Samsung Reveals World's First Cortex A15 SoC: Exynos 5 Dual (5250); Speedy Future

dgstorm

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Jan 5, 2011
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Technology marches onward, even when we aren't looking. For the past year, the big talk in mobile tech processors has been about NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core chips, and the Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Krait (dual-core and future quad-core). Of course, these aren't the only chip makers in the mobile world, and the new Exynos 5 Dual (5250) from Samsung will aim to prove that when it launches later this year. The first most intriguing thing about this chip is that it is the world’s first Cortex A15-based SoC. It is based upon a 32nm process and if the hype can be believed, it will blow away everything we have been talking about up to now (even the quad-core processors). Here's a quick run-down of advancements for this new chip:
  • Dual-core 1.7 Ghz Cortex A15 CPU
  • Mali T604 GPU
  • OpenGL ES 3.0
  • OpenCL 1.1 full profile
  • Support for WXQGA displays
  • Wi-Fi display support
  • 12.8 GB/s memory bandwidth with 2 port 800 Mhz LPDDR3 RAM support
  • 1080p 60 FPS video performance and VP8 codec decoder
  • USB 3.0 support
Despite the fact that this chip is only a dual-core, supposedly it's other advancements more than make up for the differences. It is designed to compete directly with Qualcomm's S4 Krait processors. The only place it might falter would be in multi-threaded apps that are geared for the new quad-core Krait from Qualcomm which isn't out yet.

One of the main advancements that will help propel this chip to greatness is that its included Mali T604 is the very first GPU based on the newer Midgard architecture. It includes unified shaders, OpenGL ES 3.0 and OpenCL 1.1. In fact, this new GPU configuration is likely to be faster and more capable than our current generation gaming consoles, like the PS3 and the Xbox 360.

Additionally, as you can see in the spec breakdown above, the new chip has dramatically improved memory bandwidth. This was necessary to power the future generation of WQXGA (2560×1600) tablets. It's interesting to note that it even supports USB 3.0, which will be much appreciated. Regardless of whether it beats the competition by as much as the PR guys are saying, it will be exciting to see just how capable it is toward the end of this year.

You can check out even more juicy tidbits about this emerging technology at the source link below.

Source: Samsung
 
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