Deca-core (10-Core) Smartphone Chipset Coming from MediaTek Next Year

[dgstorm]

If MediaTek can deliver on their recent technology promise, 2016 will be the year of the Deca-core Chipset in mobile. Their just announced Helio X20 will supposedly be a true 10-core mobile chipset, and will also have a number of advanced features beyond the two extra cores.

Here's a breakdown of the Helio X20:

• 20nm manufacturing process
• "Tri-Cluster" architecture which consists of two 2.5GHz Cortex-A72 cores, four 2GHz Cortex-A53 cores and four 1.4GHz Cortex-A53 cores
• Integrated Cortex-M4 hub (for low-power sensors and low-power MP3 playback)
• Dual 12-bit camera processors
• Improved graphics performance yet lower power requirement
• Internal modem
• Carrier Aggregation for the faster Cat 6 LTE

It's important to note that for these 10 cores to be more than a marketing gimmick will depend entirely on how well it handles all of these cores. If its mode switching and cluster management is inefficient, then it may be no better than a chip with less cores.

What do you guys think? Can MediaTek really up the ante in the mobile chipset world?

source: Engadget

 

[kodiak799]

I think CPU's are entering the "megapixel" race plaguing displays and cameras. Although browsing/loading web pages still has plenty of room to improve.

 

[LoneWolfArcher]

Reminds me of the clock speed wars of the 1990s! Intel would release a 90 Mhz processor, AMD would follow suit with a 100 Mhz processer. I love competition.

However as we saw with the Snapdragon 810, each core generates heat. A ten core chip could end up heating our houses............

 

[pc747]

Lollipop proved that adding more cores does not mean a thing if we do not have the software to support it.


Before Jelly bean we saw this mad race to throw cores in order to fix the lag issue. Jelly Bean was released and it took a laggy device and made it feel new.

We are still seeing this race to throw more cores and chips versus improving the software to take full advantage of the hardware that is out there. For the average user the hardware is more than adequate to handle what they use their phones for. Don't get me wrong I am all for pushing the envelope but not just for the sake of saying we did it. If a 10 core device feels no smoother than a 4 or 8 core device then it is a waste (ie first generation moto x performing to par with the devices of its day). I would rather see them improve more on the battery life.

 

[kinfolk248]

Lol, once again irrelevant and excessive hardware that far exceeds software optimizations. Lets make a 2500 mah battery that lasts a week first. Oh wait, that doesnt make enough profit for the big companies...

 

[cereal killer]

These "core wars" are utter stupidity. Dual core gets the job done perfectly, it's time to move on to some innovative exciting designs and battery technology.

Lets get a solar powered phone out there and worry about 10 core mobile chips............never

 

[94lt1]

These "core wars" are utter stupidity. Dual core gets the job done perfectly, it's time to move on to some innovative exciting designs and battery technology.

Lets get a solar powered phone out there and worry about 10 core mobile chips............never

A solar powered, 20 core with a 20 inch screen!!!!! Sorry...i hit my head..

I do agree that we need to make other steps in mobile tech before we worry about cores.. We can't effectively utilize so many cores right now imho..

 

[Jeffrey]

The additional cores are designed to address specific phone features and will allow for a better consumer experience. Most of the complaints we hear about are camera quality, battery life, internet connectivity and download speeds. The Tri-Cluster CPU design allows specific clusters to address specific workloads. The end result is a more efficient experience.

Here is a partial list of what can be expected.

• Dual main cameras with a built-in 3D depth engine that allows for a faster shot-to-shot experience in creating complex depth-of-field images.
  
  
• Multi-scale de-noise engines to deliver high quality images with unprecedented detail, color accuracy, and sharpness even under extreme conditions.
  
  
• A 120Hz mobile display that breaks the barriers of the current 60Hz refresh rate to provide crisp and responsive browsing and uncompromised motion viewing.
  
  
• An integrated, low power sensor processor - ARM Cortex-M4 - to support diverse always-on applications such as MP3 playback and voice activation. The sensor hub operates on an isolated, low power domain to assist with tasks for better battery efficiency.

 

[eddiekeyton]

Pointless in my opinion. Dual core is plenty if the apps and os is optimized correctly.


Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus - 64 GIG (Space Grey) using Tapatalk (lifeisablog.com)

 

[LoneWolfArcher]

Pointless in my opinion. Dual core is plenty if the apps and os is optimized correctly.


Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus - 64 GIG (Space Grey) using Tapatalk (lifeisablog.com)

For some reason this made me laugh, considering the Sent From signature!

 

[kodiak799]

Dedicated cores to specific tasks/functions saving battery life certainly seems like wizadry. I don't understand it - why did this never happen with Intel and laptops?

I guess I can see how optimized code/hardware for specific cores for specific tasks might yield marginal power savings, but it seems like a waste of money when you could just make the battery a little bigger. Interestingly enough, it seems like Intel's mobile chips are much closer to rivaling laptop cpu's than the ARM chips.

 

[eddiekeyton]

For some reason this made me laugh, considering the Sent From signature!

That should prove my
Point exactly lol. Dual core is what the 6 has and it is faster than any phone I've ever used. And just as fast as the galaxy s6. But to each is own. What works best for you doesn't necessarily work best for somebody else.


Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus - 64 GIG (Space Grey) using Tapatalk