Microsoft relies on Arm’s chips to get rid of Intel

21 December 20203 years ago babelfish

Microsoft may develop its own Arm-based chips for Surface PCs. The move is a potential threat to Intel's data center chip business

Microsoft could follow the path traced by Apple and say goodbye to Intel, developing processors at home to be used not only in its Surface branded tablet-PCs, but also and above all in the servers on which the company's cloud services rest. Bloomberg reports, citing sources with knowledge of the facts.

According to rumors, Microsoft is working on an Arm architecture- based processor that will be used in its data centers. The Redmond company is also exploring the possibility of developing another chip dedicated to the Surface product line.

According to one of the cited sources, Microsoft's efforts are more likely to result in a chip for servers rather than one for Surface devices, although the latter possibility is also achievable.

On the news Friday, Intel stock fell 6.3% to close at $ 47.46 in New York, leaving it down 21% this year.

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WHAT MICROSOFT WILL DO WITH ARM

According to Bloomberg , the world's largest software maker is using Arm Ltd.'s designs to produce a processor that will be used in its data centers for Azure cloud services. Not only that, Microsoft is also exploring the use of another chip that could power some of its Surface personal computers.

"As silicon is a core element of technology, we continue to invest in our capabilities in areas such as design, manufacturing and tools, while fostering and strengthening partnerships with a wide range of chip suppliers," he commented. so the indiscretions Frank Shaw, head of communications at Microsoft.

THE MICROSOFT STRATEGY WITH ARM

The move is a major commitment by Microsoft to autonomously supply itself with the most important piece of hardware it uses.

Although, according to sources, Microsoft's efforts are more likely to result in a server chip than one for its Surface devices.

AS AMAZON ALREADY DOES

As The Verge points out, even Amazon, Microsoft's main cloud rival, appears to be a significant threat to Intel and AMD, with its Arm-based Graviton2 processors launched a year ago on AWS. However, Arm-based servers are a small part of the market right now, despite the performance and cost benefits they can offer.

THE INTEL PROCESSORS FOR MICROSOT

Microsoft currently uses Intel-based processors for the majority of its Azure cloud services, and most of the company's Surface line runs on Intel chips as well.

The biggest concern for owners of the giant data centers behind services like Office 365 has become the cost of providing electricity to their growing hardware footprint. Indeed, Arm-based chips are often more energy efficient.

ABANDON INTEL, LIKE APPLE

Microsoft currently uses Intel-based processors for the majority of its Azure cloud services, and most of the company's Surface line runs on Intel chips as well. Microsoft has been working with AMD and Qualcomm on custom chips for its Surface Laptop 3 and Surface Pro X devices, showing a willingness to step away from Intel alone.

If Microsoft pushes the idea of its own PC chip, it will follow Apple, which is moving the entire Mac line away from Intel processors.

Although Surface devices represent a relatively small part of the PC market, Microsoft's decision to develop its own chips for its computers would still be a major blow to Intel, particularly after Apple launched its M1 silicon earlier in the year. this year. In Apple's case, the switch to its own architecture has allowed it to bring computers like the new M1 MacBook Air to market, which offer better battery life and performance than its Intel predecessor.

BUT INTEL STILL DOMINATES THE MARKET

The chip maker Intel remains dominant in the server space, however, with a 90% market share. Intel's range of Xeon server chips currently power most of the machinery in the heart of the Internet and corporate networks, generating the company's most profitable source of revenue. News of the development caused the company's shares to drop by roughly 6.3% before the close of trading last Friday.

This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/microsoft-punta-sui-chip-di-arm-per-sbarazzarsi-di-intel/ on Mon, 21 Dec 2020 15:08:46 +0000.