[Nickos-V]

The most popular dual cores that came out recently.
#1. Amlogic AML8726-MX (dual core A9 CPU @ 1.2 GHz + dual core Mali 400 GPU @ 400 MHz) - was supposed to run @ 1.5 GHz but clocked less because of high heat issue. Seems Amlogic has problems reaching high clock speeds with all their chips.
Some companies using this chip are: Ramos, Ainol, Onda, Gemei, etc.

Expected Performance (SunSpider + Quadrant? benchmarks):
http://android-sale.com/catalog/product/gallery/id/318/image/1699/

#2. Rockchip RK3066 (dual core A9 CPU @ 1.4 GHz (o/c 1.6 GHz) + quad core Mali 400 GPU @ 250 MHz)
http://www.rock-chips.com/index.php?do=news&id=144
http://www.buyandroidtabletpc.com/new-cpu-of-android-tablet-rk3066-released.html

Companies using this chip are: Yuandao/Window, Cube, Aoson,

#3. NuFront NS2816M (dual core CPU A9 + dual(?) core Mali400 GPU)

#4. Freescale i.MX6 (quad(?) core A9 CPU + quad(?) core Vivante GPU)

PERFORMANCE TESTING BETWEEN TEGRA 2, OMAP4, 8726-MX & RK3066:
http://www.slatedroid.com/topic/31887-latest-dual-cortex-a9-chips-coming-out-soon/page__view__findpost__p__358385

*Other* ARM chips coming out but best to avoid them because bad performance compared to dual core A9 tablets.

Telechip TCC8923 Cortex A5 w/Mali400.
Quadrant score seems very low for this tablet. Total = 1012.
http://www.pandawill.com/pd10-freelander-gps-tablet-pc-7-inch-android-40-12ghz-1gb-ram-8gb-1080p-black-p59956.html

VIA8850 Cortex A9 w/Mali400 - Performance is said to be similar to Allwinner A10 but should cost less. Little too late for this chip now.

AllWinner A13 Cortex A8 w/Mali400 - A much cheaper version of the A10 chip at US$4.99. A10 cost $15? Performance and/or features will be worse than A10 chip!!!

MTK6575 Cortex A9 SGX531 - This is said to be a dual-core, mainly used in mobile phones, but can be used in tablet too. However, the GPU is on the weak side for 3D gaming. Only good for simple gaming but bad for any real gaming.

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/64689181-post743.html

All of the above ARM chips in "quoted section" are on the weak side for CPU, GPU or both. All of these *other* CPUs, seem to be a disappointment!!! Only 8726-MX & RK3066 are the real winners and will become very popular in Chinese tablets!!! Tablets already being released with these two chips. More to come in next 1-2 months.

Finally have powerful, Chinese dual core tablets coming out that outperform Tegra 2 and give iPad 2 and Tegra 3 tablets a run for their money!!!

Edit: Updated info and cleaned up content in this first post.

 

[Nickos-V]

For those looking to buy a tablet today with single core CPU. Go with AllWinner A10 or Amlogic 8726-M3 ARM chips. Those are the two better ones out there right now.

The A10 will have slight edge in gaming performance. Will also run/feel much smoother to use from multi processors and draw way less power (run for longer).

The 8726-M3 will have stronger FPU which should help with certain programs that require stronger computing power.

I would choose A10 chip myself, unless you use audio/video conversion or handwriting apps. Then 8726 probably better.

 

[astrayred]

Any information on what fabrication process these chips are using? It's an often-overlooked, but still important characteristic besides core count and architecture. I have said it before, the Allwinner A10 is a decent chip, but it could have been better if it was fabbed at 40nm instead of 65nm. It would run much cooler and consume lesser battery. My Aurora could be a 10 hour battery life tablet if it was 40nm.

 

[Nickos-V]

Any information on what fabrication process these chips are using?

Pretty sure the A10 is 55nm. It came out after RK2918 by about 6 months. Would be very surprised if A10 was 65nm.
http://blog.slate4sure.com/tablet-cpu-comparison-amlogic-aml8726-rockchip-rk2918-allwinner-a10/

Info for these ARM CPUs is hard to come by. I am sure someone will look into it when tablets with these chips start coming out. For me, I only care about seeing reviews that include performance and battery life.

I expect 8726-MX to be 40-55nm. Rockchip RK3066 40-45nm. But those are just my guesses.

I saw it mentioned that the Ramos W17 PRO will have 5000mAh battery which should last 4-5 hours. That just shows how much power the 8726 chip consumes. It was one reason I chose to go with i7 (RK2918) tablet rather than C91/C71 (8726-M1). Power draw seems kinda high on 8726 tablets. Maybe doesn't use mobile RAM? RK3066 will probably do better with power consumption but come out later on.

The RK3066 would be the better chip to get but have to wait another 2-4 months longer after 8726-MX is released.

 

[v9ryu]

It seems rockchips rk 30xx will be better than AML8726-MX because of quadcore GPU.
I suspect the Aurora 2 will be using AML8726-MX because those chips already at the market.
I wonder whether Aurora 1 has single GPU or dual core GPU.

