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c which grabbed my attention... My main concern was that the processor specs says:

  • Instruction Set: ARMv8-A64 (64 bit)
  • Architecture: Kryo 468

Main questions:

  • Does Linux already supports this processor?
  • What I should look at? Instruction Set (A64) or Architecture (Kyro)?

If you have time to spend... How this CPU compares with an i3 6157U?

top 2 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[โ€“] KaMiKaZe6424 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

My guess is that Linux will run just fine. The ARM architecture is generally well supported, as demonstrated by the Likes of Raspberry Pi, etc. Depending on the exact processor, not all features may be available from the beginning (Think efficiency cores on recent Intel CPUs), however Kyro was introduced in 2015, so its support has likely matured quite a bit already. (I note here that the 7c seems to be an SOC which includes extra devices like a Video interface of some sort. SOCs can be harder to work with, since they often have hardware installed that isn't commonly found elseware. I would suggest you search for guides for installing Linux on the exact model of notebook, or processor, and maybe searching for posts of people that have done the same to see if they have run into issues. Don't worry too moch though, the Raspberry PI also runs on an SOC, so succes is not unexpected)

The kyro architecture itself is a generation of Snapdragons ARM architectures, similar to Intels Haswell or Skylake architectures, both of which are x86 architectures and anything that supports x86 will run on them. So what you called the Architecture does not matter that much, especially if it isn't very new, and you should look at the instruction set instead.

That being said, you asked for a comparison wil an Intel i3. While I don't know about the c7's performance (or the i3 for that matter), I am going to assume that you plan to switch from the i3 to the c7. In this scenario you are switching from an x86 architecture to an ARM architecture. This means that not all software that you were running on Linux before will necessarily run on the new platform. Before you switch you should have look at the software you plan to run and make sure that it is available on ARM targets (or maybe even buildable, if you choose to build yourself). If you have a Raspberry PI or another ARM machine lying around, it may be worth trying to get you System and software running on there, so you would already have an idea of the challenges/problems that can Krise.

I hope that info can help a bit.

[โ€“] techLover 1 points 1 year ago

Thank you for this very detailed answer!

I was looking for a new Notebook for my parents, and they need Windows working as a dual boot and Linux as the main driver. After some research, I found that ARM for Windows was still bad, and we need it to work properly, so I discarded this option. But I appreciated the knowledge you shared with us. Thanks