f********m
发帖数: 8397 | 1 http://androidandme.com/2010/11/news/5-compelling-reasons-you-will-want-
to-buy-a-dual-core-mobile-device/
All I want for Christmas is a dual-core superphone, but it doesn’t look
like Santa is going to deliver one this year. Why am I so excited about
this one hardware spec for my next Android device? To put it very
simply, dual-core processors will raise the bar for performance and
capabilities in mobile devices and they will become the new standard in
2011.
The dual-core Tegra 2 processor by NVIDIA is already shipping in tablets
overseas (plus Sears) and it is expected to power the first wave of
dual-core superphones and Honeycomb devices. Both the LG Star and the
Motorola Olympus have been confirmed to feature the Tegra 2 processor
and I expect we will see more products announced in early 2011.
So why should you want a dual-core processor? Read on after the jump for
the top reasons why multi-core CPUs should be at the top of your wish
list.
A block diagram of the dual-core Cortex A9 microprocessor.
Desktop PCs transitioned to multi-core processor architectures five
years ago for a reason. They offer higher performance and lower power
consumption. Single-core CPUs found in mobile devices have started to
top out in the performance per watt and multiple cores is the answer to
that problem.
NVIDIA just published a whitepaper titled The Benefits of Multiple CPU
Cores in Mobile Devices and it has some pretty compelling reasons to go
with a dual-core processor in your next gadget purchase. The report is
focused on their Tegra 2 SoC (System-On-a-Chip) architecture, but it is
based on the ARM Cortex-A9 design so these benefits should also be
available to similar A9 CPUs from Samsung, Texas Instruments, and
Qualcomm.
None of these dual-core phones have hit the market yet so we have no way
of telling which will perform the best, but NVIDIA seems to think pretty
highly of their Tegra 2. They are describing it as “the world’s most
advanced mobile processor” and released a bunch of benchmarks to back
their claim up.
The five major points that NVIDIA is promoting for Tegra 2 include:
Faster Web page load times
Lower power consumption and higher performance per watt
Higher quality game play experience for advanced console-style mobile
games
Highly responsive and smoother UIs (user interfaces)
Faster multitasking
Yes please, I’ll take one of everything. Let’s break down their claims
and see how the average Android geek will benefit from a dual-core
processor.
Faster web page load times
Single-core vs. dual-core web browsing.
This one seems pretty obvious. Each CPU core is capable of operating
independently on different workloads so it splits up the tasks of
rendering a web page. One core takes on the Active X and Java code while
the second works on the Flash content and video.
I’ve been using Flash Player 10.1 for several months (first on my Nexus
One and then a G2) and while I’m satisfied that it just works, the
performance is a little sluggish. Videos load slow and the page
scrolling is a little jumpy when a site has multiple Flash objects.
NVIDIA included several browser benchmarks that compare the Tegra 2 with
previous single-core phones.
Javascript benchmarks show Tegra 2 delivers faster runtimes and page
render times.
In the Moonbat JavaScript Benchmark the dual-core Tegra 2 is 1.5x to 2x
faster than an equivalent single-core Cortex A9 version and at least
1.7x to 2.4x faster than competing ARM Cortex A8 based application
processors.
Bring on the faster page loads.
To further emphasize the speed of dual-core CPUs that support
symmetrical multiprocessing, NVIDIA also benchmarked a dual-core Tegra 2
vs a Tegra 2 with only one core enabled. Their results show that the
average web page loads almost 50% faster.
Verdict: Approved – We all browse the web from our phones and who
doesn’t want faster load times? Sign me up.
Lower power consumption and higher performance per watt
Dual-core processors can do the same work using less power.
Every time I write an article about dual-core processors in a mobile
device someone cracks a joke about needing to carry around a really long
extension cord. Some people think that a faster processor would
automatically eat up more power, but it is actually the opposite.
NVIDIA does a nice job of dumbing this down a little, so I will quote
their whitepaper:
The Tegra solution is more power efficient and delivers higher
performance per watt than single core processors. In order to meet peak
performance demands in a multitasking environment, a single core CPU not
only runs at higher clock frequencies and voltages than a dual core CPU,
but also takes longer periods of time to complete a given task.
NVIDIA Tegra employs SMP (Symmetrical Multiprocessing) technology to
distribute and share task workloads across the two processing cores and
thus each core is not fully loaded and does not have to run at peak
capacity/speed. This enables the system level power management control
logic to run the two cores at much lower operating frequency and voltage
and thus achieve significant power savings.
For tasks that are highly parallel, NVIDIA Tegra is able to distribute
the workload across the two CPU cores and complete the task much faster
than a single core CPU solution. Thus the dual core CPU on NVIDIA Tegra
would be able to complete a task quickly and enter into a low power
state to conserve power, while a single core processor would have to be
in an active high power state for longer periods of time to process the
same task. For low intensity workloads that only require the processing
power of a single core, the other core can be turned off, reducing power
consumption to almost the same level as that of a single core CPU.
The whitepaper gets pretty technical, but NVIDIA’s example shows that
dual-core processors can do the same work as a single-core while using
40% less power. We don’t know what the overall battery life of dual-core
phones will be like since we don’t know what other power sipping
features they will include, but a dual-core CPU should go a long way in
helping out.
Verdict: Approved – Everyone wishes their phone’s battery lasted longer.
A more power efficient CPU should help to extend battery life for the
common user.
Higher quality game play experience for advanced console-style mobile
games
Dungeon Defenders is headed to Tegra 2 devices.
NVIDIA has focused on graphics processing units since they were founded
in 1993, so gaming should be an area they excel at.
One thing is for sure, the Tegra 2 SoC will be the only dual-core
platform that has a “console class Ultra Low Power (ULP)” GeForce GPU.
