Imagination: new GPU architecture is 2.5 times more powerful than predecessor

Imagination Technologies has announced its tenth-generation GPU architecture. According to the company, based on this, GPUs are 2.5x more powerful than ninth-generation GPUs. The top model will have a computing power of 2tflops. The GPUs are suitable for smartphones, among other things.

Imagination Technologies is known for its PowerVR GPUs, but no longer uses that name for the new architecture. The company speaks of the A-series and that family can again be divided into different lines. The fastest GPUs end up in the AXT line. The top model in it is the AXT-64-2048, which should offer 2 teraflops of graphics processing power. This GPU is not suitable for smartphones; but for larger mobile devices.

For premium smartphones there is the AXT-48-1536 and the AXT-32-1024 is positioned below it. These variants offer about 1.5 and 1tflops of computing power respectively. There is also the AXT-16-512, which should come to mid-range smartphones, with a processing power of 0.5tflops. There are also the AXM and AX series. In it appear the AXM-8-256 and AX-1-16. The latter is based on a modified microarchitecture, especially for very small chips and small Iot devices.

Compared to the GPUs of the ninth generation, those of the tenth generation are up to 2.5 times faster at the same clock speed, claims the manufacturer. The performance for machine learning is said to be eight times better and the GPUs consume 60 percent less than the current versions.

According to Imagination Technologies, the new GPU architecture is highly scalable and can therefore be used in all kinds of products. The manufacturer designs GPUs, but does not produce them itself. Socs makers can license the GPU architecture and then process it in their own chips. AnandTech has written an extensive background article about the new GPU architecture.