 

[F&LSuperstore]

Great writeup. You are very spot on. The current single core rockchips, boxchips & amlogics almost identical to one another. Can't wait to see the race for the next dual core chipped machines.

 

[Pavlo]

Ployer momo8 speed is based on Rockchips-RK3066.

 

[Nickos-V]

I include Antutu benchmark for 8726-MX (dual core A9). Score is 6400!!! =)
http://1pad.cn/2012/0402/5861.html (in Chinese)

Short and summarized version of what to expect:
http://tabletrepublic.com/forum/latest-tablet-news/amlogic-aml8726-mx-latest-dual-core-1568.html

Also, CPU is said to be 40nm. Rockchip RK3066 probably 40nm too but cannot say for sure yet.

PS, I think they use Ramos W21 tablet for testing.

 

[casso42]

Just bought the ZTPad 10`` Cortex A9 Android 4 is the system the better of all?
Was cosidering ipad but saw this and thought it was decent for price. Although not that well up on tech stuff

 

[Nickos-V]

PPS, Hong Kong Fair starts April 13. Lots more info will come out next week about tablets using 8726-MX & RK3066. Ramos supposed to show off 3 tablets with dual core CPUs @ HK fair. Also, tablets that will use RK3066 will be shown too by Rockchip. etc.,

 

[F&LSuperstore]

Just bought the ZTPad 10`` Cortex A9 Android 4 is the system the better of all?
Was cosidering ipad but saw this and thought it was decent for price. Although not that well up on tech stuff

I've seen them all and it has the most solid build and good speed for its price. I've dropped a few here and they still work good. My gripe on all of the 10" coming out of China is battery life. But we have found a solution for that.

 

[Nickos-V]

Ok. Seems some more details available about Amlogic's 8726-MX chip.

Dual core, Cortex A9 CPUs up to 1.5GHz clock speed
1 X 512KB L2 cache
Dual core, Mali400 GPU w/1 X 64KB cache (300-400MHz)
2 Video DSPs (for video decoding)
1 Media DSP (for audio decoding)
Power Management Processor

Looks like very good design from the specs.
http://tomkanok.wordpress.com/2012/04/13/amlogic-aml8726-mx-architecture/

Rockchip RK30 maybe better ARM chip but may take another 2-3 months or longer after 8726-MX tablets get released.

Still need to get more details on RK30 and pricing for comparison. Though 8726-MX looks really good to me. Hopefully battery life will be good too.

 

[astrayred]

Ok. Seems some more details available about Amlogic's 8726-MX chip.

Dual core, Cortex A9 CPUs up to 1.5GHz clock speed
1 X 512KB L2 cache
Dual core, Mali400 GPU w/1 X 64KB cache (300-400MHz)
2 Video DSPs (for video decoding)
1 Media DSP (for audio decoding)
Power Management Processor

Looks like very good design from the specs.
http://tomkanok.wordpress.com/2012/04/13/amlogic-aml8726-mx-architecture/

Rockchip RK30 maybe better ARM chip but may take another 2-3 months or longer after 8726-MX tablets get released.

Still need to get more details on RK30 and pricing for comparison. Though 8726-MX looks really good to me. Hopefully battery life will be good too.

40nm, dual core A9 and Mali400. It's essentially a Samsung Exynos

It will be interesting to compare the power drain of the Exynos vs that of the Amlogic. On paper they are similar, but do they perform similarly battery wise?

 

[Nickos-V]

Rockchip are showing off their RK3066 chip tablets @ HK Fair. This ARM chip will also be 40nm like 8726-MX.

In one of the pictures, you can see the RK3066 clocked @ 1.6GHz!!! =)

http://pbpai.net/10/show.php?itemid=32197 (in Chinese)

Not only are they coming out with 2 core CPUs but the clock speeds have jumped by 500-600MHz too. This will give a *major* CPU performance jump. This is why people are best to hold off buying *expensive* tablets until these come out. At earliest, 1-2 months for MX and 3-4 months for RK3066.

The CPU performance difference will be major. As for GPU performance, hard to say. A10 & 8726-M1/M3 appear to have dual core Mali400 GPU. So, difference between A10 & 8726-MX in GPU benches maybe very small and minor. ie, maybe get similar gpu bench results but 8726-MX will run everything very smoothly.

PS, this is the same to what happened with iPad1 (single core, Cortex A8) to iPad2 (dual core, Cortex A9). The 8726-MX should be close to or better than iPad2 GPU performance. The RK3066 should pass iPad2 and hopefully reach iPad3 GPU performance. At least the performance gap between iPad2 & Tegra3 tablets will now become very small with these new dual core A9 chips coming out.

 

[F&LSuperstore]

Rockchip are showing off their RK3066 chip tablets @ HK Fair. This ARM chip will also be 40nm like 8726-MX.

