Nvidia ramps up power efficiency and performance with Tegra 3
Kal-el quad-core chip boasts three times the graphics performance of Tegra 2
Nvidia has officially launched its long awaited quad-core Tegra 3 processor, promising improved performance and energy efficiency and up to up to three times the graphics performance of its predecessor.
The Tegra 3 is based on the world's first quad-core ARM Cortex A9 CPU, and offers up to 61 per cent lower power consumption which Nvidia said translates to 12 hours of battery life for HD video playback.
The processor manages this thanks to new technology dubbed Variable Symmetric Multiprocessing (vSMP), which includes what Nvidia calls a fifth CPU 'companion' running at low frequency and very low power.
VSMP is called into operation for tasks where less power is needed, such as video playback, allowing the four main cores to shut down.
For high-performance tasks like web browsing and multi-tasking, however, the companion is shut down and the four cores take over.
"Tegra 3's vSMP technology extends the battery life of next-generation mobile devices by using less power when handling undemanding tasks and then ratcheting up performance when it's really needed," said Nathan Brookwood, research fellow at Insight 64.
The Tegra 3 also features a 12-core GeForce GPU offering what Nvidia claims to be three times the graphics performance of the Tegra 2.
The first device to feature the new processor is the Asus Transformer Prime hybrid tablet announced today, which is due to ship in January.
Nvidia will be hoping that the performance and energy efficiency gains with vSMP help the company to prosper in a mobile space now being targeted in earnest by Intel.
The chip maker is forging ahead with plans for 22nm tri-gate transistors which are designed with energy efficiency in mind.
Intel has also announced a partnership with Samsung on the Tizen OS for tablets and smartphones, and put its core i5 chips in the Samsung Windows 8 tablets given to developers at Microsoft's Build conference.