Nvidia Tegra SoC

Posted on 02. Jun, 2008 by Simon Whiston in Microprocessors

In my previous post on Nvidia’s Processors I looked into the general capabilities of the two processors. Today I will be giving more emphasis into the Nvidia Tegra Processor. As we already know, the processor renders both 720p and 1080p high definition signals. The Tegra processor is also known for good power consumption considering the processor will run 720p HD for 26 hours compared to Intels 1 hour.

The Tegra 650 Specs:

Processing ARM11 MPCore @ 800Mhz,16/32-bit LP-DDR NAND Flash support
Audio/ Video Processing:1080p H.264 decode, 720p H.264 encode
Supports multi-standard audio formats, including AAC, AMR, WMA and MP3. JPEG encode and decode acceleration
Imaging Up to 12 megapixel camera sensor support, Integrated ISP, Advanced imaging features
True dual-display support
Maximum display resolutions supports:
- 1080p (1920×1080) HDMI 1.3
- WSXGA+ (1680×1050) LCD
- SXGA (1280×1024) CRT
- NTSC/PAL TV output

Tegra 600

Processor ARM11 MPCore @ 700Mhz, 16/32-bit LP-DDR, NAND Flash support
Audo/ Video Processing 720p H.264 and VC-1/WMV9 decode, 720p H.264 encode, Supports multi-standard audio formats, including AAC, AMR, WMA and MP3, JPEG encode and decode acceleration
Imaging Up to 12 megapixel camera sensor support, Integrated ISP, Advanced imaging features
True dual-display support
Maximum display resolutions supports:
- 720p (1280×720) HDMI 1.3
- SXGA (1280×1024) LCD
- SXGA (1280×1024) CRT
- NTSC/PAL TV output

Even though the processor seems impressive Intel’s Atom processor uses the x86 architecture and so will be used on multiple of platforms within a mobile scope. The processor used is a ARM11 32 bit RISC which is usually used in mobile phone hardware. I’m still interested in where this processor will be used compared to Intels version.

I would put the Atom against the Tegra processor as such but you could say the Nvidia processor will be great for HD video but if Intel’s Atom processor can perform around the same level then Nvidia sales could be effected.

On the other hand, I will be interested in seeing what Nvidia will offer in the future. The Head man at Nvidia said the processor was created from the bottom up. The processor has no limit to its future because the architecture is new.

Hopefully I will have much more to talk about regarding the latest technology’s. Now that Intel and Nvidia are at war over more than GPUS where will they venture next?

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