Tegra

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Colibri Tegra T2 computer module by Toradex, Switzerland

Tegra, developed by Nvidia, is a system on a chip series for mobile devices such as smartphones, personal digital assistants, and mobile Internet devices. The Tegra integrates the ARM architecture processor central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU), northbridge, southbridge, and memory controller onto one package. The series emphasizes low power consumption and high performance for playing audio and video.

Contents

[edit] History

The Tegra APX 2500 was announced on February 12, 2008; the Tegra 6xx product line was revealed on June 2, 2008[1]and the APX 2600 was announced in February 2009. The APX chips were designed for smartphones, while the Tegra 600 and 650 chips were intended for smartbooks and mobile Internet devices (MID).[2]

The first product to use the Tegra was Microsoft's Zune HD media player in September 2009, followed by the Samsung M1.[3] Microsoft's KIN was the first cellular phone to use the Tegra,[4] however the phone does not have an app store, so the Tegra's power does not provide much advantage. In September 2008, Nvidia and Opera Software announced that they will produce a version of the Opera 9.5 browser optimised for the Tegra on Windows Mobile and Windows CE.[5][6] At Mobile World Congress 2009, Nvidia introduced its port of Google's Android to the Tegra.

On January 7, 2010, Nvidia officially announced and demonstrated its next generation Tegra system-on-a-chip, the Nvidia Tegra 250, at Consumer Electronics Show 2010.[7] Nvidia primarily supports Android on Tegra 2, but booting other ARM-supporting operating systems is possible on devices where the bootloader is accessible. Tegra 2 support for the Ubuntu GNU/Linux distribution was also announced on the Nvidia developer forum.[8]

On February 15, 2011, Nvidia announced the first quad-core SoC that will be used in many of the tablets to be released in the second half of 2011. The announcement was made at the 2011 Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona. Though the chip has currently been codenamed Kal-El, it will likely be branded as Tegra 3. Early benchmark results show impressive gains over Tegra 2. Nvidia initially claimed that Tegra 3 could outperform a Core 2 Duo processor from Intel, and released benchmarks with an underclocked Tegra 3 to that effect; later investigations proved that the Intel chip had also been handicapped by compiling settings (although the handicap to the Intel chip was noted in the details initially released). Code running on the underclocked Kal-El (running at 2/3 speed) had been compiled with a modern version of GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) and aggressive optimizations while that running on the Intel chip was produced by an obsolete version of GCC and only minimal optimizations. When the Intel code was compiled using the same flags as the code running on Kal-El, the Core 2 Duo was appreciably faster than at least an underclocked upcoming Tegra 3.[9][10]

Codenames of all upcoming releases in the Tegra series are references to comic book superheroes. Specifically, Superman (Kal-El), Batman (Wayne), Jean Grey (Grey), Wolverine (Logan), and Iron Man (Stark).[11]

In January 2012, Nvidia announced that Audi had selected the Tegra 3 processor for its in-vehicle infotainment systems and digital instruments display.[12] The processor will be integrated into Audi's entire line of vehicles worldwide, beginning in 2013.

[edit] Specifications

[edit] Tegra APX series

[edit] Tegra APX 2500

[edit] Tegra APX 2600

  • Enhanced NAND flash
  • Video codecs:[13]
    • 720p H.264 Baseline Profile Encode or Decode
    • 720p VC-1/WMV9 Advanced Profile Decode
    • D1 MPEG-4 Simple Profile Encode or Decode

[edit] Tegra 6xx series

[edit] Tegra 600

  • Targeted for GPS segment and automotive
  • Processor: ARM11 700 MHz MPCore
  • Memory: low-power DDR (DDR-333, 166 MHz)
  • SXGA, HDMI, USB, stereo jack
  • HD camera 720p

[edit] Tegra 650

  • Targeted for GTX of handheld and notebook
  • Processor: ARM11 800 MHz MPCore
  • Low power DDR (DDR-400, 200 MHz)
  • Less than 1 watt envelope
  • HD image processing for advanced digital still camera and HD camcorder functions
  • Display supports 1080p at 24 frame/s, HDMI v1.3, WSXGA+ LCD and CRT, and NTSC/PAL TV output
  • Direct support for Wi-Fi, disk drives, keyboard, mouse, and other peripherals
  • A complete board support package (BSP) to enable fast time to market for Windows Mobile-based designs

[edit] Tegra 2 series

The second generation Tegra SoC has a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU (lacking ARMs advanced SIMD extension, marketed as NEON), an ultra low power (ULP) GeForce GPU with 4 pixel shaders + 4 vertex shaders,[14] a single-channel memory controller with either LPDDR2 at 600 MHz or DDR2 at 667 MHz, a 32KB/32KB L1 cache per core and a shared 1MB L2 cache.[15] There is also a version of the SoC supporting 3D displays; this SoC uses a higher clocked CPU and GPU.

