Actual difference between Quad-core & Octa-core..

Now lets come back to little CPU and big CPU Example..

Example 1:

If you are playing a game, it is a difficult task so the stronger one big CPU takes up the task in one of its core. Simultaneously if you are using a calculator or just browsing, here the Lighter one little CPU takes the task in one of its core.

Example 2:

If you are using a calculator and browsing at the same time, these tasks are lighter so only the little CPU will be triggered not the big CPU. Even if the lighter tasks exceeds the limit, only the little CPU will be used not the big CPU.

  • Finally, regardless of the number of tasks, the little CPU will be used only for lighter tasks and Big CPU will be used only for Stronger tasks.

Now you may have a question, then what is the point of having dual-quad core (Octa core) processors?

  • It?s all for energy efficiency. Early chips used to be single core operating at lower frequencies. To increase the operating speed, they were made to operate at higher frequencies but can be increased only upto a point. This increases heat on the chip. That is why they increased the cores to reduce heat and increase the operating speed but this also has a disadvantage. It consumes power. That is why smartphones drain faster.

But that much operating speed is not necessary for most of the smartphone tasks such as navigating, messaging, browsing etc.. But gaming, video recording, animations need that speed. As speed increases, cores are needed, as more cores are used power consumption increases.

So this is why big.LITTLE Architecture is being used. So if you have Quad-core, all the lighter and stronger tasks will be implemented in that four cores. But in Octa-core , the tasks can be separated between two sets of 4?4 cores (big CPU and little CPU). This increases efficiency a little bit higher.

This is why Octa-cores are used. So the actual difference between Quad and Octa is not on the speed but on the efficiency and power consumption. It?s just two sets of quad core squeezed in a chip as the little CPU is used for most of the tasks and big CPU for demanding tasks such as gaming, video editing etc.

So I hope you guys are clear with this, if you have any doubts comment below.

Happy processing!