The ARM architecture is one of the most popular processor architectures in the world today, with billions of ARM-based devices shipped each year. There are three architectural configurations: A, R, and M. Typically, a terminal device utilizes multiple ARM processors, and these processors implement different architectural profiles. For example, the following diagram shows what might be found in modern smartphones:
ARM has launched the new ARMv8 architecture Cortex-A50 processor series to expand its leadership in high-performance and low-power domains, further capturing market share in mobile terminals. The Cortex-A50 is another heavyweight product following the Cortex-A15, which will directly impact the market share of mainstream PCs. Around this topic, let’s summarize some of the more mainstream ARM processors in the mobile sector over the past few years.
From high to low, ARM processors can generally be ranked as follows: Cortex-A57 processor, Cortex-A53 processor, Cortex-A15 processor,Cortex-A12 processor,Cortex-A9 processor, Cortex-A8 processor, Cortex-A7 processor, Cortex-A5 processor, ARM11 processor, ARM9 processor, ARM7 processor, and lower-end products are basically no longer in use, so we will not introduce them here.
Development of the ARM processor architecture
● Cortex-A57 and A53 processors
The Cortex-A53 and Cortex-A57 processors belong to the Cortex-A50 series and are the first to adopt the 64-bit ARMv8 architecture, which is significant, and these are the two products recently released by ARM.
Cortex-A57 is ARM’s most advanced and highest-performance application processor, claiming to achieve three times the performance of today’s top smartphones at the same power level; while Cortex-A53 is the world’s most energy-efficient and smallest 64-bit processor, achieving three times the energy efficiency of today’s high-end smartphones at comparable performance. These two processors can also be integrated into the ARM big.LITTLE architecture, allowing switching between the two based on computational demand, combining high performance with high power efficiency, as both processors operate independently.
● Cortex-A15 Processor Architecture Analysis
The ARM Cortex-A15 processor belongs to the Cortex-A series and is based on the ARMv7-A architecture, making it the highest-performance and most licensable processor in the industry to date.
The Cortex-A15 MPCore processor features an out-of-order superscalar pipeline with tightly coupled low-latency L2 cache, with a size of up to 4MB. Improvements in floating-point and NEON media performance enable devices to provide next-generation user experiences and high-performance computing for web infrastructure applications. The Cortex-A15 processor can be applied in smartphones, tablets, mobile computing, high-end digital appliances, servers, and wireless infrastructure.
Theoretically, the performance of the mobile configuration of the Cortex-A15 MPCore processor can provide more than five times the performance of current high-end smartphones. In high-end infrastructure applications, the Cortex-A15 can run at speeds of up to 2.5GHz, supporting highly scalable solutions while continuously reducing power consumption, heat dissipation, and cost budgets.
Application case: Samsung Exynos 5250. The Samsung Exynos 5250 chip is the first A15 chip, used in the recently released Chromebook and Nexus 10 tablet. The frequency of Exynos 5250 is 1.7GHz, using 32nm HKMG process, equipped with Mali-604 GPU, providing powerful performance. Additionally, it is rumored that Samsung’s next-generation Galaxy S4 will feature a quad-core version of the Exynos 5450 chip, also using Cortex-A15 cores. Furthermore, NVIDIA Tegra 4 will adopt A15 cores.
● Cortex-A12 Processor Architecture Analysis
In mid-2013, ARM released the brand new Cortex-A12 processor, which improved performance by 40% over Cortex-A9 at the same power consumption while also reducing size by 30%. The Cortex-A12 also supports big.LITTLE technology, which can be paired with the Cortex-A7 processor to further enhance processor performance.
Cortex-A12 Architecture Diagram
ARM states that the Cortex-A12 processor will be applied to a large number of smartphones and tablet products in the future, but will focus more on mid-range products. ARM also expects that by 2015, the number of these mid-range products will far exceed that of flagship smartphones and tablets.
Mid-range devices equipped with the Cortex-A12 processor will also be very distinctive products, as the Cortex-A12 can support virtualization, AMD TrustZone technology, and up to 1TB of onboard storage. This means that smartphones equipped with this processor can serve as BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) devices, meaning they can be used as personal phones while also storing business content.
