MediaTek Helio X20: First Mobile SoC with Deca Core Processor

Today’s mobile devices are being asked to perform a wider range of tasks than ever before. Gaming requires sustained high-performance, advanced imaging and video recording need bursts of peak processor power, which are heavy load tasks. These are coupled with lighter load tasks, such as Internet browsing and audio. Battery life is also of paramount importance to all types of users. Yet existing mobile processing architectures don’t efficiently meet the wide spectrum of use case scenarios. Currently, most high-end smartphones use dual cluster architectures, which limit the extent of the lowest power at one end and the computing granularity across the different configurations.

MediaTek’s Tri-Cluster CPU architecture in the Helio X20 provides three processor clusters, each designed to more efficiently handle different types of workloads. The Tri-Cluster CPU consists of one cluster of two ARM Cortex-A72 cores (running at 2.5GHz for extreme performance) and two clusters of four ARM Cortex-A53 cores (one running at 2.0GHz for medium loads and one running at 1.4GHz for light activities). Much like adding gears to vehicles, dividing the cores into three clusters provides a more efficient allocation of tasks for optimum performance and extended battery life.

The Tri-Cluster CPU architecture is enabled by MediaTek’s new CorePilot 3.0 heterogeneous computing scheduling algorithm. CorePilot 3.0 schedules the tasks for all CPUs and GPUs on the SoC while managing power and thermal effects so that extreme performance can be attained while creating less heat. It provides up to a 30% reduction of power consumption compared with conventional dual cluster architectures.

Other advanced features include:

- Dual main cameras with a built-in 3D depth engine that allows for a faster shot-to-shot experience in creating complex depth-of-field images.

- Multi-scale de-noise engines to deliver high quality images with unprecedented detail, color accuracy, and sharpness even under extreme conditions.

- A 120Hz mobile display that breaks the barriers of the current 60Hz refresh rate to provide crisp and responsive browsing and uncompromised motion viewing.

- An integrated, low power sensor processor - ARM Cortex-M4 - to support diverse always-on applications such as MP3 playback and voice activation. The sensor hub operates on an isolated, low power domain to assist with tasks for better battery efficiency.