NVIDIA’s upcoming Kal El mobile processor may be the only 40nm quad core on the market according to sources in the know.
According to Fudzilla, NVIDIA will be the only chip firm to attempt a quad core build on ARM’s A9 architecture, while the likes of Qualcomm, TI and perhaps even Apple will wait to build their quad core offerings on ARM’s A15 design, on a 28nm manufacturing process.
Unveiled at MWC in Barcelona back in February, NVIDIA says its upcoming Kal-El chip (Tegra 3) should be ready to ship by Q311, which gives the firm effectively until the end of this quarter to have announced any design wins.
The chip is also reportedly the largest mobile chip to date, weighing in at a whopping 80 sq mm, much bigger than it’s little brother Tegra 2, which measures just 49 sq mm. What this means for battery life is probably not good, though the proof will be in the oversized pudding.
Meanwhile, 28nm quad core chips based on ARM’s A15 design should emerge at around the same size as Tegra 2, though they will likely only surface at some point in 2012, giving NVIDIA a head start.
