ARM intros new Mali-T604 GPU, touts 5x more performance

Matthew DeCarlo

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AMD, Nvidia and Intel may have a stranglehold on GPU sales, but that's not discouraging ARM from pressing onward with its own affairs. The chipmaker today unveiled its fourth-generation Mali GPU, offering up to five times more performance than previous Mali products and vowing to deliver "visually rich user experiences not previously seen in consumer electronic devices."

ARM says its Mali-T604 packs a multicore (up to four cores), tri-pipe architecture that employs various patented technologies and reduced memory bandwidth consumption by up to 30%. Better visuals aside, the new chip consumes less power and has a smaller footprint than its predecessors. It also supports 4X FSAA with minimal performance drop, as well as OpenCL and DirectX.


The Mali-T604 will land in numerous consumer electronic devices, ranging from smartphones to high-end digital entertainment systems. It's currently available to license by partners, and Samsung will be the first manufacturer to use the new GPU -- though the company's plans are unclear. Some believe the Mali-T604 could appear in Samsung's upcoming Orion SoC, a successor to Hummingbird.

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You have to give props to these guys for going against the big boys. As always, competition = good things for the consumer.
 
I also haven't heard much about ARM's GPU units. If it really provides 5x more performance then before thats a pretty amazing leap.
 
way to go ARM next up there new ARM 10000 gpu that's 10% faster than the gtx 580 lol jk but i do like that they are pushing forward in these hard times.
 
i know that some small handheld devices use ARM units like in the Nintendo DS. They mention low power consumption as one of the selling points does anyone know how much power they use?
 
I have never heard of this technology but it looks like it will bring GPU's performance higher on the scale.
Multicore gpu's. Nice work :)
 
cooperation always beats competition. it would be better if everyone teamd up on a unified goal
 
ARM hasn't made as large of an impact on discrete graphics as Nvidia or AMD and not even really graced the notebook/netbook market with their products. However, for handhelds and other mobile devices they have been very competitive. It's an area of the market that Nvidia is still trying to really take their share of. ARM definitely has some appealing products to offer in the mobile graphics segment. I'm looking forward to the handhelds and other mobile devices that implement this new GPU to see how well it actually performs.
 
All the major mobile 3D vendors are bringing significantly improved 3D cores to mobile. We might start to see more serious 3D games on phones and tablets. Though frankly I cringe every time I read "patented technologies". It's so easy to step on a patent these days without even knowing.

pheonixnexus, the ARM in the Nintendo products in the CPU, not the GPU. I don't know which products use ARM's GPU core.
 
Theres alwaysa Crysis Joke! i got bored of it, but then people kept doing it and now its got funny again! like an overused joke to the extreme.

but no, it can't play crysis, maybe a few of these in SLI though? that might be able to in a very low res.

Anyway I hope to see one of these in the next iPhone or something. NOVA on iPhone looks incredible as it is.

Anyone know who does the GPU for iPhone?

Best Regards,
 
Of course they havent had a large impact on discrete graphics... their products are focused to OTHER type of gadgets.
 
The addition of discrete graphics to mobile devices is a welcome development. Hopefully, they can overcome all the different hardware and software hurdles so that one day, we can all play a hi-res version of Call of Duty or Battlefield : Bad Company 2 on our cell phones. Wouldn't that be something :).
 
So I'm guessing this (combined with an ARM CPU) will be marketed as direct competition to the nVidia Tegra 2? Seems like the closest fit for the markets they are aiming at. Trying to imagine benchmarks and comparisons, but wondering just what you'd compare it to :)
 
Tegra 2 doesn't have much to boost in the mobile arena yet .... nVidia is still trying to find a foothold. Now to this thing, if it really can perform 5x better in graphics the days of the likes of hummingbird are numbered. No wonder samsung is one of the first to launch some products with this baby, there is a reason they are getting more stronger in the mobile arena, generally they have lot better offerings than the competition in several market segments. If Android continued be improved as fast as it has been (and further if MS can tangibly improve and convince users about quality experience of its OS), I think mobile market may yet shake up again; but this time around along with Nokia, Apple will be in the firing line, because it seems that iPhone is no longer in 'to be had' category anymore. Infact, new iPhone has fallen down the price ladder so badly here that it has burned a few suppliers who had it stocked.
 
I am glad to see that the market consists of more than just nVidia and ATi. I hope that ARM will also eventually get their name in those high GPU sales stats. I hope that they will make products that will rival the market share of nVidia and ATi so that there is more choice for us, the end consumer as well as lower prices. I hope that Gfx cards will become wy more affordable.
 
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