PowerVR G6

[runawayprisoner]

I don't know how this slipped through the cracks... (no pun intended)

http://www.gsmarena.com/imagination_technologies_nextgen_powervr_gpus_surface-news-3660.php

But PowerVR is introducing some beasts of mobile GPUs.

Performance close to TeraFLOPS, or 20x faster than what is in your phones right now. In theory, at least this is very comparable to current generation gaming consoles (if it does not exceed, that is).

Looks like the PS Vita was just demoted.

 

[Red Storm]

A PR statement using the word potentially?

I'll believe it when I see it on a working product for sale.

 

[alent1234]

how does it compare against medfield? i hear intel is finally going to win the smartphone market

 

[iahk]

powervr makes the gpu only. medfield uses the powervr sgx540 clocked at 400mhz in the atom z2460. for reference, the galaxy nexus uses the same gpu but clocked ~300mhz.

 

[smartpatrol]

Yup, Medfield's GPU is already old news. It's the same one used in Samsung's old Hummingbird SOC but running at 2x the clock speed. Tegra 3, Exynos, and Apple's A5 already significantly outclass it.

 

[Patranus]

We will probably see what is up when Apple releases the iPad 3 in a few months.

 

[runawayprisoner]

We will probably see what is up when Apple releases the iPad 3 in a few months.

Considering the G6 is just available for licensing now, they probably weren't available when Apple was doing R&D for the A6 chip. At best, I'd guess that the A6 chip would be a SGX544MP4 config.

These will most likely go into SoCs of 2013 devices... or earlier if someone wants to rush, but I don't think you'll see them in anything before 2013.

Still, it's a significant leap in performance, and one that legitimately makes higher resolutions on tablets more viable. If anything, with more GPU performance, we should be able to play simple 3D games at 2048 x 1536 at 60fps. Perhaps with the same IQ as PS3 or 360 with some elaborate graphics tricks.

On phone devices, I'm not sure what the benefits are. Current GPUs are already fast enough to handle screen resolutions up to 1280 x 720 on 4" screens and lower. Any higher and the PPI would be too dense for the human eye to see.

Perhaps they may layer more effects on and make graphics look prettier than PS3 or 360, but... to what extent is the question. Typically the games sell for less than $9.99.

Edit: on the other hand, if Intel jumps on the bandwagon, I think they can catch up with the rest of the industry in the mobile landscape pretty quick, so by 2013, they should have an SoC that's very competitive with what the industry leaders are pushing out. This has good indications for Windows 8.

 

[Mopetar]

Considering the G6 is just available for licensing now, they probably weren't available when Apple was doing R&D for the A6 chip. At best, I'd guess that the A6 chip would be a SGX544MP4 config.

Probably the most likely scenario, but if I were Apple I'd be negotiating to get early access to Imagination Technology's newest designs ahead of time since they're probably one of company's biggest customers if not the biggest.

Edit: After some brief searching Apple already owns a ~10% of the company's stock. Intel owns ~16%, which may also explain why their choice of GPU in the Medfield SoC.

 

[runawayprisoner]

Apple can't request for earlier access because the GPUs weren't available for licensing at the time.

Even if they were, if ImgTec allows Apple earlier access than other OEMs, then they are violating antitrust laws.

 

[alent1234]

This gpu was announced almost a year ago so there is a pretty good chance that it's going to be in the upcoming iPad

 

[destrekor]

I don't care if it reaches the claims (it would be nice), but I most certainly want it nonetheless.

I hope TI and/or Qualcomm include it in their Cortex-A15 multicore packages that should be appearing this summer.
I want such a CPU and GPU combination in my hopefully unlocked-bootloader tablet of the near-future... which I shall use to also dualboot Win8 in addition to whatever the point release of Android 4.x is at that time.