A new analysis of upcoming ARM-based processors by Microprocessor Report claims that Nvidia’s Tegra 4 system-on-a-chip (SoC) will beat the best Qualcomm Snapdragon chips in 2013. The report is based on benchmark data released by the two companies, along with a bit of speculation. However, this is only true when you’re talking about raw speed. It’s looking like Nvidia might have a performance edge, but there’s more to this picture.
The analysis was based on the Nvidia and Qualcomm chips running flat out with no power limitations. Microprocessor Report found that the Tegra 4 will handily beat the current generation Qualcomm APQ8064 Snapdragon S4 Pro, which is found in the Nexus 4 and Droid DNA, among others. That’s not so surprising, but the report also projects that the Tegra 4 will beat the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 800.
Qualcomm isn’t going to put out any significant volume of Snapdragon 800 parts until Q2 2013 — right around the time Tegra 4 arrives. The Snapdragon 800 runs on four Krait 400 cores, which can be clocked to 2.3GHz. Even after applying a 10% benchmark boost to represent the difference between Krait 400 and 200, Tegra 4 still wins.
Nvidia might have designed a technically faster SoC, but Qualcomm probably has it beat when it comes to power efficiency. Qualcomm’s Krait core is not a standard ARM design, but is a modification of the stock architecture. This allows Krait cores to dynamically adjust clock speeds based on system needs. Nvidia’s Tegra 4 is based on ARM Cortex A15, which is a little more limited. Instead of changing clock speeds, Tegra 4 can disable cores that are not needed.
The report concludes that Qualcomm’s improved efficiency could lead to continued dominance in smartphones, but Tegra 4 will be the top choice for tablets. Nvidia also has its gaming angle to promote with games like Dead Trigger 2.
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