Mali-V500 Architecture Diagram
At the same time, the Cortex-A12 is equipped with the new Mali-T622 graphics chip and Mali-V500 video codec IP solution, also aimed at energy efficiency. Thus, targeting the mid-range market, with low power consumption and small size, the Cortex-A12 will inevitably replace the Cortex-A9. It is reported that the Cortex-A12 will be launched in 2014, and we may witness a change in the mid-range market.
Application case: to be released in 2014.
● Cortex-A9 Processor Architecture Analysis
The ARM Cortex-A9 processor belongs to the Cortex-A series, based on the ARMv7-A architecture, and most of the quad-core processors we see today belong to the Cortex-A9 series.
The Cortex-A9 processor is designed to create the most advanced, efficient, dynamically variable-length, superscalar architecture, providing an 8-stage pipeline processor that executes in an out-of-order speculative manner, offering unprecedented high performance and energy efficiency required by cutting-edge products in a wide range of consumer, network, enterprise, and mobile applications.
The Cortex-A9 microarchitecture can be used for scalable multi-core processors (Cortex-A9 MPCore multi-core processors) as well as for more traditional processors (Cortex-A9 single-core processors). Scalable multi-core and single-core processors support 16, 32, or 64KB 4-way associative L1 cache configurations, and for optional L2 cache controllers, up to 8MB of L2 cache configurations, providing high flexibility suitable for specific application domains and markets.
Application case: Texas Instruments OMAP 4430/4460, Tegra 2, Tegra 3, Newshore NS115, Rockchip RK3066, MediaTek MT6577, Samsung Exynos 4210, 4412, Huawei K3V2, etc. Additionally, Qualcomm APQ8064, MSM8960, Apple A6, A6X can also be seen as improved versions based on the A9 architecture.
● Cortex-A8 Processor Architecture Analysis
The ARM Cortex-A8 processor belongs to the Cortex-A series, based on the ARMv7-A architecture, and is currently the most common product in single-core smartphones.
The ARM Cortex-A8 processor is the first product based on the ARMv7 architecture, capable of increasing speed from 600MHz to over 1GHz. The Cortex-A8 processor meets the power optimization requirements for mobile devices that need to operate below 300mW, as well as the performance optimization requirements for consumer applications requiring 2000 Dhrystone MIPS.
The Cortex-A8 high-performance processor is now very mature, providing reliable high-performance solutions from high-end feature phones to netbooks, DTVs, printers, and automotive infotainment.
Application case: MYS-S5PV210 development board, TI OMAP3 series, Apple A4 processor (iPhone 4), Samsung S5PC110 (Samsung I9000), Rockchip RK2918, MediaTek MT6575, etc. Additionally, Qualcomm MSM8255, MSM7230 can also be seen as derivative versions of A8.
● Cortex-A7 Processor Architecture Analysis
The ARM Cortex-A7 processor belongs to the Cortex-A series, based on the ARMv7-A architecture, and is characterized by providing excellent low power performance while ensuring performance.
The architecture and functionality set of the Cortex-A7 processor are exactly the same as those of the Cortex-A15 processor. The difference lies in that the microarchitecture of the Cortex-A7 processor focuses on providing optimal energy efficiency, allowing both processors to work together in a big.LITTLE configuration, thus providing the ultimate combination of high performance and ultra-low power consumption. The energy efficiency of a single Cortex-A7 processor is five times that of the ARM Cortex-A8 processor, with a 50% performance increase, while its size is only one-fifth that of the latter.
As a standalone processor, the Cortex-A7 can match entry-level smartphones priced under $100 during the 2013-2014 period with high-end smartphones priced at $500 in 2010. These entry-level smartphones will redefine connectivity and Internet usage in developing worlds.
Application case: Allwinner Cortex-A7 quad-core tablet chip, MediaTek’s recently released MT6589.
● Cortex-A5 Processor Architecture Analysis
The ARM Cortex-A5 processor belongs to the Cortex-A series, based on the ARMv7-A architecture, and is the most energy-efficient and lowest-cost processor.
The Cortex-A5 processor provides a valuable migration path for existing ARM9 and ARM11 processor designs, achieving better performance than ARM1176JZ-S and better efficiency than ARM926EJ-S. Additionally, the Cortex-A5 processor is fully compatible in terms of instructions and functions with higher performance Cortex-A8, Cortex-A9, and Cortex-A15 processors while maintaining backward application compatibility with classic ARM processors (including ARM926EJ-S, ARM1176JZ-S, and ARM7TDMI).
