ARM GPU cuts memory bandwidth use by 30%

ARM president Tudor Brown says the Mali-T604 performs five times better than preceding Mali GPUs. The device also highlights an energy efficient profile.

ARM's Mali-T604, a fourth-generation graphics processing unit (GPU) (Click on image to enlarge.)

The Mali GPU family scales "from the smallest GPU in the world" through scalable multicore solutions for high frame-rate HD devices, according to ARM. The Mali-T604 is the first member of a new family of GPUs based on the Midgard architecture, which is based on a common software driver.

The Mali-T604 reduces memory bandwidth consumption by up to 30 percent, according to ARM. It makes use of ARM's Cache Coherent Interconnect (CCI-400) to deliver a memory coherent system with the recently announced Cortex-A15 MPCore. It extends API support to include full profile Khronos

OpenCL and Microsoft DirectX.

Complement products
ARM also introduced the CoreLink 400 series of AMBA 4 protocol-compliant system IP. The CoreLink 400 series complements the new ARM Mali-T604 and Cortex-A15 processors. CoreLink 400 system IP enables designers to resolve issues of coherency, virtualization,

latency and power management to ensure each processor is able to share memory resources and maximize overall system performance.

The ARM Cortex-A9 processor optimization packs (POPs). POPs leverage ARM's Artisan physical IP to

"enable customers to achieve technology leading performance or power targets on their Cortex-A9 implementations in the shortest time to market," according to ARM. A silicon-proven POP is available now on TSMC's 40nm G process technology. The Cortex-A9 POP on TSMC 40nm LP process technology

will be available to customers in January 2011.

ARM also announced an optimization package for the Cortex-A9 processor, targeting Samsung's 32nm LP High-K Metal Gate (HKMG) process technology. This ARM Processor Optimization Pack (POP) provides a foundation for implementing Cortex-A9 processors in low power, mobile applications. The POP Processor Optimization Pack enables operation over 1GHz, and is available

for immediate licensing from ARM.

Samsung Electronics is among the first companies to license the new release.

- Mark LaPedus
EE Times

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