Graphic processor IP core takes a space of only 3.5 mm2 on a 40nm chip

Vivante has announced a Graphic Processor Unit (GPU) IP core designed to support the Khronos Group’s OpenGL ES 3.0 API based on the GC880 IP. This core which is used in semiconductor chips for mobile, automotive, IPTV, and other embedded and Internet enabled devices is shipping in volumes and claimed by Vivante as the smallest GPU core in the world.

GC880 occupies a space of 3.5 mm on a semiconductor chip which also includes recommended cache memories ( in a TSMC’s 40nm LP process). GC880 features smart grid power reduction technology and optimized multi-functional unified shader pipelines that support the latest 3D and compute APIs. ScalarMorphic unified shaders are designed as the basic building blocks optimized for multi-core, multi-GPU designs that scale from dual/quadto eight GPU units.

"Using OpenGL ES 3.0 allows more of the user interface to visually react to input in ways which were previously too expensive in OpenGL ES 2.0 hardware. These new capabilities translate into a more engaging experience for application developers who are building NUI applications. We look forward to enabling Vivante’s full range of OpenGL ES 3.0 solutions on our latest NUI platforms," said Stuart Russell CTO of YOUilabs.

“OEMs and the application ecosystem are quickly driving OpenGL ES 3.0 into the mainstream to take advantage of new features like instanced rendering, dynamic vertices/textures for sub-frame objects, high precision formats for quality, multiple render targets, and OpenCL interoperability. Our GPU design encompasses requirements from our software and platform ecosystem to support leading applications across all market segments from silicon limited configurations to immersive 3D gaming and vision processing,” said Wei-Jin Dai, CEO of Vivante Corporation.

Key new features in GC880 as per Vivante includes:
Smallest Licensable OpenGL ES 3.0 GPU Core: 3.5 mm2 total silicon footprint in TSMC 40nm LP process for area sensitive designs that does not sacrifice on features and delivers best in class performance. Cores can be optionally configured with an integrated Composition Processing Core (CPC) which seamlessly accelerates OS level composition tasks at a fraction of the power with only a 10% GPU silicon area increase.
Single/Dual/Quad/EightGPU Configurations: ScalarMorphic cores range from highly silicon optimized single GPU solutions to performance optimized multi-GPU solutions, all with best in class performance and available hardware support for security and OS virtualization
Single Software Stack: Single unified software stack supports all Vivante cores across the full range of graphics and compute APIs, features, and performance levels
Battery Saving Innovations: Extreme low power microarchitecture and smart grid technologies for leading mW per MHz/GHz and dynamic power control
Memory Efficient: Memory bandwidth modulation optimized for contemporary vertex intensive applications and pixel rich displays including support for the latest compression standards in OpenGL ES 3.0 and optionallythe recently announced Khronos ASTC – Adaptive Scalable Texture Compression extension
Heterogeneous Platform Architecture: GC cores designed for hybrid computing systems like HSA using AMBA ACE-Lite (CPU – GPU cache coherency) and the latest Stream Interface.