Colibri Tegra T2 computer module by Toradex, Switzerland

Tegra, developed by Nvidia, is a system on a chip (SoC) series for mobile devices such as smartphones, personal digital assistants, and mobile Internet devices. The Tegra integrates the ARM architecture processor central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU), northbridge, southbridge, and memory controller onto one package. The series emphasizes low power consumption and high performance for playing audio and video.

History[link]

The Tegra APX 2500 was announced on February 12, 2008; the Tegra 6xx product line was revealed on June 2, 2008^[1] and the APX 2600 was announced in February 2009. The APX chips were designed for smartphones, while the Tegra 600 and 650 chips were intended for smartbooks and mobile Internet devices (MID).^[2]

The first product to use the Tegra was Microsoft's Zune HD media player in September 2009, followed by the Samsung M1.^[3] Microsoft's KIN was the first cellular phone to use the Tegra,^[4] however the phone did not have an app store, so the Tegra's power did not provide much advantage. In September 2008, Nvidia and Opera Software announced that they will produce a version of the Opera 9.5 browser optimised for the Tegra on Windows Mobile and Windows CE.^[5][6] At Mobile World Congress 2009, Nvidia introduced its port of Google's Android to the Tegra.

On January 7, 2010, Nvidia officially announced and demonstrated its next generation Tegra system-on-a-chip, the Nvidia Tegra 250, at Consumer Electronics Show 2010.^[7] Nvidia primarily supports Android on Tegra 2, but booting other ARM-supporting operating systems is possible on devices where the bootloader is accessible. Tegra 2 support for the Ubuntu GNU/Linux distribution was also announced on the Nvidia developer forum.^[8]

On February 15, 2011, Nvidia announced the first quad-core SoC that will be used in many of the tablets to be released in the second half of 2011. The announcement was made at the February 2011 Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona. Though the chip has currently been codenamed Kal-El, it will likely be branded as Tegra 3. Early benchmark results show impressive gains over Tegra 2^[9][10].

In January 2012, Nvidia announced that Audi had selected the Tegra 3 processor for its in-vehicle infotainment systems and digital instruments display.^[11] The processor will be integrated into Audi's entire line of vehicles worldwide, beginning in 2013.

Specifications[link]

Tegra APX series[link]

Tegra APX 2500[link]

• Processor: ARM11 600 MHz MPCore (originally GeForce ULV)
  • suffix: APX (formerly CSX)
• Memory: NOR or NAND flash, Mobile DDR
• Graphics: Image processor (FWVGA 854×480 pixels)
  • Up to 12 megapixels camera support
  • LCD controller supports resolutions up to 1280×1024
• Storage: IDE for SSD
• Video codecs: up to 720p MPEG-4 AVC/h.264 and VC-1 decoding
• Includes GeForce ULV support for OpenGL ES 2.0, Direct3D Mobile, and programmable shaders
• Output: HDMI, VGA, composite video, S-Video, stereo jack, USB
• USB On-The-Go

Tegra APX 2600[link]

• Enhanced NAND flash
• Video codecs:^[12]
  • 720p H.264 Baseline Profile encode or decode
  • 720p VC-1/WMV9 Advanced Profile decode
  • D-1 MPEG-4 Simple Profile encode or decode

Tegra 6xx series[link]

Tegra 600[link]

• Targeted for GPS segment and automotive
• Processor: ARM11 700 MHz MPCore
• Memory: low-power DDR (DDR-333, 166 MHz)
• SXGA, HDMI, USB, stereo jack
• HD camera 720p

Tegra 650[link]

• Targeted for GTX of handheld and notebook
• Processor: ARM11 800 MHz MPCore
• Low power DDR (DDR-400, 200 MHz)
• Less than 1 Watt envelope
• HD image processing for advanced digital still camera and HD camcorder functions
• Display supports 1080p at 24 frame/s, HDMI v1.3, WSXGA+ LCD and CRT, and NTSC/PAL TV output
• Direct support for Wi-Fi, disk drives, keyboard, mouse, and other peripherals
• A complete board support package (BSP) to enable fast time to market for Windows Mobile-based designs

