Tag Archives: risc
2020 put us on the edge of a processor revolution
RISC-V is trying to launch an open-hardware revolution
Do Apple’s new Mac chips mean ARM has won?
Imagination Tech CEO: ‘The industry needs MIPS as much as MIPS needs the industry’
At an earlier press event in Shenzhen, Imagination Technologies' CEO Sir Hossein Yassaie delivered a clear message: his company's $100 million acquisition of MIPS isn't a short term strategy. Additionally, he has ambitious plans with the latter's chip architecture -- a well-known rival of ARM and Intel's x86.
In his presentation, Yassaie boasted that there are currently over 300 SoCs based on MIPS. And out of the five billion devices shipped with Imagination Tech's IP to date, three billion of them use MIPS. These include phones, tablets (especially in China), wearables, printers, networking devices, storage devices and more.
Filed under: Misc
Imagination Tech reveals Warrior CPU core to fight (uphill) battle against ARM
This news isn't remotely surprising, given Imagination Tech's recent acquisition of CPU designer MIPS, but reporting it still gives us a little flutter of excitement. And for good reason: Imagination has just revealed that its first MIPS-based CPU core, which should be able to run Android, will be introduced by the end of this year, and that it'll go by the totally appropriate codename of Warrior (or, less dramatically, "MIPS Series5"). The core's first battle will be to prove that the MIPS architecture really can be a competitive alternative to ARM (which uses a similar low-power RISC architecture) and that Imagination didn't just blow $100 million on hot air. Speaking of which, the attached press release comes with plenty of bold claims, including a statement that the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Warrior will offer "best-in-class performance and efficiency," and a promise that Imagination "will change the landscape for CPU IP." We have no idea how all of this is going to play out, but we fully intend to be ringside when it does.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile
Imagination Technologies snaps up CPU designer MIPS in an attempt to wrestle ARM
Looks like we can kiss goodbye to any lingering politeness in the rivalry between these two UK chip houses, because the smaller one has just embarked on a cheeky expansion. Having been known mainly for its PowerVR graphics processors, not least in many Apple products, Imagination Tech could potentially push into the CPU arena too, through its $60 million acquisition of MIPS Technologies. Just Like ARM, MIPS designs low-power RISC processors for consumer electronics, but it has generally focused on smaller chips for devices like routers and TVs rather than smartphones and tablets. In addition to a portfolio of 82 exclusive patents, a squad of 160 MIPS engineers will now be transplanted to Imagination, where they'll no doubt be debriefed and reassigned to conquering the world. Meanwhile, in some sort of flanking move, ARM has paid a far higher sum of $170 million to gain access to a number of other MIPS patents.
[Thanks, Michael]
Imagination Technologies snaps up CPU designer MIPS in an attempt to wrestle ARM originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Nov 2012 06:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Reuters, ARM | Email this | Comments Insert Coin: The Parallella project dreams of $99 supercomputers
In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line.
Parallel computing is normally reserved for supercomputers way out of the reach of average users -- at least at the moment, anyway. Adapteva wants to challenge that with its Parallella project, designed to bring mouth-watering power to a board similar in size to the Raspberry Pi for as little as $99. It hopes to deliver up to 45GHz (in total) using its Epiphany multicore accelerators, that crucially, only chug 5 watts of juice under normal conditions. These goliath speeds currently mean high costs, which is why they need your funds to move out of the prototype stage and start cheap mass production. Specs for the board are as follows: a dual-core ARM A9 CPU running Ubuntu OS as standard, 1GB RAM, a microSD slot, two USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, Ethernet and a 16- or 64-core accelerator, with each core housing a 1GHz RISC processor, all linked "within a single shared memory architecture."
An overriding theme of the Parallella project is the openness of the platform. When finalized, the full board design will be released, and each one will ship with free, open-source development tools and runtime libraries. In addition, full architecture and SDK documentation will be published online if-and-when the Kickstarter project reaches its funding goal of $750,000. That's pretty ambitious, but we're reminded of another crowd-funded venture which completely destroyed an even larger target. However, that sum will only be enough for Adapteva to produce the 16-core board, which reportedly hits 13GHz and 26 gigaflops, and is expected to set you back a measly $99. A speculative $3 million upper goal has been set for work to begin on the $199 64-core version, topping out at 45GHz and 90 gigaflops. Pledge options range from $99 to $5,000-plus, distinguished mainly by how soon you'll get your hands on one. Big spenders will also be the first to receive a 64-core board when they become available. Adapteva's Andreas Olofsson talks through the Parallella project in a video after the break, but if you're already sold on the tiny supercomputer, head over to the source link to contribute before the October 27th closing date.
Continue reading Insert Coin: The Parallella project dreams of $99 supercomputers
Filed under: Misc
Insert Coin: The Parallella project dreams of $99 supercomputers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Sep 2012 12:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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