Unlike Samsung and Texas Instruments that license their GPUs from other
companies, NVIDIA designed their mobile GPU in-house.
Their whitepaper didn’t provide a ton of technical information about
their mobile GeForce GPU, but NVIDIA says the architecture of the GPU in
the Tegra processor is similar to that of desktop GeForce GPUs. This
means that games that were originally developed for multi-core desktop
CPUs and desktop GPU architectures can be easily ported to run on NVIDIA
Tegra.
We are already seeing this come true since Epic Games is releasing their
Unreal Engine 3 for Android and id Software is working on their Rage
Mobile engine. The best 3D engines are going mobile and game studios
will be able to easily port their titles to Android. Dungeon Defenders
is a prime example as it will released on the Playstation Network, Xbox
Live Arcade, PC, iOS, and Android in a short period of time.
Most current console and PC games were developed for multi-core hardware
so they will deliver the best performance on mobile devices that support
multi-core architectures.
A couple of benchmarks were tossed in to show how Tegra 2 handles games
in an environment with background tasks.
Reports show that the number of mobile gamers will grow to 100 million
by 2014. Developers of popular console games will not be able to ignore
this growth and will port their titles to phones and tablets.
Verdict: Approved – Some Android phones are more powerful than the
iPhone 4, but Android still doesn’t have the same quality of games that
you find on Apple’s iOS. We want better games, so bring on the dual-core
processors that will make it easier for console developers to port their
titles to Android.
Highly responsive and smoother UIs and faster multitasking
Android was designed for multitasking, but we have all experienced some
slow down on our phones when we have multiple apps running at the same
time. I’m not sure if dual-core processors can totally eliminate the
pauses we sometimes experience, but it should help greatly reduce them.
NVIDIA explains the Android multitasking situation as follows:
Smartphone users typically have several applications running
concurrently. For example, it is not uncommon to see applications such
as web browsers, streaming music, email syncs, social network syncs, and
news feeders running concurrently on a mobile device. Under such heavy
multitasking conditions, single core CPUs often hit peak utilization and
are unable to immediately switch over to processing user interaction
tasks, and this results in delays and noticeable lag in responsiveness.
Since a dual-core CPU with symmetrical multiprocessing can dynamically
divide the workload among both cores, the operating system can assign
background tasks like music streaming and syncing to one core and use
the other core for latency-sensitive tasks such as user interactions and
web browsing.
Future versions of Android (like Honeycomb) should also increase the
overall responsiveness since Google is working on GPU acceleration for
the whole UI.
Verdict: Approved – No one likes a smartphone that stutters, but it is
bound to happen when running multiple apps. Dual-core processors should
improve the overall responsiveness and that is something we can all be
excited about.
Conclusion
No matter what type of Android user you consider yourself to be, dual-
core processors should have some benefit to offer you. They will raise
the performance bar, reduce power usage, deliver console-style games,
and make the overall Android experience more responsive.
We don’t know which dual-core CPU will be the fastest, but NVIDIA’s
Tegra 2 will be the first.
LG and Motorola are going to deliver Tegra 2 phones, NVIDIA’s CEO said
Samsung would be a big customer, and Digitimes reports that NVIDIA has
received Tegra 2 orders from others including Asus, Acer, and Toshiba.
I haven’t even played with a Tegra 2 phone yet, so I’m not saying they
are going to take over the world but it certainly appears that NVIDIA
has won quite a few product designs and will have a chance to get in the
ring with Qualcomm and Samsung. Texas Instruments is also still in the
picture but there hasn’t been much news about their dual-core OMAP4,
which we don’t expect to see till Q2 2011.
I’m excited to see NVIDIA enter the game just like I was glad to see LG
leak their dual-core phone. Android is a great breeding ground for
underdogs and I love the competition it gives the big guys. If LG starts
cranking out quality high-end phones on every carrier with the latest
version Android while their competition continues to ship devices with
outdated software, then people are going to start buying more LG
devices.
We should also trust that Motorola knows what they are doing since they
have the best selling Android phone to date – the original Droid. If
Motorola switched from Texas Intrusments to NVIDIA for their high-end
processors, that should tell us a lot about the performance of Tegra 2.
Multi-core processors will be the standard in mobile devices starting
early next year and I can’t wait to see the new experiences that they
will unlock. If you are in the market for a new Android phone, I think
waiting a month or two for a dual-core device is the smart thing to do
in the long run.
I’m just one geek, so I’m curious what you guys think. Are dual-core
phones starting to look more tempting now? What other areas do you think
the CPU makers need to address? Are you ready to pre-order that first
Tegra 2 phone or will you wait and see what Qualcomm and Samsung
deliver?
If you want even more information about Tegra 2, hit up the source link
for the full whitepaper.
Android and Me tee shirts?! The And Me Artist Series: all tees $17, a
new tee each week. | z**r
发帖数: 17771 | 2 好文
【在 f********m 的大作中提到】
: http://androidandme.com/2010/11/news/5-compelling-reasons-you-will-want-
: to-buy-a-dual-core-mobile-device/
: All I want for Christmas is a dual-core superphone, but it doesn’t look
: like Santa is going to deliver one this year. Why am I so excited about
: this one hardware spec for my next Android device? To put it very
: simply, dual-core processors will raise the bar for performance and
: capabilities in mobile devices and they will become the new standard in
: 2011.
: The dual-core Tegra 2 processor by NVIDIA is already shipping in tablets
: overseas (plus Sears) and it is expected to power the first wave of
| f********m
发帖数: 8397 | 3 there are pics on the original webpage, quite illustrative.
【在 z**r 的大作中提到】
: 好文
| b******e
发帖数: 471 | |
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