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Originally posted by tildearrow
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GPU virtualization? I don't know that, but seems like the only option... -
Aren't they still PowerVR-derived?Originally posted by Michael View Post
While we don’t have much insight into Apple’s latest GPU designs, it’s understood that these are custom microarchitecture designs are based upon Imagination’s GPU architecture IP, which makes it unique in the GPU world as we don’t see any other such GPU architecture license in the market. Features such as tile-based deferred rendering and PVRTC are Imagination patented technologies which Apple currently publicly exposes as features of its GPUs, so it’s evident that the current designs still very much use the British company’s IP. The GPU’s block structure is also very similar to that of Imaginations, further pointing out to a close relationship between the designs.
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I realize that people use Apple as the gold standard for phone performance, but is anyone really competing with them? I get the impression that people buy iPhones more for cultural reasons than anything else. As long as Android phones can deliver a good experience, does it really matter if an iPhone has a bit more raw performance?Originally posted by Jumbotron View Post
Apple has always lead on performance and I don't expect anyone will catch them in the foreseeable future, but it hasn't really seemed to matter or hurt Android sales that much.Last edited by coder; 18 December 2020, 10:02 PM.Comment
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It's possible (and perhaps likely) in some shape/form that it is PowerVR derived as, yes, there was the IP agreement renewed back in January 2020.... But it may be just about select IP/patents at this stage.Originally posted by coder View Post
In any case, there is no vibrant open-source PowerVR driver option nor any PowerVR blob that would likely work on Linux under the M1, so still rather remains in the same original situation of starting anew.Michael Larabel
https://www.michaellarabel.com/Comment
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An aside: I'm not sure if you remember, but PowerVR started out life as a PC graphics card chipset, in the late 1990's. It's interesting to see them come almost full-circle, in the form of Apple's iGPU now powering a mac mini.Originally posted by Michael View Post
They also announced ray tracing acceleration a few years ago, and even demo'd PCIe cards for this purpose, a years before Nvidia launched RTX!
https://semiaccurate.com/2013/03/12/...ustic-silicon/Last edited by coder; 18 December 2020, 11:29 PM.Comment
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Just you wait for the bitboys-oy and the powerVR to get together and then amd.nv,intel will be on their knees.Originally posted by coder View Post
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ATI bought BitBoys and AMD later sold it to Qualcomm. That's where the Adreno GPUs in Snapdragon SoCs came from, and fun fact: Adreno is an anagram of Radeon!Originally posted by onlyLinuxLuvUBack View Post
Oh, and the Chinese now own & control Imagination: https://semiaccurate.com/2020/04/04/...-technologies/
I'll bet Apple is sad they didn't just buy them. I mean, they were pocket change for a company with a couple $Trillion market cap!Last edited by coder; 18 December 2020, 11:31 PM.Comment
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Everyone competes with and copies Apple because they have set the design and usability standards for personal computing for over 40 years. Apple quite literally has been and still is Microsoft's R&D Center. Microsoft is the most Chinese style American computing company in history because they have NEVER innovated, only copied Apple. And if it wasn't Apple they were copying they were simply buying up smaller more innovative companies just to extinguish their tech.Originally posted by coder View Post
As far as Android....the only reason they are so successful is Android is the Microsoft of mobile OS's in the sense that it can go on any cheap piece of crap hardware and still make a buck. Even more so since Google gives Android away for free. But let's be clear, as far as Android phones go worldwide, the vast majority of them are equipped with SoCs that are roughly the performance equivalent of an iPhone 6....perhaps even as far back as a 5 series. Sure...for the vast majority of world Android users that's just fine for what they use their phone for. Only Geeks are concerned with paper benchmarks concerning the numbers and the speeds and feeds as the Brits say.
But Apple leads the way. And the industry MUST follow. That's called competition. There is MORE than a dose of pride involved.Last edited by Jumbotron; 19 December 2020, 01:36 AM.Comment
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And lookee here. just broke on Reuters only 7 hours ago. I knew that the PC World article bemoaning the performance of the Microsoft/Qualcomm SQ1 and saying Microsoft's ARM effort looked "doomed" was WAY too early a judgement call. I've been saying and getting flaming shit post repies on my saying that the Age of ARM is here and that x86 is now legacy for personal computing because now that Apple has gone full ARM Microsoft would have to follow suit because that's what Microsoft does. That's the only thing they CAN do. And whaddaya know......
Microsoft working on in-house chips for its servers, PCs
(Reuters) -Microsoft Corp is working on in-house processors for the servers running its cloud-computing services and Surface line of personal computers, potentially cutting its reliance on Intel Corp , a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The chips would use technology from Arm Ltd, the person said, which is in the midst of being acquired by Nvidia Corp for $40 billion.
Bloomberg previously reported Microsoft’s move.
Microsoft relies heavily on Intel and Advanced Micro Devices Inc to supply the chips for its Azure cloud computing services as well as its Surface PCs.
But the company had already been working with Ampere Computing and Marvell Technology Group Ltd on Arm-based server chips, and with Qualcomm Inc for an Arm-based processor in its Surface Pro X device.
Now Microsoft has joined firms like Apple Inc in designing its own custom Arm-based chip. Apple last month released Mac computers based on its house-designed M1 chip.
The person familiar with the matter said Microsoft is working with computing cores licensed from Arm, rather that designing its own custom cores as Apple does.
Arm declined to comment.
Microsoft spokesman Frank Shaw said the Redmond, Washington-based tech giant views semiconductors as a key focus area.
“Because silicon is a foundational building block for technology, we’re continuing to invest in our own capabilities in areas like design, manufacturing and tools,” he said in a statement.
https://www.reuters.com/article/micr...-idUSKBN28S2Y1
Now....to be sure...the author of this article is a bit ignorant of the fact that Apple's M1 IS AN ARM SoC. But perhaps Microsoft is going a more generic route and using ARM GPUs, DSPs and Neural Processors instead of the custom cores that Apple designs such as those.
But what is interesting is that there is NO MENTION of Qualcomm. Hmmmm.....
Either way....the AGE of ARM is here. I said earlier this year and on every post Michael has had recently detailing an Apple M1 story that Microsoft would HAVE to answer Apple's move to ARM with their own efforts and in doing so kick off the Age of ARM and the decline of x86. That time starts in earnest in 2021.Last edited by Jumbotron; 19 December 2020, 01:51 AM.Comment
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I'm wondering if AMD dropping Arm was maybe a bad move after all? I mean don't get me wrong, Zen has been an astounding success, but Arm seems like the wave of the future.
EDIT: Then again, maybe it's just Jumbotrons excitement rubbing off on meComment
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