In one of the pictures, you can see the RK3066 clocked @ 1.6GHz!!! =)

http://pbpai.net/10/show.php?itemid=32197 (in Chinese)

Not only are they coming out with 2 core CPUs but the clock speeds have jumped by 500-600MHz too. This will give a *major* CPU performance jump. This is why people are best to hold off buying *expensive* tablets until these come out. At earliest, 1-2 months for MX and 3-4 months for RK3066.

The CPU performance difference will be major. As for GPU performance, hard to say. A10 & 8726-M1/M3 appear to have dual core Mali400 GPU. So, difference between A10 & 8726-MX in GPU benches maybe very small and minor. ie, maybe get similar gpu bench results but 8726-MX will run everything very smoothly.

PS, this is the same to what happened with iPad1 (single core, Cortex A8) to iPad2 (dual core, Cortex A9). The 8726-MX should be close to or better than iPad2 GPU performance. The RK3066 should pass iPad2 and hopefully reach iPad3 GPU performance. At least the performance gap between iPad2 & Tegra3 tablets will now become very small with these new dual core A9 chips coming out.

Great news. This will make them formidable gaming machines. The future is mobile. I can see it clearly. I bet World Of Warcraft has an Android/OSX solution here real soon.

Edit: But they need to get this Mali-400 GPU driver thing fixed and China needs to find a way to share the info because right now the way it is it's useless.

 

[Nickos-V]

Great news. This will make them formidable gaming machines. The future is mobile. I can see it clearly.

True, future is ARM & mobile devices. Smartbooks were supposed to come out first with ARM chips to take take on netbooks (Atoms). But, because of tablets that never happened. More money to be made with tablets. Also, can hook up a USB/bluetooth keyboard to tablet and you pretty much have a smartbook anyways.

Now with dual core A9s from China. Chinese ARM chips will have CPU power that is closer to dual core Atom systems. Sunspider will drop from about 4000-5000ms to 2000ms or less which will make web browsing much more enjoyable. Everything should run smoother and faster with 2 X A9s. The A8s were kinda CPU limited but still worked pretty Ok. They were similar to running a single core Atom netbook.

Rockchip also say they are working on a 28nm chip that may come out by mid 2013. Looks like things are going to heat up in 2013 between these chip makers. The hardware seems to be getting better but OS support lacking from Chinese tablet makers. They stop supporting their old tablets pretty quick. Only get like 6 months support at best and at worst, 0-3 months. That is the really disappointing part because they want to move onto the next product to sell. They make money by selling newer tablet models and coming out with better product than competitor. Seem to focus more on selling newer products than supporting older ones. Should support all their tablets for at least 1 year!!!

 

[Vicky95]

I'm Having Cortex A10(Soc) on my Tablet!!!!!!!

 

[Nickos-V]

I'm Having Cortex A10(Soc) on my Tablet!!!!!!!

No you don't Vicky!!!!

You have AllWinner A10 chip which is Cortex A8. It is single core & normally comes @ 1GHz though few tablets have 1.2GHz speed. It has somewhat better GPU than my tablet otherwise *all* of the CPU benches are very close to what I get. GPU benches will give different results.

Run Sunspider and you will see somewhere between 3500-5000ms (normal for A8) though with very bad firmware, 7000-10000ms. A dual core Cortex A9 tablet will get about 1700-2200ms. Sunspider is very CPU intense bench.
http://www.webkit.org/perf/sunspider/sunspider.html

Trust me. I have known about the AllWinner A10 chip before it was released. A10 = chip name. Just like Rockchip RK2918. RK2918 = chip name. Nvidia Tegra2. Tegra2 = chip name., etc.

AllWinner named it A10 to confuse people into thinking they have Cortex A10 when they are just buying a Cortex A8.

PS, ARM does not have any Cortex A10 chips. From A8 it goes to A9 and then A15.
http://www.arm.com/products/processors/cortex-a/index.php

PPS, Sorry if I am tough on you but this gets me worked up because I have seen many other people think the same thing and I hate dealing with Chinese misinformation.

 

[Nickos-V]

RK3066 CHIP INFO

Here you can see Rockchip 3066 in couple of tablets.

Also, Rockchip is working on some other chips too that will come out later in the year or early 2013.

RK3066 - dual core A9 CPU + quad core Mali400 GPU
RK31xx - single core A9 CPU (+ quad core Mali400?)
RK32xx - quad core A9 CPU (+ quad core Mali400?)

GPU details not given for RK31 & RK32. Maybe quad core Mali400 like RK30? Possible that GPU is 1-4 core Mali400 in RK31 & RK32.

 

[Xynime]

Run Sunspider and you will see somewhere between 3500-5000ms (normal for A8) though with very bad firmware, 7000-10000ms. A dual core Cortex A9 tablet will get about 1700-2200ms. Sunspider is very CPU intense bench.
http://www.webkit.org/perf/sunspider/sunspider.html

may i know.. on what Allwinner A10 tablet u get 3500-5000ms ? i test the benchmark on my LY-F1 ( default browser ) i get 7488.6ms