Mediatek says that its new mobile SoC (Helio X20) is the world’s first with a tri-cluster CPU architecture and a deca (10)-core design. According to the firm, the device has been designed to meet the needs of flagship smartphones; for instance, sustained high performance for gaming and bursts of power for imaging and video.
The three processor clusters are designed to efficiently handle workloads; it uses a cluster of two ARM Cortex-A72 cores (at 2.5GHz) and two clusters of four ARM Cortex-A53 cores (one at 2GHz and one at 1.4GHz). Mediatek’s Corepilot 3.0 heterogeneous computing scheduling algorithm enables this architecture. It schedules tasks for all CPUs and GPUs while managing power and heat. Power consumption is said to be up to 30% lower than a dual-cluster architecture.
The Helio X20 features a 120Hz mobile display; a 3D depth engine to support 3D cameras; and multi-scale de-noise engines for imaging. Samples will begin in Q3’15. Mediatek expects the SoC to be in use in consumer products by the end of the year.
