CES 2011: Nvidia Unveils 'Denver' CPU For PCs, Tegra 2 CPU For Mobiles And NVIDIA GeForce 500M GPUs
Nvidia licenses ARM architecture to build its 'Denver'
processors that add CPU to the GPU, officially announced the
Tegra 2 mobile superchip as well as the new GeForce 500M series of GPUs for notebooks at CES 2011.
Project Denver
Nvidia is developing new CPU cores based on the ARM architecture for PCs and servers that will be able to run Microsoft's upcoming Windows OS, the company said on Wednesday.
The series of CPU cores, which is code-named Denver, will be based on a future ARM architecture and give Nvidia a presence in new markets, Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said during a press conference at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The announcement of new CPU cores came on the same day that Microsoft announced it is developing a future version of its Windows OS for the ARM architecture. The new Denver chips will support the upcoming ARM-based Windows OS, Nvidia said.
The Denver CPUs will be based on future ARM processor designs, and Nvidia has licensed the Cortex-A15 processor and its successor design from ARM, Brown said. He didn't specific dates for when the CPUs will be in PCs, but he said they most likely would initially go into servers.
The chips will probably combine Nvidia's graphics processor cores with ARM's CPU cores, much like the Tegra chips. The integration of CPU and GPU technology in a single, power-efficient chip will help the company better serve the PC gamer market, Brown said. Another target market for these chips is cloud computing, Nvidia officials said.
In addition, NVIDIA licensed ARM's current Cortex-A15 processor for its future-generation Tegra mobile processors.
"ARM is the fastest-growing CPU architecture in history," said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and chief executive officer of NVIDIA. "This marks the beginning of the Internet Everywhere era, where every device provides instant access to the Internet, using advanced CPU cores and rich operating systems.
Tegra 2 CPU
NVIDIA also announced at CEs the arrival of the next wave of super phones, powered by NVIDIA Tegra 2 chip.
These new super phones are delivering unprecedented multimedia experiences that take fuller advantage of faster network download speeds and higher bandwidth.
Smartphones start with four-inch-plus screens, single-core 1 GHz mobile processors, five-plus megapixels cameras, and multiple microphonee. They supportmultitasking and hardware-accelerated Adobe Flash Player
One of the first devices in this next wave of super phones is the new LG Optimus 2X powered by Tegra 2.
The Tegra 2 super chip features a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU, Ultra-low powered (ULP) NVIDIA GeForce GPU (mobile 3D game playability and 3D user interface), a 1080p Video Playback Processor as well as new mobile media and gaming capabilities: For the first time, consumers will be able to game with multiple players using different types of devices. For example, a Tegra 2-powered super phone or tablet can be used to play with players on a desktop PC.
NVIDIA demonstrated a prototype of Skype HD video calling on an Android tablet at its CES 2011 press conference. NVIDIA developed a reference implementation of HD video conferencing on Tegra 2-based tablets using SkypeKit. SkypeKit is a collection of software and APIs that allows virtually any Internet connected device to offer Skype voice and video calls.
NVIDIA also introduced the Tegra Zone app. It allows consumers to find Tegra-optimized games for their super phone or tablet, along with professional game reviews, high-res screenshots, HD video trailers, gameplay videos, and behind-the-scenes featurettes. Consumers can complete their purchase of Tegra Zone games on the Android Market.
The LG Optimus 2X features a 4-inch WVGA screen, 8GB memory (up to 32GB via microSD), a 1,500 mAh battery, an 8 megapixel rear camera and 1.3 megapixel front camera, HDMI mirroring, 1080p MPEG-4/H.264 playback and recording.
NVIDIA GeForce 500M Series GPUs for Notebooks
NVIDIA also today announced the GeForce 500M series of notebook graphics processing units (GPUs), designed to power laptops featuring next-generation Intel Core CPUs (Sandy Bridge).
The GPUs feature high performance in HD, 3D, Web, and Gaming applications, as well as enhanced battery life, courtesy of NVIDIA Optimus technology. NVIDIA Optimus technology enables extra long battery life by switching on and off the GPU so that it runs only when needed.
Nvidia claims that its new GPU offers superior graphics performance compared to Intel's Sandybridge CPU/GPU chips. Nvidia GPUs being introduced today include:
- For performance users: GeForce GT 540M, GeForce GT 550M, and GeForce GT 555M. Nvidia claims that the new GPUs offer over four times the performance of integrated graphics and twice the DirectX 11 performance of the competition.
- For mainstream users: GeForce GT 520M and GeForce GT 525M offering over twice the performance of integrated graphics.
NVIDIA GeForce 500M GPUs offer also offer NVIDIA 3D Vision technology, DirectX 11 and PhysX physics engine support, CUDA architecture support for general purpose GPU computing applications, NVIDIA Verde notebook drivers as well as NVIDIA 3DTV Play software for delivering 3D content from your PC to a 3D TV.
Acer, Alienware, ASUS, Clevo, Dell, Fujitsu, Lenovo, Medion, MSI, Samsung, Toshiba and others announced GeForce 500M-based systems at CES this year, and represent a fraction of the over 200 design wins from leading notebook manufacturers for GeForce 500M GPUs.
Nvidia is developing new CPU cores based on the ARM architecture for PCs and servers that will be able to run Microsoft's upcoming Windows OS, the company said on Wednesday.
