14 DAY TRIAL // Tegra 4 may already be a household name, of sorts, but that doesn't mean it can't be improved. Even though the Logan is on a quick approach, NVIDIA found the time to improve the current-generation SoC a bit.
That, at least, is what the Android source code suggests. According to the folks at Myce, NVIDIA has put together a Tegra 4 chip with the GK20A Kepler graphics core.
The Tegra 4 platform is called Tegra 124, oddly enough, and is found on the Ardbeg, Laguna, Loki, Curacao, Bonaire and TN8 boards.
There's also a CM30_T124 Automotive Development platform. It is listed on the same file as the others mentioned above.
Apparently, the Ardbeg board has touchscreen support, Bluetooth, NFC, Wi-Fi, an Invensys MPU 9150 Gyro sensor, a Bosch barometric pressure sensor, Realtek audio chip, USB On the Go, resolution support of 1280 x 720 pixels, and an Accelerometer and Compass.
Myce also said it had found a benchmark, but that said benchmark was pulled not long after. Said bench mentioned the Laguna and said that 983 frames (17.6 FPS) were achieved on a GFXBench 2.7 T-Rex HD Offscreen (1080p) test.
Since this was a development board, the final product may very well do much better.
All in all, NVIDIA has made a new Tegra 4 chip, one with Kepler graphics. Sadly, while most other specs were uncovered (albeit not confirmed), nothing could be discovered on the Kepler GPU itself.
If nothing else, it will be a good stepping stone between the Tegra 4 line and the upcoming Logan (which NVIDIA has empathically stated will not be called Tegra 5 or anything along those lines).
And since Logan promises console-level graphics on tablets and is, too, based on Kepler, we can assume that the Tegra 124 with GK20A will do well in that department as well. Not very well maybe, but better than the current generation of chips, which already have Full HD streaming.
