Exynos 4 Quad & Tegra 3: The Quad-Core age is here!!

Lo and Behold!!! The quad core devices are here and it's most definitely their year. While 2011 was a great year where we saw the tablets and smartphones graduating from using a single-core processor to a dual-core processor, 2012 will be the year when gadgets will start coming integrated with quad-cores which will perform much better as compared to their dual core counterparts.

ARM has been licensing its designs to companies like Nvidia and Samsung for a while now and these companies have been very successful in manufacturing the processors designed by ARM. This shows in the success of single-core 1 Ghz smartphones that companies like HTC, Samsung came out with and it had got reiterated with the success of dual-core smartphones. Now, Nvidia has started manufacturing quad-core processors with Samsung not far behind.

The HTC One X and the Samsung Galaxy S III are the most talked about devices currently each sporting a quad-core processor System on Chip, although these do have a different architecture compared to one aonther. The HTC One X sports an Nvidia Tegra 3 and the Samsung Galaxy S III sports an Exynos 4 Quad. While Tegra 3 is an evolution of Tegra 2, the Exynos 4 Quad is an evolution of Exynos 4 Dual.

The major highlight of Nvidia Tegra 3 is that it doesn't have 4 processors but it has 5! The extra 5th core is actually a companion core, clocked at a lesser frequency as compared to the other 4 cores, that takes over in the case of low intensive tasks that doesn't require running the other 4 processors. With this companion core, Nvidia Tegra 3 will make the device consume lesser battery and consequently make the device run much longer. Performance is obviously better than Nvidia Tegra 2 and that is pretty much expected

The Exynos 4 Quad also attempts to differentiate itself on the basis of the battery life factor. It is built using 32nm HKMG (High K Metal Gate) process that allows the device to consume battery at a much lesser rate than compared to Exynos 4 Dual which is built using the 45 nm process. 

What is common to both the processors however is that both of them deliver excellent performance with enhanced graphics and superb processing power (The 4 cores in both the System on Chips are ARM Cortex A9s). Although, the initial reviews have suggested that Exynos 4 Quad has an edge as compared to Tegra 3 due to its 32nm process build. The Eyxnos 4 Quad also allows you to play most of the video formats thanks to the ARM Mali 400 MP GPU unit in it.

The Exynos 4 Quad has also impressed another company: Meizu. Meizu's MX Quad Core phone also uses the Exynos 4 Quad System on Chip and the initial benchmark tests on this device have rated it at the top of the current crop of android devices. While benchmark tests do not necessarily indicate real world performance it nevertheless indicates the level of performance one can expect.

So, going by the initial indications it seems that both the SoCs: Nvidia Tegra 3 and Exynos 4 Quad are highly capable of delivering excellent performance. We'll just have to wait for the devices and see the extent to which we are going to like them.

Stay Tuned..!!

GPU in Smartphones: Mali, Power VR, ULP Ge-Force and Adreno

Well... By now, you guys must have got to know that CPU or Microprocessor or 'The Core' is one of the most important things to know about while finalizing your smartphone purchase. But, CPU only takes care of the normal processing functions for example, rendering Web Pages in a browser and it has a minor say in rendering Images, Video and Graphics, most importantly in Games. The thing that takes care of these functions is the GPU or 'Graphics Processing Unit'. So, if only the CPU is class-leading and the GPU is not, you won't be able to get the best experience from the smartphone you are about to buy. The presence of a very good GPU in today's smartphone devices is the exact reason you are able to play high performance games like 'Riptide GP' and 'Shadowgun' on a device like the smartphone.

So, the role of a GPU is primarily to not only provide hardware acceleration to 3D games and applications  but also to draw the main user interface in mobile operating systems.So, while your switching screens inside your iPhone or Windows Phones and you find the transitions from one screen to another silky smooth, you have to thank the GPU for it.

Right. So who are the market leaders in manufacturing high performance GPUs. Oh!! We have a list here too. Let's dig in.

1. ARM
• Ah! Yes!!, one of the market leader in manufacturing mobile CPUs is also the one of the market leader in manufacturing mobile GPUs. It markets it's GPUs under the brand name of 'Mali'. ARM has recently revealed 'Mali T658' GPU for next generation smartphone devices. 
• The GPU that has brought ARM the most recognition in the recent times is the 'Mali 400 MP'. You have this GPU in the 'Samsung Galaxy S2'. The GPU is one of the reasons the smartphone has become so popular as it is one of the best GPUs to be found on an SoC.
2. Imagination Technologies
• You might find this company new, but it definitely is NOT new in the GPU space. Imagination Technologies manufactures world class GPUs and markets them under the brand name of 'Power VR SGX' which has been used in a plethora of smartphones till date.
• The 'Power VR SGX 543 MP2' is the best GPU currently in the market and you can find it in none other than 'Apple iPad 2'. Now, you can see why Apple's devices get the best ratings not only on the external smooth-running software but also the internal rugged-hardware.
3. Nvidia
• Ya!! Nvidia sources the CPU to be used in it's Tegra SoCs from ARM but uses it's own GPU. It markets the GPU under the brand name of 'ULP Ge-Force'. The ULP stands for Ultra Low Power. Most of you would remember that the Ge-Force GPUs manufactured by Nvidia were used in PCs. Well, Nvidia went back to the drawing board and figured out how it could fit the same performance while consuming lower power and generating lesser heat in a device as small as a smartphone and that wondering led to the ULP Ge-Force GPU being born.
• You can find this GPU in all the 'Tegra 2' SoCs like in the 'LG Optimus 2X'.
4. Qualcomm
• I already mentioned in my previous posts that Qualcomm is the company which manufactures the CPUs and the GPUs used in it's SoCs by itself. Qualcomm had actually purchased the GPU business from ATI Radeon but nevertheless, it's got its own GPU business right now. It markets its GPUs under the brand name of 'Adreno'
• The 'Adreno 220' GPU is the best GPU from the Qualcomm stable in the market right now and it can be found in smartphones like 'HTC Sensation' and 'HTC Sensation XE'.

So, that's it for today. Stay tuned!!!