Rosetta performance impact on entire system?

[pcr1044]

I just got a new M1 Air - loving it so far! When running the first app still using x86 code, a dialog box popped up and I had to agree to install Rosetta. Does anyone know if the slight performance hit with Rosetta applies only to the apps using it or does rosetta 'always-run' in the background of the OS and affect performance of the entire system?

 

[labyrinth153]

No it should only compile intel based apps to run, which has a slight performance hit only on those applications.

 

[CheesePuff]

Rosetta 2 is actually translating the app at run time (which is why initial launch is much longer then usual), and then runs the translated binary. It has no impact on the system itself, or even when running any Rosetta 2 translated application.

 

[pcr1044]

Thanks to both of you for clearing that up - glad to learn how it works!

 

[jdb8167]

No it should only compile intel based apps to run, which has a slight performance hit only on those applications.

I would bet that it uses more RAM for x86 compatible shared libraries. RAM use can have an impact on performance though with the performance of the M1, you might not notice.