eli5: What does people mean when they say that a computer system runs on different architecture from another computer? Like when somebody says that an emulator can run N64 games faster theoretically but because of different architecture in practicality it cant?

Question

eli5: What does people mean when they say that a computer system runs on different architecture from another computer? Like when somebody says that an emulator can run N64 games faster theoretically but because of different architecture in practicality it cant?

In: Technology

Answer 1

Saying architecture is a different language is oversimplifying things. This analogy is better suited for explaining why programming languages like pascal and c++ are different.

Computer architecture is *physically* different from one computer to the next.

In order emulate one architecture to the next you have to redo how information is managed.

It’s called *architecture* for a reason. So a more accurate analogy would be like this:

Say you live in a small house from the 1940’s. In order to function and live in that house you know where everything is and how everything works: the bedroom to sleep, the bathroom for hygiene, the kitchen to eat, etc. And all of the equipment in those rooms you know how to use.

Now time travel to a mansion in the distant future. You have no idea where the bathroom, kitchen, etc is. All the equipment is totally different – everything is touch screen and people sleep in hyperbaric chambers!

You are totally lost and cannot function. Someone needs to explain to you where everything is and how everything works, because the *architecture* is different.