Date: 14/11/2011

Mali-T658 GPU from ARM seamlessly work with A15 and A7 processor cores

ARM has announced the ARM Mali-T658 Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) for always on and always connected devices such as phones, tablets and Internet enabled TVs and automotive infotainment systems. ARM claims the multicore Mali-T658 GPU delivers up to ten times the graphics performance of the Mali-400 MP GPU four times the GPU Compute performance of the Mali-T604 GPU. The new GPU targets applications such as computational photography, image-processing and augmented reality.

"Following the recent introduction of big.LITTLE processing and the ARMv8 architecture, the launch of Mali-T658 is another example of how ARM is seeking to redefine heterogeneous computing for the embedded space," said Jon Peddie, President of specialist graphics research consultancy, Jon Peddie Research. "This will provide high-performance graphics and compute systems for low-power applications."

Mali-T658 extends ARM performance leadership with scalability up to eight cores, and by doubling of the number of arithmetic pipelines within each of these cores. It is also compatible with the ARMv8 architecture. The ARM Mali-T658 GPU supports a wide range of graphics and compute APIs, including Microsoft DirectX 11, Khronos OpenGL ES, OpenVG, Khronos OpenCL, Google Renderscript and Microsoft DirectCompute.

"ARM is in a unique position to integrate CPU, GPU and interconnect technology into optimized, coherent systems, and by doing so improve performance and enable more efficient data sharing," said Rock Yang, VP Marketing, Nufront. "This will allow partners, such as Beijing Nufront, to make the most of the leading capabilities of each system component and maximize throughput in ARM technology-based compute sub-systems."

The Mali-T658 has been designed to work seamlessly with the ARM Cortex-A15 and Cortex-A7 processors either in standalone modes or in big.LITTLE processing mode.

"Next generation consumer devices based on the Mali-T658 GPU will address the growing user expectation for slick user interfaces and desktop-class graphics," said Pete Hutton, general manager, Media Processing Division, ARM. "Intuitive user interfaces will mean that consumers can access the full functionality of their connected devices, for richer user experiences. This includes HD gaming and new compute-intensive applications, such as augmented reality."

To support the essentian need of cache memory coherency in multicore computing devices, ARM system IP, such as CoreLink, enables system level cache coherency across clusters of multicore processors, including the Cortex-A15 MPCore processors and Mali-T658 graphics processors.