Qualcomm – creator of the snapdragon platform announces the next generation of their processors which include the newest mobile GPU, known as the Adreno 205 to compete with the Galaxy S devices. In the last year or so the processors in smartphones have become an important part of marketing the newest breed of ‘superphones’.
While that battle continues to heat up with news of dual core Snapdragons and the eagle architecture for the next generation of smartphones, a new component is getting the spotlight – the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) and an important spotlight it is. Attached to this post is also an explanation of what a GPU is, what it does, who’s competing and what devices their in.
The Adreno 200 is part of the Snapdragon processor in the Nexus 1, Droid Incredible, and EVO. It has been considered underpowered when compared to the more modern SGX series which outpace the Adreno in every benchmark and every game. With Qualcomm’s newest announcement of the Adreno 205 this has been changed. The Adreno 205 is comparable to the SGX 535 which is responsible for graphics in the iPad and iPhone. The Adreno 205 puts it ahead of the entire Droid family but behind the galaxy S phones like the vibrant. The Adreno 205 is part of the new G2 whose CPU will be clocked at 800mhz and will be offered by T-mobile USA. The Adreno 205 and the bundled CPU core called Scorpion will use the 45nm process to make the microchips more efficient, improving battery life significantly.
With this new CPU/GPU combo, phones will last longer in our hands, they will respond faster when we touch them and will run more immersive games. It is worth noting that the Hummingbird in the Galaxy S devices are already 45nm, have a faster GPU and require less power. The Hummingbird is exclusive to Samsung because it is designed and built in-house, which means we will most likely never see it outside of Samsung’s devices.
If this sounds foreign to you read below for an explanation.
What the GPU does:
The GPU handles graphical calculations like shading, texture mapping and other basic components of OpenGL ES. It is responsible for running games, animations between apps and home screens and almost all of what you see on screen.The faster your GPU the more detail that can be on screen at once, the smoother it runs or both.
Current GPUs:
There are 2 main types of mobile GPU in competition today. The SGX series (currently with 530 in the DROID/DROID 2/DROID X, 535 in the iPad, and 540 in the Galaxy S phones) and the Adreno series (currently with 200 available as part of snapdragon platform).
