Mainstream manufacturers are optimistic about multi-core tablet

Since Apple released the iPad, tablet computers have become almost indispensable digital devices in our daily lives. In order to compete for greater market share, major manufacturers have also tried their best. In addition to a thinner body, the configuration of the product is naturally a high ground, and the processor is an essential one. This is why today's tablet PCs are increasingly inclined to multicore because of the choice of processors.

The multi-core processor, in addition to greater room for improvement in performance, its greatest advantage lies in multi-tasking. And thanks to the continuous updating of architecture, the power consumption of multi-core processors is not necessarily higher than that of single-core processors. Through collaborative processing, high task execution efficiency can be achieved. Below, let's take a brief look at what products are available from major vendors in multi-core tablet processors.

NVIDIA: The Tegra Series
As a traditional manufacturer of display chips, NVIDIA was not idle at the onset of the mobile wave and debuted the world’s first SOC chip equipped with a dual-core A9, NVIDIA Tegra2. By now, NVIDIA has released the latest Tegra3 SOC. Although it spans only one generation, Tegra3 has been transformed from a dual-core CPU to a quad-core CPU. After tasting its sweetness, Tegra 4 also took the lead in this year’s CES.

The processor is also manufactured on TSMC's 28nm HPL process and features a low-power high-k metal gate (HKMG). However, compared to the 28nm HPM, the balance between leakage rate and performance is even more important. This also makes Tegra 4's four cores up to 1.9 GHz.

The Tegra 4 integrates four Cortex-A15 CPU cores, boasting a 2.6x increase in Web performance (which should be comparable to the Tegra 3), and a second generation power saving core (also based on the Cortex-A15 architecture, not the Cortex-A9. /A7, etc., but operating frequency, voltage, and power consumption are much lower. That is, it is still a "4+1" core design.

Intel: The All-Around X86 Bay Trail

In addition to the ARM architecture, Intel, as the boss of the traditional PC industry, can't stand by, after experiencing the impact of mobile devices on themselves. Intel also introduced Bay Trail, the next-generation Atom-based system chip, as Intel’s chief executive in the tablet field. The processor uses the Silvermont microarchitecture. In addition to the more advanced 22nm architecture, it also uses quad-core and 7th-generation graphics chips. .

In addition, the processor also supports DX11, Full HD, and Intel Turbo Technology 2.0. Compared to the previous Clover Trail platform, the Bay Trail's CPU and graphics performance are 2x and 3x higher than those of the former.

AMD: Temash approaching notebook performance

As Intel's oldest player in the desktop market, AMD naturally pays attention to the opportunities in the field of tablet processors. This year it introduced a brand new Temash APU processor. The APU adopts a Jaguar architecture similar to that of the Sony PS4. Four-core design. Can be widely used in tablet PCs and hybrid PC products.

With built-in Radeon HD graphics capabilities, Temash can provide the tablet with close to laptop performance. This processor is mainly used in multimedia entertainment and high-performance flat-panel markets. Its performance has been improved by up to 20% on the basis of the previous generation of Bobcat, and the performance of the display core has also been further improved. Compared with the AMD C-70, it has increased 212% per watt, compared to the X86 platform. 172% increase per watt. In addition to the increase in performance, power consumption remains basically unchanged.

AMD's confidence in Temash is very strong. It is considered that the processor takes into account the smoothness of the iPad and the advantages of the x86 platform architecture.