NVIDIA formally unveils the Tegra 3 quad-core processor
updated 05:00 am EST, Wed November 9, 2011
NVIDIA Tegra 3, offers 3x performance over Tegra 2
NVIDIA has formally unveiled its Tegra 3 quad-core processor. The company claims that with the launch of the chip, it has “ushered in the era of quad-core mobile computing” with the availability of the new chip. NVIDIA says that the new ARM Cortex A9-based system-on-a-chip (SOC) offers up to 3 times the graphics performance of its Tegra 2 dual-core predecessor, and uses up to 61 percent less power.
The Tegra 3 SOC employs a new 12-core NVIDIA GeForce GPU, which helps to deliver dynamic lighting, better physical effects and higher resolution environments. NIVIDIA says that its performance rivals the power of gaming consoles. The chip also supports the company’s 3D Vision technology that automatically converts OpenGL applications to stereo 3D allowing users to view images on a compatible big screen 3D TV.
The Tegra 3 quad-core processor also marks its design with a fifth supplementary core that handles low-level tasks in order to help preserve battery power. When more demanding tasks are thrown at it, it dynamically ramps up performance accordingly.
NVIDIA also used the announcement to promote the impending launch of the ASUS Transformer Prime docking tablet, which will be the first quad-core tablet available on the market showcasing the new technology. It is claimed to have a 12-hour battery life and its tablet component will be just 8.3mm thin.
