Pico 2 Arm versus RISC-V: how should an application benchmark the choice?

RP2350 offers a selectable dual-core architecture; this does not mean four application cores run together. Build for the intended architecture with a supported toolchain and record compiler options, SDK revision, clock configuration and where the tested code and data reside.

Use representative work such as filtering samples, handling interrupts and moving data through peripherals. Measure execution time, jitter and total energy for the same output. A loop that fits entirely in fast memory may give a misleading prediction for a larger application with different memory traffic.

Check library and assembly dependencies, debugging support and multicore synchronization before changing architecture. Keep correctness tests identical and compare the resulting firmware size. Choose from the application's measured constraints rather than assuming that an instruction-set label determines overall speed.