ARM Cortex-A8: A High-Performance Processor for Low-Power Applications

Abstract

The ARM Cortex-A8 is a microprocessor targeted at systems that require high performance for both general-purpose and media applications while maintaining a low, sub 1 Watt, power profile and a small silicon footprint. This processor targets a significantly higher performance point than any previous ARM processor. The increased level of performance for general-purpose applications is realized through an energy-efficient balance of both increased operating frequency and improvements in machine efficiency as measured by instructions per cycle (IPC). The increase in frequency is achieved using a deeper pipeline with less logic depth per stage when compared to previous ARM cores. The increase in IPC comes mainly from superscalar execution of instructions, but the improved branch prediction, efficient memory system, and other features contribute as well to the machine performance. Performance for media and graphics applications is increased even further than what is achieved for general purpose applications with a 64-bit SIMD integer and floating-point engine (NEON).