Sonar and Windows 11 on ARM

[Kevin Walsh]

I haven't seen this questioned addressed, so apologies if it has.

I'm looking at making my next power desktop (mostly for development, but my DAW box too) an ARM-based system running Windows 11. The plan is a go if Sonar will run on it. 

Are there any plans for a native ARM build of Sonar? I get that plugins make this a difficult question, so if not, have you tested Sonar running in the Win11 x86 emulator?

[Kevin Walsh]

Gosh, I guess I'm the only one hoping for a native ARM Sonar. I'm just ahead of my time!

Edited July 21 by Kevin Walsh

[OutrageProductions]

ARM processors may be lightweight, run cooler, and use less power to execute the RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) single instruction per cycle, but they are not, and probably will not be, compatible with any x86/x64 operating system, which run (including all Apple products) on a CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computer) architecture.

Using multiple ARM processors, parallel path instruction sets have been able to emulate the complex commands required by a Windows OS, but that makes the overall advantages moot when it comes to footprint & power consumption, much less support components (I/O chipset for example).

There is no serious plan to manufacture anything other than small mobile devices (tablets, phones) using this architecture, no one is even thinking of using them in laptops or larger surfaces, much less desktop computers.

However, if you want to try to run a (IMO toy crippled) DAW on a phone, there are options out there, including several that run in a browser window.

So, yeah... you are in a very limited population.

[Kevin Walsh]

1 hour ago, OutrageProductions said:

ARM processors may be lightweight, run cooler, and use less power to execute the RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) single instruction per cycle, but they are not, and probably will not be, compatible with any x86/x64 operating system, which run (including all Apple products) on a CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computer) architecture.

Using multiple ARM processors, parallel path instruction sets have been able to emulate the complex commands required by a Windows OS, but that makes the overall advantages moot when it comes to footprint & power consumption, much less support components (I/O chipset for example).

There is no serious plan to manufacture anything other than small mobile devices (tablets, phones) using this architecture, no one is even thinking of using them in laptops or larger surfaces, much less desktop computers.

However, if you want to try to run a (IMO toy crippled) DAW on a phone, there are options out there, including several that run in a browser window.

So, yeah... you are in a very limited population.

I respect your opinion and while what you say may well have once been true,  it isn't anymore. Microsoft, Lenovo, Dell, HP and Acer are among the hardware manufacturers realeasing new ARM-based machines running Windows 11 this year that compare very well to x86 devices.

The company I work for is working hard to provide native support on Windows 11 on ARM for our flagship applications, so I'm in a position to have some knowledge of the capabilities of this new crop of tablets and laptops.

https://www.tomshardware.com/software/windows/microsoft-copilot-pcs-all-we-know

Not so limited a population as it once was, thus my Sonar question.

Thanks!

Edit: the article I posted is a bit out of date, itsays the devices will be released when they have in fact hit the shelves.

 

Edited July 21 by Kevin Walsh

[Jim Roseberry]

In today's economic climate, I doubt you'll see much support for "fringe" development.

DAW applications appeal to a miniscule segment of the overall computer user base.

Of that miniscule segment of potential users, how many Sonar users will be running ARM processors?

You're talking a tiny segment... of that original tiny segment of potential users.

Cakewalk Sonar is a complex application, I seriously doubt they'll take the RISC.   

[Kevin Walsh]

On 7/22/2024 at 9:12 AM, Jim Roseberry said:

In today's economic climate, I doubt you'll see much support for "fringe" development.

DAW applications appeal to a miniscule segment of the overall computer user base.

Of that miniscule segment of potential users, how many Sonar users will be running ARM processors?

You're talking a tiny segment... of that original tiny segment of potential users.

Cakewalk Sonar is a complex application, I seriously doubt they'll take the RISC.   

Thanks for your response. It looks to me like MS is finally getting it together wrt ARM and Windows. The performance numbers of the Snapdragon Elite are extremely promising.