maudlin lucile: Late 2012 iPad carries new PowerVR SGX 554MP4 graphics, muscles ahead in video speed

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Late 2012 iPad carries new PowerVR SGX 554MP4 graphics, muscles ahead in video speed

It's well established that the A6X chip in the fourth-generation iPad is about twice as fast as its predecessor in pure number crunching, but how about those reportedly doubled graphics amid some increasingly fierce competition? Thanks to some help from Kishonti, AnandTech has learned that Apple may still have an ace up its sleeve. The new tablet carries a new, quad-core PowerVR SGX554MP4 with twice the raw potential as the already quick 543MP4 graphics in the A5X. While that doesn't always lead to a literal doubling of 3D performance, it unambiguously puts the new new iPad on top in GLBenchmark, with even the imminent Nexus 10's new Mali-T604 video left in the middle of a large pack. We're somewhat surprised when the Samsung-made Nexus is using a brand new chip architecture that many had thought would represent a fundamental leap in speed. Visuals aren't the only factors in buying tablets, so take the results with the appropriate grains of salt; if gaming or sheer responsiveness matters most, however, there's now a clear frontrunner.

Filed under: Tablets, Apple, Samsung, Google