CPU Horsepower: Closer to A5 Than Tegra 2
As we’ve mentioned in the past, mobile devices like smartphones and tablets use highly integrated logic referred to as SoCs to minimize physical footprints and power consumption, all the while optimizing for performance and functionality. By putting execution resource, graphics processing, system memory, and several other subsystems in a single ASIC, data transfers can be achieved more efficiently without soldering a bunch of separate chips onto a PCB. Incidentally, the same SoC term applies to modern desktop processors like Intel's Sandy Bridge- and AMD's Bulldozer-based chips, which combine cores, cache, memory controllers, and other capabilities.
The Kindle Fire uses TI's OMAP (Open Multimedia Application Platform) 4430 SoC. We haven't had as much experience with this specific piece of hardware, but the underlying technology is similar to the more familiar Tegra 2 and A5 in that all three employ dual-core Cortex-A9s clocked at 1 GHz.
| SoC | Apple A4 | Apple A5 | Nvidia Tegra 2 | TI OMAP 4430 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A8 (single-core) | 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 (dual-core) | 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 (dual-core) | 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A9 (dual-core) |
| Memory | 256 MB 333 MHz LP-DDR (single-channel) | 512 MB 1066 MHz LP-DDR2 (dual-channel) | 1 GB 667 MHz LP-DDR2 (single-channel) | 512 MB 400 MHz LP-DDR (dual-channel) |
| Graphics | PowerVR SGX535 (single-core) | PowerVR SGX545MP2 (dual-core) | ULP GeForce (single-core) | PowerVR SGX540 (single-core) |
| L1 Cache (Instruction/Data) | 32 KB / 32 KB | 32 KB / 32 KB | 32 KB / 32 KB | 32 KB / 32 KB |
| L2 Cache | 640 KB | 1 MB | 1 MB | 1 MB |
Given the common CPU architecture, it shouldn't be a surprise that Linpack generates the same score on Amazon's Kindle Fire as it does on our Tegra 2-based Xoom.

Even so, the OMAP 4430 has more in common with Apple's A5 than it does with the Tegra 2. Why is this? Apple and TI both use A9s with an ARM SIMD engine, better known as NEON. It's capable of decoding MP3s on an ARM CPU running as slow as 10 MHz, which provides added benefits in power savings. Why don't all SoCs feature the Advanced SIMD extension? Architecturally, it imposes a physically larger and more costly SoC.
GPU: Better Than A4, Worse Than A5
On the graphics side, the OMAP 4430 employs Imagination Technology's PowerVR SGX 540. This should be familiar because it's derived from the same architecture as the GPUs found in Apple's A4 and A5. The key difference is in the shaders.
| GPU Subsystem (System-on-Chip) | PowerVR SGX 535 (Apple A4) | PowerVR SGX 540 (OMAP 4430) | PowerVR SGX 543 (Apple A5) |
|---|---|---|---|
| SIMD | USSE | USSE | USSE2 |
| Pipelines | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| TMUs | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Bus Width (in bits) | 64 | 64 | 64 |
| Triangle rate @ 200 MHz | 14 MTriangles/s | 28 MTriangles/s | 35 MTriangles/s |
The SGX 543 in the A5 includes four USSE2 (Universal Scalable Shader Engine 2.0) pipes. In comparison, the SGX 540 has the same number of pipes but uses the older USSE design. The SGX 535 hails from the same GPU generation as the SGX 540, but it only has two USSE pipes.
While the architecture is interesting, performance data is what we're after, which is why we're turning to GLBenchmark.

The OMAP 4430 falls expectedly between the A4 and A5. Though it's probably shocking to see the SGX 540 outperform Nvidia's ULP GeForce by such a large margin, remember that GLBenchmark tests at a device's native resolution. On our Tegra 2-based tablets, that's always 1280x800. Meanwhile, the Kindle Fire only has to do its work at 1024x600.

We can get normalize for that resolution issue by looking at the off-screen tests set to 720p. Based on those results, we see the SGX 540 core performing similarly as Tegra 2's ULP GeForce.

- Meet Amazon's Kindle Fire
- Quick Navigation Tour
- Books And Documents: Not Quite An e-Book Reader...
- Video And Music: Amazon Prime Members Rejoice
- Amazon Appstore Is Not Android Market
- The Shopping Experience: All About Amazon
- Amazon Silk: Assisted Web Browsing (Sort Of)
- Web Browsing: The Same Old Android Restrictions
- TI's OMAP 4430: CPU And GPU Performance
- An Experiment: Gaming Performance, Tegra 2-Porting
- Storage Performance: Slightly Faster Than USB 1.0?!
- Display Performance: IPS Confirmed
- Display Performance Examined: Very Bright, So-So Gamut
- Benchmark Results: Battery Life And Recharge Time
- Benchmark Results: Real-World Performance
- Benchmark Results: Wireless Performance
- Awesome For Amazon Addicts
- Appendix A: Background Information On Our Benchmarks
- Appendix B: Notes For Kindle Fire Owners


Ummm.... what?
Cheers,
Andrew Ku
TomsHardware.com
Ummm.... what?
Cheers,
Andrew Ku
TomsHardware.com
Just give him the 6990, the poor fellow just wants to play BF3.
Ever heard of bots? There're tons of those on Tom's nowadays.
A GPU of a 560 Ti level maxes it out @ 1080p, no need for a 6990.
Back to topic...
ROFL, and who needs a tablet without all that? That's right, Amazon fanboys. That company is an utter POS that is not unlike Apple, designing underpowered useless products and delivering them as "innovative". The only "innovative" thing here is a complete dependency on the company's online services... oops, nevermind, Apple did it first
And do not say "ya, but you can root it!!!". That's nice, people can jailbreak their iPads. You cannot include rooting and jailbreaking when you talk about something being open
The Fire doesn't have either of those things. Not going to work. You should check out the specs of the Fire first.
Oh yeah? You bought a Fire?
Cheers,
Andrew Ku
TomsHardware.com
This article is a big fail.. they should have included it to compare.
Just sayin...
You can say the same thing with the Ipad and the Itunes store. Except for the fact that Amazon isn't making money with just selling the Kindle Fire alone.
Still though I like both the Ipad and Kindle Fire.
Also, I want to elaborate on the GPU. The OMAP 4430's SGX540 runs at 300MHz, not 200MHz, so those figures are a little misleading.
It seems like a good product from Amazon, but for my expected use, it isn't sufficient. I mainly use my iPod touch to read comics in JPEG format, so not being able to install many apps + having limited space really hurts.
Glad you liked it! Most of the time I cringe when the table discussion turns to tablets. A lot of tech reviewers aren't even really technies. They come from a Communication background, which is why the Fire is always pitted in a iPad 2 fight. Plus, the investors want the Apple fight cause they only see things in terms of units sold.
The engineers and consumers want a comparison based on features and usability. And the executives and PR people want a comparison based on demographics.
The truth lies somewhere in the middle. For me, this tablet is very attractive, but then again, I like amazon. If you're not part of that crowd, it's a harder purchase to justify in the long run.
Cheers,
Andrew Ku
TomsHardware.com