Mediatek and TSMC to produce 7nm chipsets

10 March 2017
The SoC will have 12 cores and could be another installment of the Helio X-series.

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  • Anonymous
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  • 18 Oct 2018

Anonymous, 12 Mar 2017iPhone 6 uses a quad cores GPU PowerVR GT6450...Not an hexa... moreThe GPU in the X30 is a (powervr gt7400 plus) it's a quad core with 128 ALU's but it can process FP16 instructions at 256 speeds. The gpu although is not very powerful it's about on par with a adreno 420 which also uses 128 ALU's. It can support 8-bit and 16-bit integer data paths, instead of just 32-bit. Plus it supports Vulkan, openCL 2.0. I really like the powervr 7xt series. if the X30 would've used the GT7600 plus, I would've bought the Meizu Pro 7 plus for sure.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • pgn
    • 12 Mar 2017

    AnonD-234645, 11 Mar 2017A little correction. The iPhone 6S uses a hexa core GPU of ... moreiPhone 6 uses a quad cores GPU PowerVR GT6450...Not an hexa...
    GT7 serie is a huge improvement with unified shaders, tesselation...
    Due to 2 more cores and the improvement, I think Apple keep the same frequencies...
    (And as Apple A10 raise the power of gt7600 Plus with higher frequencies)

    Frequencies are hard to find on Apple...But they used to be low (except on A10)

      • ?
      • Anonymous
      • pgn
      • 12 Mar 2017

      Qwerty2017, 12 Mar 2017AFAIK Spreadtrum SoC are shitty, as shitty as WonderMedia S... moreAgree on others soc from Spreadtrum...

      But I think it's not a Spreadtrum but an Intel soc under Spreadtrum brand.
      As only chineese companies which sell in China can take advantage of jugement against Qualcomm about FRAND on China...
      Foreign companies can't and chineese companies that sell outside China can't too...

      This allows Intel to continue developping Atom LTE with lower patents restrictions

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        • AsusTech
        • UD{
        • 12 Mar 2017

        it's fun reading comments here about tech experts comparing 1 chip to another when about 80% of buyers from any brand does not care about it, don't get me wrong, I am a tech savy myself, but those buyers only care about the trend and the looks of their gadgets, mainly the front camera

        i'll leave it like that for you tech people to argue about, PEAC EOUT
        #TechExperWannabe

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          • Qwerty2017
          • 61w
          • 12 Mar 2017

          Anonymous, 11 Mar 2017Hmmm It's right that Atom were made for netbook...And we... moreAFAIK Spreadtrum SoC are shitty, as shitty as WonderMedia SoC back in 2011 that was widely used for cheap Android device. This is the reason why Samsung choose to equip their low-end & low mid-range Android devices with Spreadtrum SoC, not MediaTek, as Spreadtrum is even more cheaper than MediaTek low-end SoC portfolio (just imagine, 2016/2017 smartphone with Cortex A7 + Mali-400 config for 4G SoC? albeit having SC9860 variant, MediaTek solution offers better specs even for their low-end SoC e.g MT6750 which is widely used by Chinese manufacturers).

          This is the reason why manufacturers avoiding Spreadtrum chipsets, their track record is fairly bad as they only supply cheap SoC with low specs, resulting in SHITTY performance.
          No one wanted a "premium" offering from a fabless company known for making cheap SoC with SHITTY performance, as it will be like gambling with your brand reputation at stake.

          I really wonder if there will be manufacturer "brave" enough using SC9861G for its new mid-range device, as the spec sheet of that type don't have any other "interesting" specs other than 14nm fab, 8core Intel Silvermont x86-64, which I'm afraid will be more battery-eater than Intel Z3580 with the same Silvermount architecture, as Intel doesn't use big.LITTLE config for their chipsets

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • 9Ce
            • 12 Mar 2017

            AnonD-234645, 11 Mar 2017A little correction. The iPhone 6S uses a hexa core GPU of ... moreImagination's press release said X30 uses 7XT Plus GPU not 7XT

              Anonymous, 11 Mar 2017GPU and CPU are on the same chip... They're made at the sa... moreI though about it too, but then on wikipedia Mali 830 is shown as 28nm itself so its very misleading. But exynos 7880 is on 14 so its 14 as you said.