Application case: Qualcomm MSM7227A/7627A (New Desire V, Motorola XT615, Nokia 610, ZTE V889D, Motorola DEFY XT, etc.), Qualcomm MSM8225/8625 (Little Chili dual-core version, Huawei U8825D, Tianyu W806+, innos D9, Coolpad 7266, etc.), Mill MYD-SAMA5D3X series development board (MYD-SAMA5D31, MYD-SAMA5D33, MYD-SAMA5D34, MYD-SAMA5D35).
MYD-SAMA5D3X Development Board
● ARM11 Series Processor Architecture Analysis
The ARM11 series includes ARM11MPCore processors, ARM1176 processors, ARM1156 processors, and ARM1136 processors, which are based on the ARMv6 architecture and target different application areas. The ARM1156 processor is mainly used in high-reliability and real-time embedded applications, which is not closely related to mobile phones, so it will not be introduced here.
The ARM11 MPCore uses a multi-core processor structure, allowing scalability from 1 core to 4 cores, enabling simple system designs with a single macro to integrate up to four times the performance of a single core. The Cortex-A5 processor is a related successor product to the ARM11MPCore.
The ARM1176 processor is mainly used in smartphones, digital TVs, and e-readers, widely deployed in these fields, providing media and browser functionality, and a secure computing environment with performance up to 1GHz in low-cost designs.
The ARM1136 processor includes an ARMv6 instruction set with media extensions, Thumb code compression technology, and optional floating-point coprocessors. The ARM1136 is a mature core widely deployed as an application processor in mobile and consumer applications. With a 90G process, performance can exceed 600MHz, and with a 65nm process area of 2 square millimeters, it can reach 1GHz.
Application case: Qualcomm MSM7225 (HTC G8), MSM7227 (HTC G6, Samsung S5830, Sony Ericsson X8, etc.), Tegra APX 2500, Broadcom BCM2727 (Nokia N8), Broadcom BCM2763 (Nokia PureView 808), Telechip 8902 (tablet computers).
● ARM9 Series and ARM7 Series Processor Architecture Analysis
The ARM9 series processor includes ARM926EJ-S, ARM946E-S, and ARM968E-S processors. The first two are mainly aimed at embedded real-time applications, and we will focus on ARM926EJ-S here.
The ARM926EJ-S is based on the ARMv5TE architecture and serves as an entry-level processor that supports various operating systems, such as Linux, Windows CE, and Symbian. The ARM926EJ-S processor has been licensed to over 100 chip suppliers worldwide and is continuously deployed successfully in numerous products and applications, making it widely used.
Application case: TI OMAP 1710. The Nokia N73, Nokia E65, Samsung SGH-i600, etc., all use this processor, as well as the Mill Technology MYS-SAM9X5 series industrial control development board.
ARM9 Development Board
● ARM7 Series Processors
The ARM7 series processor includes ARM7TDMI-S (ARMv4T architecture) and ARM7EJ-S (ARMv5TEJ architecture), which were first introduced in 1994 and are relatively outdated compared to the above products. Although the ARM7 processor series is still used in some simple 32-bit devices, newer embedded designs are increasingly using the latest ARM processors, which have significantly improved over the ARM 7 series.
● Mali Series GPU Processor Analysis
Mali-G77 adopts the brand new Valhall architecture, which is a major upgrade following the release of the previous Bifronst architecture three years ago. In terms of performance, compared to the previous generation Mali-G76 GPU, Mali-G77 has nearly a 40% performance improvement. At the same time, Mali-G77 has also strengthened key microarchitectures, including engines, texture pipes, and load/store caches, improving both power efficiency and performance density by 30%.
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ValHall:Mail-G77
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Bifrost:Mail-G71/G51/72/52/31/76
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MidGard:Mail-T600/T700/T800 series
1. Industry Depth Report: GPU Research Framework
2. Xinchang Industry Research Framework
3. ARM Industry Research Framework
4. CPU Research Framework
5. Domestic CPU Research Framework
6. Industry Depth Report: GPU Research Framework
ARM Architecture Reference Manual and Documents
ARM’s architecture and programming.pdf
ARM Architecture Reference Manual.pdf
ARM Architecture Reference Manual ARM V9.pdf
CPU Wars: ARM vs Intel.pdf
Complete Manual of ARM Series Processor Application Technology.
Ultimate Version of Server Basics Comprehensive Explanation PPT
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