Imagination Technologies
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Imagination Technologies to ARM: anything you can do, our new chips can do better
Despite Intel's best efforts, ARM remains the undisputed king of the mobile world, but another chip design house, just 51 miles down the road, is hoping to change that. Imagination Technologies, the outfit famous for its PowerVR mobile graphics tech, wants to knock its better-known rival off its perch with a new 64-bit MIPS chip. The Warrior I6400 promises to be a low-power, high-performance CPU for smartphones, tablets and internet of things devices that, the company claims, has the "technical superiority" over its competition. Since Android L will support silicon of this kind, Imagination is hoping that smartphone manufacturers will consider ditching ARM chips in favor of the plucky challenger. What does this mean for the consumer? Hopefully, faster devices, less power drain and a whole new topic where people can argue the merits of one architecture against the other.
Imagination Technologies will give its 'Raspberry Pi on steroids' away for free
Grab someone in the street and ask them about Imagination Technologies and they're more likely to run away than tell you that it's the company that designs the graphics chips for Apple's mobile devices. The company is more than just the home of PowerVR, however, and bought MIPS in order to become a direct rival to ARM, its more famous UK chip-design neighbor. Now, the company has decided to produce a Raspberry Pi-style development board in the hope of taking MIPS mainstream, describing it as "Raspberry Pi on steroids." Aside from the differences in hardware and chip architecture between the two devices, there's one big change in approach: Imagination Technologies is giving its board away for free.
The Daily Roundup for 07.08.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Imagination Technologies snaps up CPU designer MIPS in an attempt to wrestle ARM
Looks like we can kiss goodbye to any lingering politeness in the rivalry between these two UK chip houses, because the smaller one has just embarked on a cheeky expansion. Having been known mainly for its PowerVR graphics processors, not least in many Apple products, Imagination Tech could potentially push into the CPU arena too, through its $60 million acquisition of MIPS Technologies. Just like ARM, MIPS designs low-power RISC processors for consumer electronics, but it has generally focused on smaller chips for devices like routers and TVs rather than smartphones and tablets. In addition to a portfolio of 82 exclusive patents, a squad of 160 MIPS engineers will now be transplanted to Imagination, where they'll no doubt be debriefed and reassigned to conquering the world. Meanwhile, in some sort of flanking move, ARM has paid a far higher sum of $170 million to gain access to a number of other MIPS patents. [Thanks, Michael]
Late 2012 iPad carries new PowerVR SGX 554MP4 graphics, muscles ahead in video speed
It's well established that the A6X chip in the fourth-generation iPad is about twice as fast as its predecessor in pure number crunching, but how about those reportedly doubled graphics amid some increasingly fierce competition? Thanks to some help from Kishonti, AnandTech has learned that Apple may still have an ace up its sleeve. The new tablet carries a new, quad-core PowerVR SGX554MP4 with twice the raw potential as the already quick 543MP4 graphics in the A5X. While that doesn't always lead to a literal doubling of 3D performance, it unambiguously puts the new new iPad on top in GLBenchmark, with even the imminent Nexus 10's new Mali-T604 video left in the middle of a large pack. We're somewhat surprised when the Samsung-made Nexus is using a brand new chip architecture that many had thought would represent a fundamental leap in speed. Visuals aren't the only factors in buying tablets, so take the results with the appropriate grains of salt; if gaming or sheer responsiveness matters most, however, there's now a clear frontrunner.
Apple A6 investigation shows highly customized dual-core, triple-GPU layout
There's been a significant mystery lingering around the A6 processor found in the iPhone 5, even as it became clearer that Apple was veering further than usual from the basic ARM formula. A microscope-level inspection by Chipworks and iFixit is at last identifying the key elements of the 32nm, Samsung-assembled chip and revealing just how far it strays from the beaten path. The examination confirms earlier suspicions of a dual-core design with triple-core graphics -- it's how that design is shaped that makes the difference. Apple chose to lay out the two processor cores by hand rather than let a computer do the work, as most ARM partners do. The procedure is expensive and slow, but also gives the A6 a better-optimized design; it explains why the chip is noticeably faster than much of its competition without needing the brute force approaches of higher clock speeds or extra cores. Some mysteries remain, such as the exact PowerVR graphics that are at work, but it's evident Apple now has the design talent and resources to speed up mobile devices on its own terms rather than wait for off-the-shelf layouts like the Cortex-A15.
