Exynos 5 Octa vs Tegra 4 vs NovaThor L8580 in Chip
During last year we saw smartphone technology move onto quad core processors installed inside handsets, which was a step up from the dual core units that had become the norm previously. This year though we are leaping ahead again with up to eight cores on the horizon, and we are today looking at the Samsung Exynos 5 Octa vs Tegra 4 vs NovaThor L8580.
The processors that are found in our smartphones are becoming more powerful and at the same time taking up less space as well, and this year things certainly are looking to move up another level or two.
Samsung’s Exynos 5 Octa processor has been getting most of the headlines this week with the possibility it may make its debut inside the Galaxy S4 when it is released, and the processor is based on ARM’s big.LITTLE architecture. The chip has a total of eight separate cores with four Cortex-A7 cores that take care of the standard tasks asked of the unit, while the four Cortex-A15 cores tackle the more complex tasks.
Samsung has stated that this will mean the processor will require less juice to power it, and cuts power consumption by seventy percent when compared to the Exynos 5 dual chip. Meanwhile Nvidia has also announced its Tegra 4 processor that builds on the success of the previous offering from the company.
This is claimed to be the fastest mobile processor and uses four ARM Cortex-A15 cores along with a second generation battery saver core, which is similar to its predecessor the Tegra 3. The new chip also features something that is being called the Computational Photography Architecture, which is something that reduces time for camera related functions.
The CPU performance is supposed to be 2.6 times better than the Tegra 3, and the new model also features 72 custom GPU cores that are 6 times more powerful than previously. The ST-Ericsson NovaThor L8580 meanwhile has a low power eQuad processor that uses four Cortext-A9 cores that are clocked up to 2.5GHz, and also has the PowerVR SGS544 GPU with the ability to run at only 0.6V.
It has the ability to support display resolutions up to 1920 x 1200and looks set to be used on mid-range devices that will also offer great processing power. This year certainly looks to provide some great new smartphones featuring highly impressive internals.
Comments
7 thoughts on “Exynos 5 Octa vs Tegra 4 vs NovaThor L8580 in Chip”
Exynos 5 Octa will be faster.. but dear god the power requirements. I fail to see how 8 cores will run that efficiently. Maybe on a per core factor it will, but overall it wont be.
Read about big.LITTLE, it explains everything. In short, four A7 cores are used for small tasks like browsing, facebook etc. While four beastly A15 cores power blike multitasking and games or other big resource hogs
It is still four cores versus one specialized core. I understand the idea of big.LITTLE. Nvidia is the one that created the idea of a specialized single core versus use of multiple little cores. ARM praised and accepted it as a valid direction for their processors. I just see the idea of a specialized core more effective for power usage. As long as Tegra 4’s specialized core can run efficiently at minimum 1ghz instead of Tegra 3’s limited 500mhz, then we will be in business.
I’m not sure but I believe the CELL processor modle was developed by someone other than Nvidia. It was adapted for nvidia GPU that got rebranded as universal cores or some such name…wait General Purpose Cores. I agree the Exynos 5 looks good on paper.
Obviously, the article author feels the Erikson NovaThor is an also ran, judging by its’ space in the article.
Tegra4 will be in a ton of devices for certain due to Nvidia business contracts already in place and the most interesting part of the nvidia part is the GPU which is treated as a throw away by the author.
before i get labasted….i did separate my comment into paragraphs.
I’m very unimpressed if t4 will only display 1920×1200.. My exynos 5 dual core already runs 2560×1520 flawlessly… Sammy=‹3
The Nova Thor is the one that can run 1920×1200 I’m very sure the t4 will be able to run “retina” standards