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Intel Is Planning To Drop PowerVR Graphics

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  • Intel Is Planning To Drop PowerVR Graphics

    Phoronix: Intel Is Planning To Drop PowerVR Graphics

    There's some more exciting Intel news to report this week that will please plenty of Linux and open-source fans: Intel is planning to drop their use of Imagination Technologies PowerVR graphics within future-generation SoCs...

    Phoronix, Linux Hardware Reviews, Linux hardware benchmarks, Linux server benchmarks, Linux benchmarking, Desktop Linux, Linux performance, Open Source graphics, Linux How To, Ubuntu benchmarks, Ubuntu hardware, Phoronix Test Suite

  • #2
    Great news! Won't miss ya PowerVR.

    Comment


    • #3
      A-W-E-S-O-M-E, I really want an x86 smartphone now
      ## VGA ##
      AMD: X1950XTX, HD3870, HD5870
      Intel: GMA45, HD3000 (Core i5 2500K)

      Comment


      • #4
        Intel

        themselves are the problem insisting on their own driver teams. Imagination have no problem running Linux using Atom hardware and getting great performance under Linux. the problem with Atom has always been Intel supplied drivers for all OS's.

        Let's also remember that Intel's in-house graphics are terrible and they will never get close to Imagination levels of performance and power efficiency even based on Series 5 (current family). Series 6 is a whole new level - and I'm 95% certain Intel have licensed this already for a not insignificant lump of cash.

        Treat this article with caution IMO.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Qaridarium
          YES!!! good news! now intel just drop the shit.
          Drop the #1 mobile graphics core using any metric you mean ? That PowerVR
          shit ? The really good shit ? Drop that ?

          Comment


          • #6
            Yay to all of the obvious good news and yay to PowerVR having one less customer!

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by hammerd View Post
              Drop the #1 mobile graphics core using any metric you mean ? That PowerVR
              shit ? The really good shit ? Drop that ?
              Although phrased exceedingly poorly, Q is obviously referring to the Linux situation only. Now while IMG makes great drivers for Linux systems, they aren't suitable for desktop churn. From pretty much all accounts Poulsbo has been a mess on Linux desktop.
              From that perspective, along with them being closed source, they are shit. Unfortunately, as you've pointed out, they make the best mobile gpus in existance (although Adreno looks to be catching up, and the next Mali may be awesome).

              Comment


              • #8
                "Intel is planning to drop their use of Imagination Technologies PowerVR graphics within future-generation SoCs..."

                Intel dropping Imagination isn't such a problem for me as i never liked the way Imagination walked way from ARM in the early days to build their current closed PowerVR graphics cores in isolation.

                however Intel does have a problem for their future mobile/static low power GFX/SOC's, in that Samsung Developed a Mobile Memory with "Wide" I/O Interface with Extreme Bandwidth http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/memory/...Bandwidth.html
                Samsung's New Mobile Memory Chip Features 512-Bit Bus, Contradicts Latest Trends
                [02/22/2011 08:11 PM]by Anton Shilov

                "The new 1Gb wide I/O mobile DRAM can transmit data at 12.8GB/s, which increases the bandwidth of mobile DDR DRAM (1.6GB/s) eightfold, while reducing power consumption by approximately 87%. The bandwidth is also four times that of LPDDR2 DRAM (which is approximately 3.2GB/s).
                To boost data transmission, Samsung’s wide I/O DRAM uses 512 pins for data input and output compared to the previous generation of mobile DRAMs, which used a maximum of 32 pins. If you include the pins that are involved in sending commands and regulating power supply, a single Samsung wide I/O DRAM is designed to accommodate approximately 1200 pins.

                The new mobile dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chip can store 1Gb of data and is made using a 50nm-class fabrication process. The new wide I/O mobile DRAM will be used in mobile applications, such as smartphones and tablet PCs...."

                and while it's unknown for the moment when such ARM chips from all the vendors will start using this RAM interface, it seems that the next Exynos will use it or something like it PDQ given the Exynos 5250 SoC based on ARM’s Cortex-A15 matches that 12.8GB/s speed exactly.


                by Saumitra Bhagwat on 1/27/2012 9:32:00 AM
                Posted in Samsung , Exynos , SoC , Cortex A15 , PowerVR

                "ust to recap, the Exynos 5250 is a 32nm dual-core Cortex-A15 SoC running at 2.0 Ghz. Memory bandwidth is a staggering 12.8 GB/s and allows it to drive up to WQXGA (2560x1600) resolution displays. As wereported back in November, compute performance should easily be twice that of the 1.5Ghz dual-core Cortex-A9-based Exynos 4210 and graphics performance is expected to be a four-fold improvement.

                not much is known about the GPU at this moment; but if the Exynos 4210 was anything to go by, we could see ARM's Mali T-604 based on their new Midgard architecture handling the pixel pushing duties. The Exynos 4210 packed a Mali-400 MP4 GPU, while its predescessor, Hummingbird, used a PowerVR SGX540 GPU. Samsung does have licenses to other GPU designs from ARM and Imagination Technologies, so at this point, the GPU in the Exynos 5250 could be anybody's guess....."

                so the simple question that needs an answer soon seems to be, does Intel have any LP Mobile Memory on hand with a "Wide" I/O Interface performance and can they at least match the potential gfx/data Samsung/ARM throughput in the near term time frame ?
                Last edited by popper; 07 February 2012, 04:45 PM.

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                • #9
                  Even if it isn't the sole motivation, I hope Intel pushes home the fact that PowerVR's closed driver is a major factor in dropping it.

                  Hardware manufacturers will only be forced to consider open-source drivers when their (direct) customers demand it.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Best news of today! (yet)
                    Stop TCPA, stupid software patents and corrupt politicians!

                    Comment

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