Imagination goes 'all out' with bigger PowerVR graphics cores: the G6230 and G6430
Imagination Technologies has launched two new variants of its Series6 "Rogue" GPU, giving manufacturers more choice for the loadouts of next-gen mobile devices, TVs and dash systems. The PowerVR G6230 and G6430 differ from the earlier Series6 cores in one single respect: they're bigger, which means they're designed for those who want to go "all out" for better performance. At this point it's not clear just how much extra juice they'll deliver, but in general the Rogue architecture is all about being "scalable" -- Imagination can simply add more "compute clusters" to boost frame rates at the expense of power consumption and it says "further cores will be announced" that will extend the eye-candy possibilities even further.
Rivals AMD and ARM unite, summon others to become 'heterogeneous'
Rumors of a hook-up between AMD and ARM have been circulating ever since someone coined the phrase "the enemy of Intel is my friend." As of today, however, that alliance is real and cemented in the form of the HSA Foundation -- a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the dark arts of Heterogeneous System Architecture. It's a relatively old concept in computing, but the Foundation's founding partners (AMD, ARM, Imagination Technologies, MediaTek and Texas Instruments) all stand to gain from its wider adoption. How come? Because it involves boosting a chip's performance by making it use its various components as co-processors, rather than treating them as specialized units that can never help each other out. In other words, while Intel pursues Moore's Law and packs ever-more sophisticated transistors into its CPUs, AMD, ARM and the other HSA pals want to achieve similar or better results through parallel computing. In most cases, that'll mean using the graphics processor on a chip not only for visuals and gaming, but also for general tasks and apps. This can already be achieved using a programming language called OpenCL, but AMD believes it's too tricky to code and is putting mainstream developers off. Equally, NVIDIA has long had its own language for the same purpose, called CUDA, but it's proprietary. Whatever niche is left in the middle, the HSA Foundation hopes to fill it with an easier and more open standard that is not only cross-OS but also transcends the PC / mobile divide. If it works, it'll give us a noticeable surge in computational power in everyday apps by 2014. If it fails, these new-found friends can go back to the less awkward custom of ignoring each other.
Rumors give 2012 iPhone shiny new chip, 1GB of RAM, mystery iOS app
We've potentially seen a lot of the next iPhone's exterior; it may be the interior's time for a shakedown, as an unusually detailed rumor out of 9to5 Mac has claimed scads more about the processor and iOS 6. Going by the tips, the 2012 design would use an S5L8950X, a processor with unknown specs but likely a step ahead of what we've seen in the iPhone 4S (8940X) and new iPad (8945X). There would likewise be a new spin on the PowerVR SGX543 graphics from the iPad as well as 1GB of RAM -- which doesn't sound like much next to a 2GB Galaxy S III, but stands to produce a similar speed boost for a lightweight platform like iOS. As for iOS 6 itself, the software is supposedly using underlying code newer than recent OS X Mountain Lion builds and is dumping Google Maps, as some have claimed ever since iPhoto for iOS made that step in the spring. The new Maps app (possibly pictured here) is said to be rough, but the OS as a whole could be coming along so swimmingly that Apple might have no trouble shipping on time. As always, we're skeptical when so much detail is in flux. The rumor still jives with much more tangible behavior from Apple, such as its experimentation with 32-nanometer processors and a tendency for Apple to refine the chip from the current year's iPad for the iPhone months later. We may know the accuracy soon enough: more leaks are promised in the next two weeks, including an "entirely new iOS app."
Qualcomm hires former AMD CTO, makes 'em pay for dropping mobile
Qualcomm is hiring AMD's former CTO Eric Demers to help the company produce a blockbuster mobile graphics chip. It needs the silicon for its big push for smartphone dominance (and tablets running Windows RT) in the face of strong competition from Imagination Technologies' Series 6 PowerVR and NVIDIA's Tegra 3. Demers' first job will be to merge Qualcomm's in-house Adreno team with ATI's Imageon mobile graphics chip team, which AMD flogged off for $65 million back in 2009 -- a move Sunnyvale is probably regretting now that it too is trying to get its hardware into mobile devices, unless it included a do-over clause in the sales contract.