Model number Semiconductor technology CPU instruction set CPU GPU Memory technology Availability Utilizing Devices
Tegra 250 AP20H 40 nm ARMv7 1 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 ULP GeForce 300 MHz Single-channel LPDDR2 600 MHz or DDR2 667 MHz Q1 2010 LG Optimus 2X, Motorola Atrix 4G, Motorola Droid X2, Motorola Photon, Samsung Galaxy R, Samsung Captivate Glide, Tesla Model S, ZTE Mimosa X, Micromax Superfone A85
Tegra 250 T20 40 nm ARMv7 1 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 ULP GeForce 333 MHz Single-channel LPDDR2 600 MHz or DDR2 667 MHz Q1 2010 Acer Iconia Tab A100, A200 and A500, Asus Slider, LG Optimus Pad, Avionic Design Tamonten Processor Board,[16] Exper EasyPad, Notion Ink Adam tablet, Olivetti OliPad 100, Point of View Mobii 10.1, ViewSonic G Tablet, Motorola Xoom,[17] Toshiba AC100, Toshiba Folio 100, ASUS Eee Pad Transformer, Advent Vega, Hannspree Hannspad, Aigo n700, CompuLab Trim-Slice nettop, Dell Streak 7, E-Noa Interpad, Malata Tablet Zpad, MSI 10-inch (250 mm) tablet, Toradex Colibri Tegra 2, Toshiba Thrive tablet, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, T-Mobile G-Slate, Lenovo IdeaPad Tablet K1, Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet, Velocity Micro Cruz Tablet L510, Dell Streak Pro,[18] Zyrex Onepad SP1110, Zyrex Onepad SP1113G, Sony Tablet S
Tegra 250 3D AP25 40 nm ARMv7 1.2 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 ULP GeForce 400 MHz Single-channel LPDDR2 600 MHz or DDR2 667 MHz Q1 2011 Fusion Garage Grid 10[citation needed]
Tegra 250 3D T25 40 nm ARMv7 1.2 GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 ULP GeForce 400 MHz Single-channel LPDDR2 600 MHz or DDR2 667 MHz Q1 2011 Samsung GT-P7320, Motorola MOTO XT882

[edit] Tegra 3 (Kal-El) series

The Tegra 3 is functionally a SoC with a quad-core CPU, but includes a fifth "companion" core. All cores are Cortex-A9s, but the companion core is manufactured with a special low power silicon process that doesn't allow for high clock frequencies; hence it is limited to 500 MHz. There is also special logic to allow running state to be quickly transferred between the companion core and one of the normal cores. The goal is for a mobile phone or tablet to be able to power down all the normal cores and run on only the companion core, using comparatively little power, during standby mode or when otherwise underutilizing the CPU. According to Nvidia, this includes playing music or even video content.[19] Compared to Tegra 2, the ARM Cortex-A9s in Tegra 3 now supports ARMs SIMD extension, marketed as NEON. It can also output video up to 2560x1600 resolution and supports 1080p MPEG-4 AVC/h.264 40 Mbps High-Profile, VC1-AP and DivX 5/6 video decode.[20]

The Tegra 3 was officially released on November 9, 2011.[21]

Model number Semiconductor technology CPU instruction set CPU CPU Cache GPU Memory technology Availability Utilizing Devices
Tegra 3 40 nm LPG by TSMC ARMv7 1.3 GHz* Quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 L1: 32KB Instruction + 32KB Data, L2: 1MB ULP GeForce (improved over Tegra 2) 32bit Single-channel LPDDR2-1066 or DDR3-L up to 1600 MHz Q4 2011 Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime[22], IdeaPad K2 / LePad K2[23], Acer Iconia Tab A700[24], LG Optimus 4X HD, HTC One X, ZTE Era, ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity 700 Series (WiFi-version), ASUS Transformer Pad 300 Series, ZTE PF 100, ZTE T98, Toshiba AT270
  • Up to 1.4 GHz in single-core mode

[edit] Tegra (Wayne) series

  • Processor: Quad ARM Cortex-A15 MPCore + low power companion core
  • Improved 24 (for the quad-core) and 32 to 64 (for the octa-core) GPU cores with support for Directx 11+, OpenGL 4.X, and PhysX
  • 28 nm HPL[25]
  • About 10 times faster than Tegra 2
  • To be released in 2012 Jun

[edit] Tegra (Grey) series

  • Processor: ARM Cortex MPCore
  • 28 nm HPM
  • Integrated Icera 3G/4G baseband
  • To be released in 2012

[edit] Tegra (Logan) series

  • Processor: ARM v7
  • Improved GPU core
  • 28 nm[25]
  • About 50 times faster than Tegra 2
  • To be released in 2013

[edit] Tegra (Stark) series

  • Processor: ARM v8
  • Improved GPU core
  • About 75 times faster than Tegra 2[26]
  • To be released in 2014

