New GPU
Imagination has also launched a new GPU design today. The POWERVR SGX544MP is the second member of the Series5XT family to be announced, which differentiates itself from the vanilla Series5 family by incorporating the second generation of Imagination's Universal Scalable Shader Engine (see diagrams below).
While the SGX544MP is only DirectX9 capable, as opposed to the DX10.1 SGX545 launched at CES earlier this year, the key difference in the implementation of this GPU is its multi-processor capability. The four-pipe core is scalable up to 16 cores.
"This latest core builds on the success of our MP technology, which already has five licensees and is set to deliver new levels of embedded graphics capabilities to millions of users over the next few years," said King-Smith.
"SGX544 extends the Series5XT line to push the upper boundaries of performance in power and cost-constrained embedded environments, while building on our unrivalled portfolio of APIs across every significant embedded and desktop operating system."
Imagination Technologies GPUs can be found in many Intel Atom chips, including Moorestown, and we suspect they make an appearance in the Apple A4. TI licensed the SGX530 GPU for its OMAP 3430 SoC - as found in phones like the Nokia N900 and the Motorola Milestone. The dual-core (ARM Cortex A9) OMAP 4 series will use the SGX540 GPU when it eventually arrives.
