What is the Difference Between NVIDIA Tegra 2 and Apple A5?

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The NVIDIA Tegra 2 and Apple A5 are both System-on-Chip (SoC) processors, but they have some differences in terms of design, performance, and graphics capabilities. Here is a comparison between the two:

  1. Design: The Apple A5 is developed by Samsung, while the NVIDIA Tegra 2 is developed by NVIDIA.
  2. CPU: Both the Tegra 2 and A5 use dual-core Cortex A9 ARM processors, with a clock speed of up to 1GHz. They also have 32KB/32KB L1 cache size.
  3. Graphics: The A5 has a more powerful graphics processing unit (GPU) than the Tegra 2. This difference in graphics performance is attributed to the size of the chips, with the A5 being larger (122 square millimeters) than the Tegra 2 (49 square millimeters).
  4. Price: NVIDIA had to design the Tegra 2 chip to be between $15 and $20 per piece, while Apple's more expensive A5 chip allowed for higher performance.

In terms of overall performance, the Apple A5 generally outperforms the NVIDIA Tegra 2 in independent tests. However, the specific performance difference between the two processors may vary depending on the device and software configuration.

Comparative Table: NVIDIA Tegra 2 vs Apple A5

The NVIDIA Tegra 2 and Apple A5 are both System-on-Chip (SoC) designs used in mobile devices. Here is a comparison of their key differences:

Feature NVIDIA Tegra 2 Apple A5
Clock Speed Up to 1GHz Up to 1GHz
Core Count 2 2
L1 Cache Size 32KB/32KB 32KB/32KB
L2 Cache Size 1MB 1MB
Memory Interface Single Channel LP-DDR2 Dual Channel LP-DDR2 (?)
NEON Support No Yes (?)
GPU Ultra-low power (ULP) GeForce GPU Dual-core PowerVR SGX543MP2
Manufacturer NVIDIA Apple/Samsung

The Apple A5 has a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore CPU, while the NVIDIA Tegra 2 uses a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore CPU. The A5 has a more powerful GPU, the PowerVR SGX543 dual-core GPU, compared to the Tegra 2's GeForce GPU. The A5 also has a larger die size (122mm²) compared to the Tegra 2 (49mm²). This allows the A5 to deliver better performance, including faster web browsing and improved graphics performance. The Tegra 2, however, supports 1080p HD video playback on mobile devices.