Nvidia Renames Tegra 3's Ninja Core '4-PLUS-1'

If you're a tech enthusiast, you've no doubt heard all about Nvidia's quad-core Tegra 3 processor. In fact, there's a good chance you also know that, though this chip has four CPU cores for handling demanding tasks, like gaming, there's also a fifth, low-power, battery-saver core that takes care of processing less strenuous tasks your mobile device is faced with on a day-to-day basis, such as email or standby mode. Up until today, this fifth core was generally referred to as the Ninja Core, or the less awesome 'companion core' moniker. The official term for this architecture is "Variable Symmetrical Multiprocessing".

Still that's a bit of a mouthful, and vSMP doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, either. This week, Nvidia announced that it has officially renamed Tegra 3's architecture "4-PLUS-1". So what was wrong with Ninja Core? Or Companion Core?

"The reason is that, the more popular this technology became, the more our customers wanted a name for it that’s unique and descriptive," explained Nvidia's Michael Rayfield. "A name they could put on a box or a store sign that immediately represents its value."

That name is 4-PLUS-1, and Nvidia has promised it won't be changing the name again.

" [...] while Prince Rogers Nelson initially changed his stage name to Prince and then to TAFKAP (the Artist Formerly Known as Prince) when he took up a symbol combining elements of male and female symbology, 4-PLUS-1 is here to stay," said Rayfield.

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