Qualcomm has ambition, and that’s a good thing, according to Danny Amelryckx of Lenovo. He follows the PC industry from the very beginning, and expects the entry of a third CPU player to be a good thing for everyone.
“What would the world have looked like if IBM had believed in the PC in the 1980s,” muses Danny Amelryckx, Client Solution Technologist at Lenovo. He was there back then. Amelryckx’s career in the PC world begins in the days of punch cards, and ends with a well-deserved retirement in the fall. Such a track record gives a man perspective, so ITdaily sits down for the last time with Lenovo’s Benelux computer expert.
Tipping Point
Amelryckx says a professional goodbye to a world in flux. “Qualcomm is going to shake up the IT world and certainly the CPU manufacturers,” he predicts. “Actually, over the entire existence of Windows, there were only two court suppliers of processors: Intel and AMD. Intel emerged as the biggest player, while AMD seemed to turn more toward consumer devices for a long time. That changed seven years ago with the advent of Ryzen, and covid also gave the Intel competitor a boost.”
Qualcomm is going to shake up the IT world and surely CPU manufacturers
Danny Amelryckx, Client Solution Technologist Lenovo
Intel, however, emerged as the great technology leader. Intel Inside became the norm. Even with AMD’s comeback in the business laptop market, Intel easily remained the largest. “Those who are market leaders sometimes forget to look all around,” Amelryckx knows. “But the world is changing.”
According to him, we are now at such a tipping point. “Qualcomm has ambitious plans and wants to become the third global manufacturer for CPUs for Windows. The company has a nice track record, and could build up a lot of experience with ARM in smartphones.”
RISC, CISC and a processor for all
Amelryckx thinks that experience is relevant. After all, Qualcomm’s ARM CPUs are not entirely new inventions. They are built on a RISC architecture, and that saw the light of day around the same time as the CISC foundations of x86. We already explained the difference between CISC and RISC in detail, but the essence is simple: RISC (and thus ARM) is generally built for slightly more simplistic instructions, but is more economical. CISC (x86) can handle more complex instructions, but generally consumes more.
It is not illogical that the Windows PC grew out of a CISC architecture. Amelryckx: “For the first PCs, energy efficiency was not that important, but computing power was. Over the years, however, everything has evolved. Efficiency did become more important; Intel and AMD also made their x86 chips more economical.” Purely in terms of performance per watt, however, ARM has assets, and Qualcomm can put them to good use.
New options, in a niche
Amelryckx emphasizes that there is no one superior architecture for everything. “As a manufacturer, it is important to offer a choice. Lenovo was one of the first manufacturers to partner with Qualcomm to develop laptops. The advantages of those devices are clear: they are thinner and have good autonomy. The performance is also up to par. There is also a downside, in terms of compatibility.”
Qualcomm today provides components for laptops aimed at a selection of customers, Amelryckx believes. The processor lineup right now allows PC builders to build light and mobile laptops with high performance per watt, equipped with high autonomy. However, not everyone buys a laptop with a focus on mobility.
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“We see that Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chips can compete with the more economical chips from Intel and AMD, but processors aimed at power for real workstations or even desktops Qualcomm does not have at this time,” Amelryckx notes. He suspects that the chip designer does have ambition, but for now Qualcomm is mainly attacking one segment of the CPU market.
Responsibilities and opportunities
For a PC manufacturer like Lenovo, a third player brings additional responsibilities, yet mostly additional capabilities. “We have to offer the same features for Qualcomm PCs as for computers with Intel and AMD on board,” Amelryckx clarifies. “Think drivers, and management and deployment capabilities. That in itself is not a big problem.”
We need to provide the same features for Qualcomm PCs as for computers with Intel and AMD on board
Danny Amelryckx, Client Solution Technologist Lenovo
More important to Lenovo is the additional choice the manufacturer can offer end customers thanks to Qualcomm’s new chips. The efficiency appeals to a certain audience, and Lenovo can get to work with the Snapdragon X chips to build more economical, lighter and thinner laptops.
Each chip has its advantages, and Lenovo wants to offer all the options. “So you see that across just about our entire lineup, we now have devices with AMD, in addition to those from Intel” Amelryckx clarifies. “The choices there are very broad. For Qualcomm, we have two devices in the business segment and one for the consumer market. The chips fit the T and X series, and meet the expectations of certain users.”
Please be patient
“There is no ARM PC for everyone yet,” he continues. “An engineer developing a new engine, for example, has to buy a device with Intel or AMD. This is not illogical: Qualcomm is making huge investments but it will take a few more years before we see chips from the company across the portfolio.” When those appear then, Lenovo will integrate them back into its portfolio alongside Intel and AMD, again to give the end user choice.
Meanwhile, Qualcomm’s move is already having its effect. “Intel was maybe in a bit of a seat,” he notes. “But now everyone has to innovate faster.” The results are visible: Intel launched Core Ultra 200V: a chip series designed specifically to challenge the efficiency advantages of the ARM architecture. “I think the emergence of a third player is only going to benefit the IT market,” Amelryckx concludes. In any case, Lenovo plans to convert available options in the CPU market to laptops for its customers. And Amelryckx, who will continue to monitor the outcome of this revolution from the sidelines.