Many times we can see how SoC are called as Processorbut this is a very common mistake because they are not the same, they have several differences and in most cases, treating them as if they were the same can lead to confusion. To clarify the problems we may encounter if we do not know how to differentiate them, we will explain below what each of them is, as well as their differences.
As with many terms we hear on a daily basis, in the IT industry there are several that have different meanings but are used in similar ways, which can be confusing for people who don’t know much about the subject.
What is a processor?
Starting with the term we are most familiar with, we have the Processorwhich is a component integrated into a single, independent chip that performs various functions within a computer, including data processing, data storage and retrieval management, and input/output procedures management. The central processing unit consists of three main units, the memory unit, the control unit (CU), and the arithmetic logic unit (ALU).
THE Processor It is known to be the “brain” of a computer, since it contains the information and circuits necessary for the system to perform various calculations and execute tasks depending on what we do. In this case, this component is usually integrated into a motherboard, in which we can find more parts that allow the computer to perform more functions, such as a dedicated graphics card, the memory itself or the system storage.
What is a SoC
Once we know what a processor is, it will be extremely easy to differentiate it from a SoCand as the name suggests (System-on-Chip), we can imagine where things are going, and it is essentially a chip in which all aspects of a computer system are incorporated. This implies that within this chip we can find all the elements that we would normally have distributed on the motherboard of a computer, including the CPU, so we can obviously understand why they are not the same.
These chips have all the components we mentioned earlier in the integrated CPU section, that is, they can integrate an integrated GPU, as well as RAM or storage, something we can see in mobile devices, and which is increasingly common in laptops.
What are their differences?
Once we have seen what each element is, we can now understand what differences each one presents, and the most important that we can obviously find is that the SoC integrates all the components that we have mentioned above. But in addition to this, they can also have others, such as the platform on which they are used, since processors, for example, are often used a lot, for example in desktop computers, since they can offer better performance without having to worry. , for example, about temperatures or the energy they consume.
At the same time, SoCs are often used in other systems that require less power and offer lower performance, such as smartphones or laptops.