Tegra 2 series[link]

The second generation Tegra SoC has a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU (lacking ARMs advanced SIMD extension, marketed as NEON), an ultra low power (ULP) GeForce GPU with 4 pixel shaders + 4 vertex shaders,^[13] a 32-bit single-channel memory controller with either LPDDR2 at 600 MHz or DDR2 at 667 MHz, a 32KB/32KB L1 cache per core and a shared 1MB L2 cache.^[14] There is also a version of the SoC supporting 3D displays; this SoC uses a higher clocked CPU and GPU.

[edit] Tegra 3 (Kal-El) series

The Tegra 3 is functionally a SoC with a quad-core CPU, but includes a fifth "companion" core. While all cores are Cortex-A9s, the companion core is manufactured with a special low power silicon process that uses less power at low clock rate but does not scale well to high clock rates; hence it is limited to 500 MHz. There is also special logic to allow running state to be quickly and transparently transferred between the companion core and one of the normal cores. The goal is for a mobile phone or tablet to be able to power down all the normal cores and run on only the companion core, using comparatively little power, during standby mode or when otherwise underutilizing the CPU. According to Nvidia, this includes playing music or even video content.^[18] Compared to Tegra 2, the ARM Cortex-A9s in Tegra 3 now supports ARMs SIMD extension, marketed as NEON. It can also output video up to 2560×1600 resolution and supports 1080p MPEG-4 AVC/h.264 40 Mbit/s High-Profile, VC1-AP, and DivX 5/6 video decode.^[19]

The Tegra 3 was officially released on November 9, 2011.^[20]

Tegra (Wayne) series[link]

• Processor: Quad ARM Cortex-A15 MPCore + low power companion core
• Improved 24 (for the quad-core) and 32 to 64 (for the octa-core) GPU cores with support for Directx 11+, OpenGL 4.X, and PhysX
• 28 nm HPL^[25]
• About 10 times faster than Tegra 2
• To be released in Q1 2013, flagship "T40"

Tegra (Grey) series[link]

• Processor: Quad ARM Cortex-A9 + low power companion core
• 28 nm HPM
• Integrated Icera LTE100/HSPA42 baseband
• To be released in Q3 2013

Tegra (Logan) series[link]

• Processor: Quad ARM Cortex-A15 MPCore + low power companion core
• Improved GPU core
• 28 nm^[25]
• About 50 times faster than Tegra 2
• To be released in 2013

Tegra (Stark) series[link]

• Processor: Unknown ARMv8 (64-bit)
• Improved GPU core
• About 75 times faster than Tegra 2^[26]
• To be released in 2014

Trivia[link]

Codenames of all upcoming releases in the Tegra series are references to comic book superheroes. Specifically, Superman (Kal-El), Batman (Wayne), Jean Grey (Grey), Wolverine (Logan), and Iron Man (Stark).^[27]

Similar platforms[link]

• Snapdragon by Qualcomm
• OMAP by Texas Instruments
• Exynos by Samsung
• Ax by Apple
• NovaThor by ST-Ericsson
• Atom by Intel

See also[link]

• ZiiLABS ZMS series
• i.MX by Freescale
• Imageon
• Loongson
• Mobile Internet device
• Nomadik by ST-Ericsson
• PXA by Marvell
• Renesas Electronics Corporation

References[link]

External links[link]

• Nvidia's Tegra APX website
• Nvidia's Tegra FAQ
• Tegra 2 Whitepaper
• New Chips Could Boost iPhone Rivals
• Nvidia Unveils Mobile Graphics Powerhouse in Barcelona
• Nvidia Surprises With First Mobile CPU
• Nvidia dialing into mobile phones
• Nvidia APX 2500 chip enables 3D and hours of high-def playback on Windows Mobile handsets
• Nvidia rolls out Tegra chips aimed at tiny PCs
• Nvidia Announces Tegra "Grey" SoC with Built-in 3G, 4G Communication Capabilities