Nvidia has launched its Tegra 3 processor, which boasts better graphics performance and lower power consumption than its predecessor, and makes console-quality graphics possible on mobile devices.
Tegra 3 offers three times the graphics performance, and a reduction of 61 per cent in battery consumption, compared to Tegra 2. The key technology is the patent-pending Variable Symmetric Multiprocessing, which offloads low-consumption processes to a fifth "companion" core of the processor, shutting down the four high-performance cores entirely. During more power-intensive tasks including gaming, the companion core shuts down instead.
As well as its quad-core CPUs, Tegra 3 features a new, 12-core GeForce GPU capable of displaying dynamic lighting, physics and high-res environments. It also uses Nvidia's 3D Vision technology which can convert OpenGL applications to stereoscopic 3D.
Tegra 3 has drawn praise from a raft of developers, including Capcom's deputy head of consumer games, Jun Takeuchi. He said: "Nvidia's GPU architecture delivers the best gaming experience, bringing true console-quality games to mobile devices. The result is a whole new level of realism to content for smartphones and tablets."
Forty games optimised for the new processor will be available from Nvidia's Tegra Zone download store before the end of the year.
Source: Nvidia