Imagination Technologies unveils G6200 and G6400, first two GPUs based on PowerVR Series6
First announced in February of last year, Imagination Technologies has officially announced the licensing availability of its first two GPUs based on the Series6 platform. The PowerVR G6200 and G6400 each promise to bring low power graphics to unprecedented levels and are said to deliver up to 20 times more horsepower than the current generation while also being five times more efficient. In tangible terms, the Series6 GPU cores are capable of exceeding 100 gigaflops and are said to approach the teraflop range. All chipsets based on Series6 are backward compatible with Series5 and fully support OpenGL 3.x, 4.x and ES, along with OpenCL 1.x and DirectX 10. Further, specific models will also support DirectX 11.1 with full WHQL compliance. Poised to shake up the mobile gaming ecosystem, Imagination has already lined up partners that include ST-Ericsson, Texas Instruments, Renesas Electronics and MediaTek. The full PR, complete with all the bragging, can be found after the break.
3DMark is coming to Android phones near you in 2012
Futuremark, father of 3DMark and PCMark, has begun work on an Android edition of its benchmarking software. Wittily titled 3DMark for Android, it'll bring the industry-standard testing tools to all the phones in Google's yard. When finished, users will be able to measure performance by pushing the phone's CPU, rendering, openGL and physics engines to the limits. Results will be comparable against the company's newest software, including the forthcoming Windows 8 build. It's inviting handset makers to join a benchmark development program, an exclusive club that already has AMD, NVIDIA, Intel, Imagination Technologies, Dell and HP on the guest list, you can see the full PR after the break -- just be advised, it's black tie only.
Samsung signs up PowerVR SGX MP GPUs for future devices, keeps its options open
Even though it's already listed on the dance card for ARM's upcoming MALI-T658 mobile GPU, Samsung is also licensing tech from Imagination Technologies. The new agreement will allow it to include Imagination's PowerVR SGX multiprocessor GPU (a.k.a Series 5XT a form of which already resides in the A5 chip used by Apple's iPad 2 and iPhone 4S as well as the PlayStation Vita) in its upcoming devices, but doesn't specify how many cores or what configuration may be used. MobileTechWorld also speculates this could be in preparation for SoCs built to run Windows 8, but until we actually get a peek inside whatever devices are up Samsung's sleeve it's impossible to know for sure.
Next generation iPad / iPhone GPU licensed to other manufacturers
Imagination Technologies, makers the PowerVR graphics processor found in the iPhone and iPad, has announced that its next generation PowerVR Series 6 architecture has been licensed by six lead partners: ST-Ericson, Texas Instruments and MediaTek. The remaining three partners are yet to be announced. Whilst not giving any firm details, an Imagination Technologies press release says that the next generation GPU (codenamed "Rogue") will deliver "unrivaled GFLOPS per mm2 and per mW for all APIs," with "a smooth migration path for developers upgrading applications optimized for Series5 to the new architecture." Since Apple has a 9.5% stake in the chip manufacturer, and being that Apple uses PowerVR GPUs to handle the graphics in current iOS devices, we can assume that Apple is among the unannounced Rogue partners. However, it's unlikely we'll see this new GPU in Apple's iOS products anytime soon. With the iPad 2 utilizing the current PowerVR Series 5 architecture (said to boost graphics performance by nine times in comparison with the original iPad), and the next generation iPhone 5 reportedly in final testing before its introduction this year, we'll probably only see the benefits of the Series 6 GPU in the following generation iPad and iPhone. But we can always hope. For the full press release, hit the source link. [Via AppleInsider]
iPad 2 specs discerned, 900MHz dual-core ARM CPU and PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU blow away graphical benchmarks
iFixit may have physically uncovered Apple's latest silicon, but it's the processor gurus that have discovered what's truly inside -- using software benchmarks, they've unearthed the speeds and feeds of the Apple A5. As you'll no doubt be aware having read our headline above, there actually isn't a 1GHz CPU at the helm, as AnandTech and IOSnoops report the dual-core ARM chip is dynamically clocked around 900MHz, likely in search of reduced power consumption. Perhaps more interestingly for all you gamers in the audience, the iPad 2 reports that it has a dual-core PowerVR SGX543MP2 GPU on the die as originally foretold -- and, spoiler alert -- it mops the floor with both the original iPad and the Motorola Xoom. Though the new chip didn't quite demonstrate 9X the graphical prowess of its predecessor, it rendered 57.6 frames per second in a GLBenchmark test where the (admittedly higher-res) Tegra 2 tablet managed only 26.7fps, and last year's iPad pulled only 17.6fps. That's some serious Tai Chi. Hit up our source links to see the difference it can make in games like Infinity Blade. Update: Though it sure sounds like there's a dual-core ARM Cortex A9 in there, that's not yet a proven fact -- we only know that it's a dual-core ARM v7 chip which performs relatively similarly in non-graphical tests. [Thanks, Jim] [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Imagination Technologies' PowerVR SGX543MP2 really is faster, better, stronger (video)
You may have heard of the PowerVR SGX543MP -- you know, the GPU behind Sony's NGP and possibly on its way to the iPad 2 and iPhone 5 -- but chances are, you've yet to see it working up close. Well, feast your graphics-hungry eyes on this: that's Rightware's Tai Chi benchmark running on a tellingly sheathed device at GDC 2011, working the MP2 (dual-core) iteration of the processor, and that fine smartphone to its right is the Nexus S, sporting the PowerVR SGX540 you've come to know and love. As you can tell, Imagination Technologies' promises of 4X the performance aren't just baseless boasts -- the lady on the left moves with grace and fluidity, while her counterpart on the right is all sorts of herky-jerky. Think that's fast? Check out what the GPU can do with two more cores. Sean Hollister contributed to this report.
