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The other day, Apple has started to deliver iPad 2 Air, and the first surveys follow this occasion. It is always interesting to evaluate the efficiency of the device in reality, comparing its capabilities to the official announcements.
The first tests show that Apple not only enhanced the frequency of A8X comparing to A8 chip in iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, but also added more cores of CPU. In contrast to both smartphones that operate on 2-core A8 processor of 1.4 GHz, iPad 2 Air has got 3-core A8X processor functioning on the frequency of 1.5 GHz.
It is worth noting that three cores are not peculiar to CPU architecture. As a rule, producers confine themselves to two cores or install four of them. However, a few years ago, AMD introduced its Athlon X3 450 and 460 processors, which use three cores CPU.
Following tests reveal that A8X is about 55 percent faster than A8, installed in iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. It is important to understand that the processor’s productiveness is enhanced not only due to an additional CPU core and higher clock frequency; increasing RAM to 2 GB and cache memory to 2 MB, instead of previous 1 MB, also plays an important role here.
The efficiency of graphic applications is also improved due to updating internal GPU. Apple assures that A8X processor, acquired by iPad 2 Air, consists of three billion transistors. It is connected with the assumed using of GPU PowerVR GX6650. Unlike A8, A8X uses six CUDA cores instead of four; also, it functions on higher frequencies. If Apple confirms GX6650 usage, we will get the fastest GPU by Imagination Technologies.
In February, the applications on new SDK iOS 8, which allows developers to adapt the apps to 64-bit architecture, are to be represented. |