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                • AnonD-234645
                • nYT
                • 11 Mar 2017

                Anonymous, 11 Mar 2017They do.... Gpu on X30 will be 2.4 time more powerfull tha... moreA little correction. The iPhone 6S uses a hexa core GPU of type PowerVR 7XT "Rogue" 7600, and those 6 cores are ticked at 533 MHz. So indeed. It'll be more powerful than iPhone 6 (same GPU as you mentioned, clocked at 450 MHz) but CERTAINLY not stronger than the 7XT 7600. Maybe 95% of power in that clock rate.
                Here is an image uploaded from my friend's 6S http://www.imgur.com/uXpzRMo.png

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                  • AnonD-314089
                  • J{Q
                  • 11 Mar 2017

                  Qwerty2017, 11 Mar 2017LOL, u totally forgot Xiaomi's Pinecone V970 SoC, I see... ... moreYes, you have reason. I forgot the Xiaomi's Pinecone V970.Good remenbering.

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                    • Anonymous
                    • pgn
                    • 11 Mar 2017

                    Qwerty2017, 11 Mar 2017LOL, u totally forgot Xiaomi's Pinecone V970 SoC, I see... ... moreYou forget Corepilot 4.0...Mediatek has a very good core management...
                    10 cores efficiency is already very good on X20 séries

                    With corepilot 3, despite 20nm, emmc5.1, lpddr3 and lower price, X20 is nearly as fast as 14/16nm, UFS2.0, lpddr4 S820/kirin950/Exynos8890. (I'm not talking about gpu)

                    You should imagine what they can do on x30 with 10nm, ufs2.1, lpddr4x and an even better version of corepilot

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • pgn
                      • 11 Mar 2017

                      Qwerty2017, 11 Mar 2017LOL, did u not do some research of Intel Atom SoC before? ... moreHmmm

                      It's right that Atom were made for netbook...And were too weak.

                      But Atom energy efficiency isn't that bad...Not as good as Arm, but not far behing.
                      Asus Zenfone 2 hasn't a very bad autonomy...
                      In my opinion Z3580 was better than S801/805...Far better web performances (Krait are bad, worst than A15/17) and very good PowerVR 6430 gpu.

                      As KFTC (Korean) jugement said, problem may come from FRAND patents (CDMA and some LTE) that Qualcomm refuse to sell to Intel.
                      They force phone manufacturers to buy patents themselves and then they can control the market.

                      Qualcomm was condamned too in China...Intel come back there with Spreadtrum help : SC9861G is an X86 soc...Great to see them back in competition

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                        • Qwerty2017
                        • wrb
                        • 11 Mar 2017

                        AnonD-314089, 11 Mar 2017In what you're saying makes sense (about the low end device... moreLOL, u totally forgot Xiaomi's Pinecone V970 SoC, I see...

                        For CPU department, It will be as powerful as SD835, as it will have 4core Cortex A73 + 4core Cortex A53, while GPU department will be slightly less powerful than Exynos 8895, as V970 will "only" be equipped by Mali G71 mp12 (12core) compared to mp18 & mp20 in Exynos 8895...

                        well, the MAIN problem is, does Xiaomi "re-check" all IMPORTANT things & "gimmicks" which is available in rivals' SoC? Fast charging, 4K video recording, & 120 fps video recording are "few" of the trend now, if they don't included it in their V970, it might face the same fate as HiSilicon's earlier SoC, a deal-breaker for many potential buyers...

                        Let's hope all the best for Pinecone C970, IF they can make it as CHEAP, with similar feature, as Helio X30, it will be the next "2nd option" SoC for "cheap" high-end Android phone, as Helio X30 "only" packs 2core Cortex A73 + PowerVR 7XT 7400 , which is practically "less powerful & appealing" than 4core Cortex A73 + Mali G71 mp12 config

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                          • Anonymous
                          • pgn
                          • 11 Mar 2017

                          AceShot, 11 Mar 2017But the inside GPU both 830 and 860 are made on 28nm unfort... moreGPU and CPU are on the same chip...
                          They're made at the same time, on the same waffer and the same process...
                          Exynos 7 is in 14nm, that means that both cpu and gpu are on 14nm.
                          It can't be different

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                            • Qwerty2017
                            • wrb
                            • 11 Mar 2017

                            dudecool, 11 Mar 2017I dont understand how they beating Intel in the nanometer r... moreLOL, did u not do some research of Intel Atom SoC before?
                            This comment really shows how "smart" u r in understanding how Android hardware works, btw...

