The ARM Cortex-A15 MPCore is a 32-bit processor core licensed by
ARM Holdings
Arm Holdings plc (formerly an acronym for Advanced RISC Machines and originally Acorn RISC Machine) is a British semiconductor and software design company based in Cambridge, England, whose primary business is the design of central processing ...
implementing the
ARMv7-A architecture. It is a multicore processor with
out-of-order superscalar
A superscalar processor (or multiple-issue processor) is a CPU that implements a form of parallelism called instruction-level parallelism within a single processor. In contrast to a scalar processor, which can execute at most one single in ...
pipeline running at up to 2.5
GHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or Cycle per second, cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in ter ...
.
Overview
ARM has claimed that the Cortex-A15 core is 40 percent more powerful than the
Cortex-A9
The ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore is a 32-bit multi-core processor that provides up to 4 cache-coherent cores, each implementing the ARM v7 architecture instruction set. It was introduced in 2007.
Features
Key features of the Cortex-A9 core are:
* ou ...
core with the same number of cores at the same speed. The first A15 designs came out in the autumn of 2011, but products based on the chip did not reach the market until 2012.
Key features of the Cortex-A15 core are:
* 40-bit Large Physical Address Extensions (LPAE) addressing up to 1
TB of
RAM
Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to:
* A male sheep
* Random-access memory, computer memory
* Ram Trucks, US, since 2009
** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans
** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks
Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...
with a 32-bit
virtual address space
In computing, a virtual address space (VAS) or address space is the set of ranges of virtual addresses that an operating system makes available to a process. The range of virtual addresses usually starts at a low address and can extend to the h ...
.
* 15 stage integer/17–25 stage floating point pipeline, with
out-of-order speculative issue 3-way
superscalar
A superscalar processor (or multiple-issue processor) is a CPU that implements a form of parallelism called instruction-level parallelism within a single processor. In contrast to a scalar processor, which can execute at most one single in ...
execution pipeline
* 4 cores per cluster, up to 2 clusters per chip with CoreLink 400 (CCI-400, an AMBA-4 coherent interconnect) and 4 clusters per chip with CCN-504. ARM provides specifications but the licensees individually design ARM chips, and AMBA-4 scales beyond 2 clusters. The theoretical limit is 16 clusters; 4 bits are used to code the CLUSTERID number in the CP15 register (bits 8 to 11).
* DSP and
NEON
Neon is a chemical element; it has symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is the second noble gas in the periodic table. Neon is a colorless, odorless, inert monatomic gas under standard conditions, with approximately two-thirds the density of ...
SIMD
Single instruction, multiple data (SIMD) is a type of parallel computer, parallel processing in Flynn's taxonomy. SIMD describes computers with multiple processing elements that perform the same operation on multiple data points simultaneousl ...
extensions onboard (per core)
*
VFPv4
ARM (stylised in lowercase as arm, formerly an acronym for Advanced RISC Machines and originally Acorn RISC Machine) is a family of RISC instruction set architectures (ISAs) for computer processors. Arm Holdings develops the ISAs and licen ...
Floating Point Unit onboard (per core)
*
Hardware virtualization
Hardware virtualization is the virtualization of computers as complete hardware platforms, certain logical abstractions of their componentry, or only the functionality required to run various operating systems. Virtualization emulates the hardw ...
support
*
Thumb-2
ARM (stylised in lowercase as arm, formerly an acronym for Advanced RISC Machines and originally Acorn RISC Machine) is a family of reduced instruction set computer, RISC instruction set architectures (ISAs) for central processing unit, com ...
instruction set encoding to reduce the size of programs with little impact on performance
*
TrustZone
ARM (stylised in lowercase as arm, formerly an acronym for Advanced RISC Machines and originally Acorn RISC Machine) is a family of RISC instruction set architectures (ISAs) for computer processors. Arm Holdings develops the ISAs and lice ...
security extensions
*
Jazelle RCT
ARM (stylised in lowercase as arm, formerly an acronym for Advanced RISC Machines and originally Acorn RISC Machine) is a family of RISC instruction set architectures (ISAs) for computer processors. Arm Holdings develops the ISAs and lice ...
for
JIT
Jit (also known as jiti, jit-jive and the Harare beat) is a style of popular Zimbabwean dance music. It features a swift rhythm played on drums and accompanied by a guitar. Jit evolved out many diverse influences, including domestic chimurenga, ...
compilation
* Program Trace Macrocell and CoreSight Design Kit for unobtrusive tracing of instruction execution
* 32 KB data + 32 KB instruction L1 cache per core
* Integrated low-latency level-2 cache controller, up to 4 MB per cluster
Chips
First implementation came from Samsung in 2012 with the Exynos 5 Dual, which shipped in October 2012 with the Samsung
Chromebook
Chromebook (sometimes stylized in lowercase as chromebook) is a line of laptops, desktops, tablets and all-in-one computers that run ChromeOS, a proprietary operating system developed by Google.
