Processors

Qualcomm demonstrates quad-core Krait processor and Adreno 320 in APQ8064 chip

posted by Victor H. / Jul 17, 2012, 3:34 AM

Qualcomm demonstrates quad-core Krait processor and Adreno 320 in APQ8064 chip

Qualcomm is definitely making waves in the United States where its dual-core Krait processor on the MSM8960 chip is basically the technology of choice for most recent high-end phones with LTE. But dual-core is not the only thing Qualcomm has up its sleeve and now it has demonstrated a quad-core Krait processor and Adreno 320 graphics in the Qualcomm APQ8064 chip.

This new APQ8064 chip is part of S4 Pro lineup of Qualcomm silicon. The four Krait cores run with the clock set at 1.5 GHz if all four are active, or as much as 1.7 GHz when just one of the cores is working.

Adreno 320 makes a debut on the APQ8064 chip, and Qualcomm promises the already familiar MSM8960 to come with the same GPU. It’s not yet clear how well the new Adreno 320 graphics will fare against Nvidia chips, but in terms of the manufacturing process, Qualcomm definitely has the lead as it’s the first one jumping on 28nm manufacturing. This means better power efficiency and performance.

Qualcomm also showed how the S4 family is segmented S4 Play for essential mobility to S4 Prime hinting at the future and possibly even the Snapdragon S5.

Right now, Qualcomm’s earlier S4 chip the dual-core MSM8960 powers the US Samsung Galaxy S III and is the silicon of choice for the upcoming Windows Phone 8 devices.

source: AnandTech

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27 Comments

1. darkskoliro

Posts: 1092; Member since: May 07, 2012

you forgot to mention its also available on htc evo and one x

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 3:40 AM 5

8. neutralguy

Posts: 1152; Member since: Apr 30, 2012

eh? you lost? Adreno 320? 4 krait cores? Evo and one x have dual krait cores and adreno 225.

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 4:48 AM 8

23. Commentator

Posts: 3723; Member since: Aug 16, 2011

He's referring to the final paragraph of the article which states: "Right now, Qualcomm’s earlier S4 chip the dual-core MSM8960 powers the US Samsung Galaxy S III and is the silicon of choice for the upcoming Windows Phone 8 devices." I have no idea why people had such a negative reaction to his post. Maybe they just skipped down to the comments before reading the article, and assumed he was talking about the quad-core Krait, since that was what was in the title.

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 9:52 AM 4

26. darkskoliro

Posts: 1092; Member since: May 07, 2012

8 people downvoted me and 8 people upvoted the neutralguy. I really hope this isnt the level of stupidity of phonearena comments. I didnt need to elaborate if people read the damn article.

posted on Jul 18, 2012, 12:04 AM 0

2. aayupanday

Posts: 582; Member since: Jun 28, 2012

Great ! I want this in the HTC One XXL.

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 3:41 AM 4

3. kamil

Posts: 118; Member since: Feb 07, 2012

exynos 4412 vs quad core krait

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 3:50 AM 0

4. Muhannad

Posts: 455; Member since: Sep 20, 2011

Also, add to that TI OMAP's new chipsets even though they're also not yet ready.

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 4:03 AM 0

7. TylerGrunter

Posts: 1544; Member since: Feb 16, 2012

I bet on the quad core krait over the 4412 any day: around 30% more CPU and GPU power. But the fight is going to be a little bit different> Quad Core Krait S4 with Adreno 320 TI OMAP5432 with PowerVR SGX 544MP2 (dual core A15) Exynos Exynos 5 Dual with Mali T-604MP4 (Exynos 5250, A15) Atom Z2580 (Clover Trail) with PowerVR SGX 544MP2 (Intel dual core) Of those I bet on the Krait for CPU power (only quad core), on the quad core Mali T-604 for GPU. And I'm undecided on between them both in the power consumption. Your bets?

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 4:43 AM 1

12. cepcamba

Posts: 717; Member since: Feb 27, 2012

I'll bet on Atom for CPU power, Kraits for energy efficiency, and Exynos for GPU performance. Overall winner will still be exynos, 2nd place TI OMAP, 3rd - 5th can be anybody

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 5:57 AM 1

5. Birds

Posts: 1172; Member since: Nov 21, 2011

Not going to lie, I wouldn't mind a dual core krait with 320 GPU.... I still don't really see a need for all those CPU cores and the S3 in my Xperia S runs perfectly smooth...

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 4:12 AM 13

6. 9_HeLLs_oF_DrOid

Posts: 127; Member since: Jan 02, 2012

I'm with you on that.

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 4:18 AM 5

9. neutralguy

Posts: 1152; Member since: Apr 30, 2012

Amen.. Only GPU maters. If they only use this 2-core processors efficiently, those devices will run buttery smooth.

