Nvidia Tegra 4 processor details leaked

Summary: If the leaked details are correct, this new processor will give silicon from Samsung and Qualcomm a serious run for their money.

Details of Nvidia's upcoming Tegra 4 processor, codenamed "Wayne", have been leaked, and if the details are correct, this will give processors from Samsung and Qualcomm a serious run for their money.

The slide leaked by Chinese tech site Chip Hell details a 28-nanometer part featuring "4-plus-1" quad cores with a fifth battery saver core. It is likely that with this new processor Nvidia will shift to ARM's latest Cortex-A15 design.

Graphics are handled by a 72-core GPU that the slide claims offers 20-times the performance of the Tegra 2 and six-times that of the current-generation Tegra 3. The chip can pump enough pixels to fill a 2,560 x 1600 resolution display -- the same resolution as Google's Nexus 10 tablet -- and 1080p output at 120Hz. There's also mention of 4K support, but no details are provided.

Apple's current A6X processor which powered the iPad 4 is about four times as fast as the Tegra 3, so this could put pressure on the Cupertino, Calif.-based technology giant to squeeze more power from its A-series parts.

"Wayne" is also Nvidia's first chip to support USB 3.0, along with dual-channel DDR3L memory.

While there's been no official word from Nvidia on when the Tegra 4 will be unveiled, rumor has it that the company will unveil the new chip during CES 2013 in January.

As flowing links from <http://www.zdnet.com/nvidia-tegra-4-processor-details-leaked-7000008961/>