[edit] Similar platforms

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Nvidia Rolls out "Tegra" Processors". http://www.techtree.com/India/News/Nvidia_Rolls_out_Tegra_Processors/551-89833-581.html. Retrieved 2008-06-02. 
  2. ^ "Nvidia Tegra FAQ" (PDF). http://www.nvidia.com/docs/IO/55043/NVIDIA_Tegra_FAQ_External.pdf. Retrieved 2008-06-04. 
  3. ^ New Nvidia Tegra 3 at 1.5GHz
  4. ^ Microsoft KIN first to use tegra
  5. ^ "Nvidia and Opera team to accelerate the full Web on mobile devices" (Press release). Opera Software. 2008-09-09. http://www.opera.com/press/releases/2008/09/09/. Retrieved 2009-01-09. 
  6. ^ "Nvidia And Opera Team To Accelerate The Full Web On Mobile Devices" (Press release). Nvidia. 2008-09-09. http://www.nvidia.com/object/io_1220962341614.html. Retrieved 2009-04-17. 
  7. ^ "New Nvidia Tegra Processor Powers The Tablet Revolution". Nvidia. 7Jan2010. http://www.nvidia.com/object/io_1262837617533.html. Retrieved 2010-03-19. 
  8. ^ "What operating systems does Tegra support?" (Press release). Nvidia. 2011-08-17. http://developer.nvidia.com/beta-forum#/discussion/46/what-operating-systems-does-tegra-support. Retrieved 2011-09-14. 
  9. ^ "Nvidia's Kal-El Demonstration Marred By Benchmark Confusion". http://hothardware.com/News/Nvidias-KalEl-Demonstration--Marred-By-Benchmark-Shenanigans/. Retrieved 2011-02-22. 
  10. ^ "Why nVidia’s Tegra 3 is faster than a Core 2 Duo T7200". Brightsideofnews.com. 2011-02-21. http://www.brightsideofnews.com/news/2011/2/21/why-nvidiae28099s-tegra-3-is-faster-than-a-core-2-duo-t7200.aspx. Retrieved 2011-08-12. 
  11. ^ Trenholm, Rich. "Nvidia Kal-El quad-core phone chip is faster than a speeding bullet in video". CBS Interactive Limited. http://crave.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/nvidia-kal-el-quad-core-phone-chip-is-faster-than-a-speeding-bullet-in-video-50003933/. Retrieved 2 June 2011. 
  12. ^ Peter Clarke, EE Times. "Audi selects Tegra processor for infotainment, dashboard." January 17, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  13. ^ "Nvidia Tegra APX Specifications". http://www.nvidia.com/object/product_tegra_apx_us.html. Retrieved 2011-02-17. 
  14. ^ "LG Optimus 2X & Nvidia Tegra 2 Review: The First Dual-Core Smartphone". AnandTech. http://www.anandtech.com/show/4144/lg-optimus-2x-nvidia-tegra-2-review-the-first-dual-core-smartphone/5. Retrieved 2011-08-12. 
  15. ^ "NVidia Tegra 2 Product Information". NVidia. http://www.nvidia.com/object/tegra-2.html. Retrieved 2011-09-05. 
  16. ^ "Avionic Design Tegra 2 (T290) Tamonten Processor Module - Product Brief". Avionic Design. http://www.avionic-design.de/uploads/pdf/Tamonten-Product-Brief-1373-101-000-02.pdf. Retrieved 2011-02-23. 
  17. ^ "Motorola Xoom Specifications Table". Motorola Mobility, Inc. February 16, 2011. http://developer.motorola.com/products/xoom-mz601/. Retrieved 2011-02-16. 
  18. ^ Dell Streak Pro Honeycomb tablet pictured, likely to be with us in June, Engadget, 19 May 2011
  19. ^ "Variable SMP – A Multi-Core CPU Architecture for Low Power and High Performance". 2011-09-19. http://www.nvidia.com/content/PDF/tegra_white_papers/tegra-whitepaper-0911b.pdf. 
  20. ^ "ASUS Transformer Prime introduced and examined". HEXUS.net. http://hexus.net/mobile/news/tablets/32531-asus-transformer-prime-introduced-examined/. Retrieved 2011-11-11. 
  21. ^ "NVIDIA Quad-Core Tegra 3 Chip Sets New Standards of Mobile Computing Performance, Energy Efficiency". 2011-11-09. http://pressroom.nvidia.com/easyir/customrel.do?easyirid=A0D622CE9F579F09&version=live&releasejsp=release_157&xhtml=true&prid=819304. 
  22. ^ "Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime (Nvidia Tegra 3 Processor; 10.1-inch display) Review". 2011-12-30. http://asia.cnet.com/product/asus-eee-pad-transformer-prime-nvidia-tegra-3-processor-10-1-inch-display-45735891.htm. 
  23. ^ LePad K2 performance test by GLBenchmark
  24. ^ [1]
  25. ^ a b "Nvidia's Tegra Kal-El Will Be 40 nm, Not 28 nm". Tomshardware.com. http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Tegra-Kal-El-Tegra-2-Snapdragon-ARM-CPU,12229.html. Retrieved 2011-08-12. 
  26. ^ "Tegra Roadmap Revealed: Next Chip to be World’s First Quad-Core Mobile Processor". Blogs.nvidia.com. http://blogs.nvidia.com/2011/02/tegra-roadmap-revealed-next-chip-worlds-first-quadcore-mobile-processor/. Retrieved 2011-08-12. 

[edit] External links
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