Clearly the IPad Pro's high-performance SoC "A9X" was analyzed and the number of GPU cores was doubled

"Performance that is not so high as to fit in the tablet's frame"IPad ProSoC adopted by "A9X"ChipworksAnalyzed it. As a result, the die size has expanded, the GPU core is twice as large as A9, the L3 cache is omitted, and a number of features are revealed.

More on Apple's A 9 X SoC: 147 mm 2 @ TSMC, 12 GPU Cores, No L 3 Cache
http://www.anandtech.com/show/9824/more-on-apples-a9x-soc

The high performance of iPad Pro is brought by Apple's new SoC "A9X". For this reason, what kind of design is the A9X was attention, but since Apple does not disclose details, Chipworks uses X-rays and the like to analyze the contents of SoC.


According to Chipworks, the die size of the A9X is 147 square millimeters and it is the second largest size next to the A5X of the new iPad (iPad 3) as the tablet SoC.


The cause of the increase in die size is in the GPU core. A total of 12 GPU cores are mounted on A9X, which is twice the core number of A9 of iPhone 6s / 6s Plus, high GPU performance seems to be supported by the number of cores which doubled. In addition, the CPU is reduced from the 2 cores and the A8X 3 cores of the iPad Air 2.


Anandtech said that the number of GPU cores has been doubled by A9 ratio, from the balance with energy saving performance, Apple said that it is surprising that A9X predicted not to increase the number of GPU cores, but the number of GPU clocks I will. The A9X GPU is 12 Power VR (Series 7), but since there is no such model in the Power VR roadmap, it seems to be Apple's proprietary specification.


Furthermore, Anandtech notes that L3 cache is omitted in A9X. It is speculated that Apple believed that L3 cache was unnecessary as the bus width and bandwidth of DDR4 memory doubled.


According to Chipworks, the A9X used for analysis was made by TSMC and 16 nm FinFET process was adopted. Since iPad Pro is not mass-produced as much as the iPhone series, it is thought that one TSMC company is under contract for manufacturing,The problem of performance difference by chip maker caused by iPhone 6sIt does not seem to happen.