Chromebooks are optimised for web access. They al ...
Series 3 (ARM version), followed in November by the
Google Nexus 10.
Press announcements of current implementations:
*
Broadcom
Broadcom Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational designer, developer, manufacturer, and global supplier of a wide range of semiconductor and infrastructure software products. Broadcom's product offerings serve the data cen ...
SoC
*
HiSilicon
HiSilicon ( zh, c=海思, p=Hǎisī) is a Chinese fabless semiconductor company based in Shenzhen, Guangdong province and wholly owned by Huawei. HiSilicon purchases licenses for CPU designs from ARM Holdings, including the ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore ...
K3V3
*
Nvidia
Nvidia Corporation ( ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and incorporated in Delaware. Founded in 1993 by Jensen Huang (president and CEO), Chris Malachowsky, and Curti ...
Tegra 4 (Wayne) and Tegra K1.
*
Samsung
Samsung Group (; stylised as SΛMSUNG) is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in the Samsung Town office complex in Seoul. The group consists of numerous a ...
Exynos
The Samsung Exynos (stylized as SΛMSUNG Exynos), formerly Hummingbird (), is a series of ARM architecture, Arm-based System on a chip, system-on-chips developed by Samsung Electronics' System LSI division and manufactured by Samsung Foundry. I ...
5 Dual, Quad and Octa
*
ST-Ericsson
ST-Ericsson was a multinational manufacturer of wireless products and semiconductors, supplying to mobile device manufacturers. ST-Ericsson was a 50/50 joint venture of Ericsson and STMicroelectronics established on 3 February 2009 and dissolved ...
Nova
A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...
A9600 (cancelled) (
dual-core
A multi-core processor (MCP) is a microprocessor on a single integrated circuit (IC) with two or more separate central processing units (CPUs), called ''cores'' to emphasize their multiplicity (for example, ''dual-core'' or ''quad-core''). Ea ...
@ 2.5 GHz over 20k DMIPS)
*
Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American multinational semiconductor company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It is one of the top 10 semiconductor companies worldwide based on sales volume. The company's focus is on developing analog ...
OMAP 5 SoCs and
Sitara AM57x family
Other licensees, such as
LG,
Why LG Getting ARM Cortex A15 License Is A Big Deal , ITProPortal.com
/ref> are expected to produce an A15 based design at some point.
Systems on a chip
See also
* ARM architecture
ARM (stylised in lowercase as arm, formerly an acronym for Advanced RISC Machines and originally Acorn RISC Machine) is a family of reduced instruction set computer, RISC instruction set architectures (ISAs) for central processing unit, com ...
* Comparison of ARMv7-A cores
This is a comparison of ARM instruction set architecture application processor cores designed by Arm Holdings ( ARM Cortex-A) and 3rd parties. It does not include ARM Cortex-R, ARM Cortex-M, or legacy ARM cores.
ARMv7-A
This is a table c ...
* Comparison of ARMv8-A cores
This is a comparison of ARM instruction set architecture application processor cores designed by Arm Holdings (ARM Cortex-A) and 3rd parties. It does not include ARM Cortex-R, ARM Cortex-M, or legacy ARM cores.
ARMv7-A
This is a table com ...
* JTAG
JTAG (named after the Joint Test Action Group which codified it) is an industry standard for verifying designs of and testing printed circuit boards after manufacture.
JTAG implements standards for on-chip instrumentation in electronic design ...
* List of applications of ARM cores
This is a list of products using processors (i.e. central processing units) based on the ARM architecture family, sorted by generation release and name.
__TOC__
List of products
See also
* ARM architecture family
ARM (stylised in lo ...
* List of ARM cores
A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, bu ...
References
External links
*
{{Clear
ARM processors
ARM Holdings IP cores
Computer-related introductions in 2011