Imagination Technologies unveils Series 6 PowerVR GPUs -- promises desktop caliber graphics in mobile devices (update)
Imagination Technologies may not be a household name, but they created the PowerVR GPUs that are the gold standard in mobile graphics, and are a part of the ARM SoCs you find in mobile devices like the iPhone 4, Galaxy S, and the Droid 2. Not one to rest on its laurels, the company unveiled its new Series 6 PowerVR chips -- affectionately known as "Rogue" -- that are 20 to 100 times more powerful than its previous handheld offerings. That's right, these GPUs will have the same horsepower as today's desktop computers while needing only a milliwatt of juice to deliver face-melting graphics -- the catch is that this bit of black magic won't be showing up in devices for a few years. Guess we'll just have to settle for the Series 5 chips -- like the quad core beast found in the Sony NGP and the upcoming OMAP 5 platform -- which the company promises will make their way into select smartphones "within three months." Be still, our gaming hearts. Update: Three months? Hardly, ST-Ericsson has announced a series of new SoC processors, including the Nova 9600 that has "Rogue" baked in. The chip delivers HD video at 120 frames per second and can pull off pro-quality 3D video recording as well. Press release is after the break. [Thanks, Rich]
Sony's next-gen PSP (NGP) has a quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, quad-core GPU as well
You know that crazy next-gen PSP (NGP) with multiple touchpads, dual analog sticks, and quadrupled resolution that Sony just trotted out? Yeah, it's got a quad-core Cortex-A9 and a quad-core Imagination Technologies PowerVR SGX543MP4+ GPU doing the grunt work within. We've never seen a handheld this powerful. Then again, considering the darn thing won't be launching until this holiday season, maybe quad-core parts will be the least Sony will need in order to match up to the "super phones" coming up this year. We're just wondering how long any of these souped-up portables will last on a charge. Full spec sheet after the break.
Rumor: The iPhone's next GPU
The Graphics Processing Unit, or GPU, of any modern computing device is an important piece of hardware that offloads 3D graphics rendering from the main processor. At CES 2010 last week, chip manufacturer Imagination Technologies may have spilled the beans on the GPU for the next generation of iPhones. Imagination unveiled the PowerVR SGX545 GPU core design at CES, which is the only mobile phone GPU capable of OpenGL 3.2 and DirectX 10 level effects. The SGX545 also includes OpenCL support, which means that unused processing cycles on the chip can be used to offload work from the main CPU. The SGX545 is also multithreading-aware, and can provide an additional speed jump when used with multi-core processor designs such as the ARM Cortex-A9. Imagination noted that they have produced a test chip for an unnamed "lead partner," which could very well be Apple. The Cupertino Kids have used PowerVR graphics in every iPhone and iPod touch, and many industry pundits believe the next generation of devices could be powered by a variant of the ARM Cortex-A9. Apple is also an investor in Imagination, having purchased a 9.5% stake in the chip manufacturer in 2008 and 2009. So it's very possible that the SGX545 could be churning out pixels in the next handheld you buy from the Apple Store.
Imagination Technologies announces new mobile GPU, casually glances in Apple's direction
A company partly owned by Apple announcing a new mobile GPU? Nah, can't be anything there. But just in case you're curious, Imagination Technologies has now let out word about its new PowerVR SGX545 mobile GPU, which just might, possibly be a candidate for a future iPhone (or... something else). Among other things, it adds full support for OpenGL 3.2 and OpenCL 1.0, promises to pump out an 40 million polygons per second at 200MHz, and promises to handle high definition resolution and high frame rates with ease. Hit up the link below for the complete rundown.