                            Intel Atom, like its name suggest, is an SoC previously made & optimized for Netbooks & Nettops. Unfortunately, since the Atom processors are too weak for mobile subnotebooks & desktop replacements, its market rapidly decreasing, since people prefers subnotebooks with intel core i series OR Android tablet with keyboard attachment which will works better as netbook replacement as it is more lightweight and tablet battery last longer than any netbooks.

                            Because of this trend, Intel changed Atom's "designation" from netbook processors to tablets & smartphones SoC, while keeping the x86 architecture, which Intel think will be "better suited" for mobile devices since x86 uses CISC while ARM uses RISC, which means, u'll get "desktop-grade computing power" using Atoms, BUT with the same downside that ALWAYS happened in ALL Intel processors, SHORT-lasting battery, as CISC architecture is not optimized for mobile devices solution, BUT desktop solution which sacrifice energy efficiency in favors of powerful computing power.

                            THIS, become the "downfa'll" of Atoms. No matter how superior their computing power, as long as the SoC consumes power MORE than ARM Cortex solutions, no manufacture will want to use that, EXCEPT Asus who until recently keep using Atom SoC for their ZENFONE series.

                            BTW, to answer ur question "Intel are struggling to bring out 10nm chips, and still have 14nm out there at the moment", that closely related to CISC & RISC architecture. Like I said, ARM uses RISC which favors energy efficiency over raw computing power since its focus is ALWAYS for mobile devices which "long-lasting enough to go through a day with NO charging", while Intel keep using CISC for ALL their processors & SoC which favors raw computing power over energy efficiency since its focus is "desktop on-the-go" devices, such as laptops/sub-notebooks, ultrabooks, & 2-in-1 devices. THUS making Intel struggling to go over 14nm architecture WITHOUT sacrificing raw computing power which makes Intel DOMINATES desktop & mobile for years.

                            In short, Intel ALWAYS focus on making their chipset "more & more energy efficient" while keeping the raw computing power, while ARM ALWAYS focus in designing SoC to have "more & more raw computing power" with energy efficiency in mind. THUS, making ARM easily designing smaller & smaller SoC, BUT the real CHALLENGE is now, as designing SoC smaller than 10nm is so hard, as hard as discovering smaller substances beyond atoms back in 20th century

                              dudecool, 11 Mar 2017I dont understand how they beating Intel in the nanometer r... moreI think it's just because Intel thinks that they are the top dogs, and everything they make is so much better than everyone else's, no matter what anybody else puts out. So why should they switch to 10nm, when they are totally the best chip makers in the universe?

                                AnonD-478769, 11 Mar 2017Lol your comment doesn't even make any senseHow ironic, you didn't tag anyone else's comment, so YOUR comment doesn't make any sense XD

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                                  • AnonD-478769
                                  • Pyx
                                  • 11 Mar 2017

                                  Lol your comment doesn't even make any sense

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                                    • Anonymous
                                    • krW
                                    • 11 Mar 2017

                                    Anonymous, 11 Mar 2017I don't think you know what are you saying. I think you are... moreJust because you don't doesn't mean others don't

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                                      • Anonymous
                                      • 2IX
                                      • 11 Mar 2017

                                      AnonD-270570, 11 Mar 2017Snapdragon 835 is built on 10nm process while A10 is still ... moreI don't think you know what are you saying. I think you are not in the field of IT. Totally rubbish.

                                        Anonymous, 11 Mar 2017830 and 860 give 20Flops per cycle (I dislike Flops, but I'... moreBut the inside GPU both 830 and 860 are made on 28nm unfortunately, regardles of the Manufactured node of CPU/soc. CPU and GPU are made separately. So comparsion is correct.
                                        By the way if we compare Samsung J7 2016 (Exynos 830MP2) vs Meizu M3 (m6750 860MP2) , because both phones use same 720 resulution and thats is fair we can see again pretty close numbers in gfx bench.

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