The series of CPU cores, which is code-named Denver, will be based on a future ARM architecture and give Nvidia a presence in new markets, Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said during a press conference at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The announcement of new CPU cores came on the same day that Microsoft announced it is developing a future version of its Windows OS for the ARM architecture. The new Denver chips will support the upcoming ARM-based Windows OS, Nvidia said.
The Denver CPUs will be based on future ARM processor designs, and Nvidia has licensed the Cortex-A15 processor and its successor design from ARM, Brown said. He didn't specific dates for when the CPUs will be in PCs, but he said they most likely would initially go into servers.
The chips will probably combine Nvidia's graphics processor cores with ARM's CPU cores, much like the Tegra chips. The integration of CPU and GPU technology in a single, power-efficient chip will help the company better serve the PC gamer market, Brown said. Another target market for these chips is cloud computing, Nvidia officials said.
In addition, NVIDIA licensed ARM's current Cortex-A15 processor for its future-generation Tegra mobile processors.
"ARM is the fastest-growing CPU architecture in history," said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and chief executive officer of NVIDIA. "This marks the beginning of the Internet Everywhere era, where every device provides instant access to the Internet, using advanced CPU cores and rich operating systems.
Tegra 2 CPU
NVIDIA also announced at CEs the arrival of the next wave of super phones, powered by NVIDIA Tegra 2 chip.
These new super phones are delivering unprecedented multimedia experiences that take fuller advantage of faster network download speeds and higher bandwidth.
Smartphones start with four-inch-plus screens, single-core 1 GHz mobile processors, five-plus megapixels cameras, and multiple microphonee. They supportmultitasking and hardware-accelerated Adobe Flash Player
One of the first devices in this next wave of super phones is the new LG Optimus 2X powered by Tegra 2.
The Tegra 2 super chip features a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU, Ultra-low powered (ULP) NVIDIA GeForce GPU (mobile 3D game playability and 3D user interface), a 1080p Video Playback Processor as well as new mobile media and gaming capabilities: For the first time, consumers will be able to game with multiple players using different types of devices. For example, a Tegra 2-powered super phone or tablet can be used to play with players on a desktop PC.
NVIDIA demonstrated a prototype of Skype HD video calling on an Android tablet at its CES 2011 press conference. NVIDIA developed a reference implementation of HD video conferencing on Tegra 2-based tablets using SkypeKit. SkypeKit is a collection of software and APIs that allows virtually any Internet connected device to offer Skype voice and video calls.
NVIDIA also introduced the Tegra Zone app. It allows consumers to find Tegra-optimized games for their super phone or tablet, along with professional game reviews, high-res screenshots, HD video trailers, gameplay videos, and behind-the-scenes featurettes. Consumers can complete their purchase of Tegra Zone games on the Android Market.
The LG Optimus 2X features a 4-inch WVGA screen, 8GB memory (up to 32GB via microSD), a 1,500 mAh battery, an 8 megapixel rear camera and 1.3 megapixel front camera, HDMI mirroring, 1080p MPEG-4/H.264 playback and recording.
NVIDIA GeForce 500M Series GPUs for Notebooks
NVIDIA also today announced the GeForce 500M series of notebook graphics processing units (GPUs), designed to power laptops featuring next-generation Intel Core CPUs (Sandy Bridge).
The GPUs feature high performance in HD, 3D, Web, and Gaming applications, as well as enhanced battery life, courtesy of NVIDIA Optimus technology. NVIDIA Optimus technology enables extra long battery life by switching on and off the GPU so that it runs only when needed.
Nvidia claims that its new GPU offers superior graphics performance compared to Intel's Sandybridge CPU/GPU chips. Nvidia GPUs being introduced today include:
- For performance users: GeForce GT 540M, GeForce GT 550M, and GeForce GT 555M. Nvidia claims that the new GPUs offer over four times the performance of integrated graphics and twice the DirectX 11 performance of the competition.
- For mainstream users: GeForce GT 520M and GeForce GT 525M offering over twice the performance of integrated graphics.
GeForce GT 555M |
GeForce GT 550M |
GeForce GT 540M |
GeForce GT 525M |
GeForce GT 520M |
|
Manufacturing Process |
40nm |
40nm |
40nm |
40nm |
40nm |
Cude cores |
144 |
96 |
96 |
96 |
48 |
Processor Clock MHz |
1,180 |
1,480 |
1,344 |
1,200 |
1,480 |
Memory Clock MHz |
1,800 |
1,800 |
1,800 |
1,800 |
1,600 |
Memory Interface Width |
192bit |
128bit |
128bit |
128bit |
64bit |
Standard Memory Config |
GDDR5/DDR3 |
GDDR5/DDR3 |
GDDR5/DDR3 |
GDDR5/DDR3 |
GDDR5/DDR3 |
NVIDIA GeForce 500M GPUs offer also offer NVIDIA 3D Vision technology, DirectX 11 and PhysX physics engine support, CUDA architecture support for general purpose GPU computing applications, NVIDIA Verde notebook drivers as well as NVIDIA 3DTV Play software for delivering 3D content from your PC to a 3D TV.
Acer, Alienware, ASUS, Clevo, Dell, Fujitsu, Lenovo, Medion, MSI, Samsung, Toshiba and others announced GeForce 500M-based systems at CES this year, and represent a fraction of the over 200 design wins from leading notebook manufacturers for GeForce 500M GPUs.
