Nvidia announces latest mobile processor, the Tegra X1
At CES 2015 Nvidia unveiled its next gen mobile CPU, the Tegra X1. The latest chip is based on Nvidia’s 256-core Maxwell GPU, and features an eight-core 64-bit CPU and follows up last year’s Tegra K1.
The Tegra X1 is the first mobile processor to achieve 1 teraflop throughput, handles 4K video at 60Hz, and is said to be twice as powerful as the K1. It’s worth mentioning that the first supercomputer to pull off more than 1 teraflop did so in 2000 and needed 10 million watts to achieve such a feat, showing how far we’ve come. In addition to featuring a major boost in processing power, the X1 is also just as, if not slightly more, power efficient than its predecessor.
As per Nvidia PR, here are the main specs of the new chip:
- 256-core Maxwell GPU
- 8 CPU cores (4x ARM Cortex A57 + 4x ARM Cortex A53)
- 60 fps 4K video (H.265, H.264, VP9)
- 1.3 gigapixel of camera throughput
- 20nm process
Nvidia naturally focused on the graphics abilities of its so called “superchip” and highlighted the support for graphics standards like Unreal Engine 4, DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.5, CUDA(R), OpenGL ES 3.1 and the Android Extension Pack, as well as individual features like Voxel Global Illumination for real-time dynamic global illumination and Multi-Frame Anti-Aliasing.
“To achieve this dream, enormous advances in visual and parallel computing are required. The Tegra X1 mobile super chip, with its one teraflops of processing power, is a giant step into this revolution,” said Nvidia’s CEO Jen-Hsun Huang.
On the CPU side, Nvidia opted for a standard ARM configuration, with 4 fast Cortex A57 cores and 4 power saving Cortex A53 cores connected into a big.LITTLE configuration that allows on the fly allocation of resources depending on the task. This setup is similar to that used by Qualcomm on the Snapdragon 810, and it will be interesting to see how the chips fare against each others in benchmarks and real world performance. Nvidia has skipped its custom Denver cores for the Tegra X1, though Denver may make a return on a future gen.
Nvidia is also pushing hard automotive applications; a dual-Tegra X1 setup powers the Drive CX virtual cockpit/infotainment system, which is capable of handling 17MP of graphic output, the equivalent of two 4K screens.
At least at the time of this writing Nvidia has yet to announce any devices that feature the Tegra X1, though the company offered a vague timeline for the rollout, with the first devices equipped with the chip to begin arriving in the first half of the year. Nvidia has a history of having trouble delivering on its promises, so it remains to be seen whether Tegra X1 will fare any better.
Shamelessly ripped from: Android Authority: http://www.androidauthority.com/tegra-x1-nvidia-577921/
So It's basically a Snapdragon 810, but with a monster of a GPU built in.
256 GPU cores still isn't much compared to it's desktop variants, but 1 Tflops ?! What kind of sorcery is this?