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 4:51 AM 3

14. bobfreking55

Posts: 866; Member since: Jul 15, 2011

especially now with Jelly Bean. My sister's dual core Galaxy Nexus feels Quad Core after the update. I guess the only advantage these new technologies present is graphics which I appreciate in the Tegra Zone.

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 6:29 AM 1

25. bayusuputra

Posts: 963; Member since: Feb 12, 2012

haha, yeah, i ran the pre-alpha version (very unstable) of CM10 (4.1.1) on my Desire S, and that already feels so buttery smooth, in fact, it feels like as if it's running on dual core.. I agree, I rather have better GPU than CPU..

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 12:02 PM 0

11. FoneAddict

Posts: 263; Member since: Jul 05, 2011

Agreed, dual CPU cores are more than enough (for now), emphasis should be placed on improved graphics performance.

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 5:15 AM 3

13. Bluesky02

Posts: 1439; Member since: Dec 05, 2011

I only need dual core for my future Windows Phone 8

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 6:10 AM 0

20. BabyWade

Posts: 43; Member since: Jun 12, 2012

The MSM8960 Pro is exactly what you are looking for then, 1.5 - 1.7 Dual-core krait with Adreno 320. Until Quad-core cpu's completely destroy dual-core cpu's in every category possible they are just over-hyped IMO

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 7:33 AM 0

22. TylerGrunter

Posts: 1544; Member since: Feb 16, 2012

I think you are right if you think of NOW, but if you want to have your phone for 2 years or more it's different. Now there aren't may applications tailored for quad-cores, but it two years time all the CPU intensive applications will be. So you'll really see the benefits of a quad core in one year time or so, not now. The benefits of the quad cores may not be visible today, but you know that what you buy is future proof.

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 9:28 AM 3

10. adi4u4882

Posts: 137; Member since: Jan 10, 2012

Hoping Galaxy S4 will use these.

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 5:14 AM 1

15. Brewski

Posts: 710; Member since: Jun 05, 2012

Jeez, you're worse than the Apple guys! The SIII just got here. Enjoy it for six-nine months before talking about the next one...

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 6:40 AM 2

16. adi4u4882

Posts: 137; Member since: Jan 10, 2012

You think Samsung will be waiting for 9 months to prepare S4? They probably would have started the designing and planning the usage of chipsets.

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 6:52 AM 0

17. TylerGrunter

Posts: 1544; Member since: Feb 16, 2012

They won't, Samsung uses their own Exynos for their flagship phones. But don't worry, the S4 probably will be an Exynos 5450, with cotex-A15 quad-core CPU and Mali T-604MP4 (also with 4 cores) for GPU. And that will be even more powerful than the current S4 krait quad-core. It will have to be if they want to go against the Tegra Wayne (Quad ARM Cortex-A15) with 24 GPU kepler cores!

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 7:05 AM 1

18. APPLE_R0YALLY

Posts: 73; Member since: May 08, 2012

Nothing matches the raw power of EXYNOS....! We like praise need want it for the next ip5....

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 7:24 AM 0

19. BabyWade

Posts: 43; Member since: Jun 12, 2012

This chip is only for tablets right now since it has no modem. http://www.qualcomm.com/sites/default/files/common/snapdragon-specs-06.07.12.pdf

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 7:29 AM 0

21. speckledapple

Posts: 902; Member since: Sep 29, 2011

I think I like the idea of four cores especially with 28nm chip process for better overall performance and ability but not too thrilled with the GPU. I think they could have pushed the envelope a little with that. Overall though, a very substantial piece of hardware for the high end phones.

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 8:07 AM 1

24. theBankRobber

Posts: 682; Member since: Sep 22, 2011

The PlayStation Vita has a quad core CPU and GPU, I don't think they are Qualcomm but so far they can make great looking games. Only uncharted was made so far with really nice graphics. Just making the point that quad core processors, when optimized and programed for properly, can make a huge impact on games.

posted on Jul 17, 2012, 11:24 AM 0

27. ObjectivismFTW

Posts: 211; Member since: Jul 03, 2012

Obviously applications have reached some, or are close to reaching some sort of a plateau in regards to computing and sophistication. I mean most of what we can do on a computer is now achievable on a phone or tablet, with the exception of a tasks like graphically advanced games, but the capabilities are there. From now, the only true improvements we will see in phones with advanced components i.e Quad-Core, will pertain to 3D rendering and battery life, partly due to the fact that there are simply few other areas of computational improvement that can be seen from Quad-Cores, though they yield much more power, but also because phones nowadays basically mirror the performance of a desktop and laptop computers in nearly every point of comparison, and outmatch them in a few. So this push for Quad-Core, will most likely not mean much to the everyday customer looking for a speedy-reliable device, because, well you don't need to look further than a GS3.. Obviously we will see big improvements in GPU power and battery life, that is the main focus of most of these Quad-Core processor but now, the main focus must shift to software.

posted on Jul 18, 2012, 1:05 AM 0

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