Imagination reveals new power-efficient DXTP GPU for laptops and mobile devices

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Imagination Technologies
(Image credit: Imagination Technologies)

Imagination Technology has announced its newest GPU IP, Imagination DXTP. With 20% improved power efficiency over its predecessor DXT, Imagination brings two new RISC-V GPU models to the power-constrained market to complete its D-Series GPU family.

Based in the UK and owned by Chinese investment firm Canyon Bridge Capital Partners, Imagination Technology is known for its GPU IP design, which is adopted by the PC, smartphone, and automotive markets. Imagination DXTP will come in two variations: DXTP-48-1536 and DXTP-64-2048.

Both GPUs are identical in software support and firmware. The chips support Vulkan 1.4 and "highly optimized" OpenGL 4.6 and OpenCL 3.0 libraries to reach 80% GPU utilization in everyday tasks. Like all Imagination GPU IPs, the chips specialize in asynchronous multitasking, simultaneously performing graphical and AI tasks.

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Specifications

Imagination DXTP-48-1536

Imagination DXTP-48-1536

Clock Speed (GHz)

1 GHz

1 GHz

FP32 FLOPs/Clock

1,536

2,048

FP16 FLOPs/Clock

3,072

4,096

DOT8 NN Ops/Clock

6,144

8,192

GPixel/s

48 (Bilinear 3D Textured)

64 (Bilinear 3D Textured)

Both the DXTP-48-1536 and DXTP-48-1536 are clocked at 1 GHz. However, the latter scales up to 2,048 FP3 FLOPs per clock, which, according to Imagination, delivers a desktop-quality gaming performance to mobile devices.

According to Imagination, the DXTP offers up to 22% improved power efficiency compared to its predecessor, the DXT. However, the manufacturer didn't provide any details of the workloads.

Both flavors of DXTP are RISC-V-based chips with support for Linux and Android operating systems. Windows and MacOS are necessarily not included, as Windows on RISC-V is a distant pipe dream. Still, low-power Linux computers will likely be an eventual landing place for DXTP hardware.

IMG DXTP

(Image credit: Imagination Technology)

As Imagination's flagship D-Series GPU family, DXTP hopes to bring AI capabilities to a broader range of partner devices, including smartphones and PCs. In a statement, Peter Richardson of Counterpoint Research says, "The global smartphone market is experiencing a resurgence, propelled by cutting-edge AI features such as personal agents and enhanced photography."

While the IP has already been licensed for smartphone and automotive uses, Imagination hopes the GPU will be used in desktop and laptop deployments. As a GPU IP creator, Imagination Technology's products typically take over a year to see release in consumer products after their announcement. Imagination DXD and DXT, serving the desktop, laptop, and cloud gaming markets, have attracted intense attention in the Chinese market for their imminent consumer releases.

Imagination DXTP's announcement follows news that Imagination Technology abandoned its RISC-V Catapult CPU IP this January. Leaving behind the CPU market entirely before releasing a finished product was a scary look for the company. Still, Imagination framed its decision as a recommitment to its RISC-V GPU and AI products. We eagerly await Imagination's hardware clients bringing a GPU to RISC-V desktops that can provide novel low-power gaming experiences.

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Dallin Grimm
Dallin Grimm
Contributing Writer

Dallin Grimm is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware. He has been building and breaking computers since 2017, serving as the resident youngster at Tom's. From APUs to RGB, Dallin has a handle on all the latest tech news. 

4 Comments Comment from the forums
  • bit_user
    The article said:
    Both the DXTP-48-1536 and DXTP-48-1536 are clocked at 1 GHz.
    Both this sentence and the preceding table duplicate the same model number, whereas I think the second model should be DXTP-64-2048.

    Performance-wise, the latter seems roughly on par with the GTX 1050 Ti, which has already been surpassed by iGPUs from AMD and Intel.

    Here's a detailed feature list, from the spec page:
    Headline features Dual-Rate FP16
    OpenCL Compute Libraries
    Fragment Shading Rate
    2D Dual-Rate Texturing
    Pipelined Data Masters
    RISC-V Firmware
    ASTC HDR Support
    HyperLane Virtualisation
    Source: https://www.imaginationtech.com/product/dxtp-64-2048-gpu/Interestingly, I don't see any mention of ray tracing. Given the level of detail it goes into (e.g. texture compression, HDR, etc.), I take that to imply RT support is lacking.

    The article said:
    Both flavors of DXTP are RISC-V-based chips
    I didn't see anything clearly stating that. I think the "RISC-V Firmware" feature is simply referring to support for RISC-V based host processors.

    The article said:
    Windows on RISC-V is a distant pipe dream.
    They go on to mention how other members of the same product family do have Windows support:
    "DXTP is the final product of Imagination’s D-Series GPU family which includes the high-performance IMG DXD with DirectX FL11_0 for the desktop market"So, I think the author is on the wrong track. And just because these can be used by RISC-V CPUs doesn't mean they're only supported on RISC-V.

    The article said:
    In a statement, Peter Richardson of Counterpoint Research says, "The global smartphone market is experiencing a resurgence, propelled by cutting-edge AI features such as personal agents and enhanced photography."
    The AI performance of this IP seems years behind the market!
    "the Samsung Galaxy S24 series, with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, has a more powerful NPU at 70 TOPS, compared to the 45 TOPS in the Google Pixel 9 Pro's Tensor G4 chipset."

    https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/1f2vh3q/g4_tops_performance_lower_than_sdg3/
    The article said:
    While the IP has already been licensed for smartphone and automotive uses, Imagination hopes the GPU will be used in desktop and laptop deployments.
    Well, their specs page does list that among the "use cases", but I almost wonder if that was a copy-paste error, because their DXD (which came first) is their IP aimed at the desktop market. Furthermore, their press release says nothing about DXTP being targeted at desktops. It clearly wouldn't be viable, there. Even for laptops, it's a bit of a stretch.
    Reply
  • mikeztm
    bit_user said:
    Both this sentence and the preceding table duplicate the same model number, whereas I think the second model should be DXTP-64-2048.

    Performance-wise, the latter seems roughly on par with the GTX 1050 Ti, which has already been surpassed by iGPUs from AMD and Intel.

    Here's a detailed feature list, from the spec page:
    Headline featuresDual-Rate FP16
    OpenCL Compute Libraries
    Fragment Shading Rate
    2D Dual-Rate Texturing
    Pipelined Data Masters
    RISC-V Firmware
    ASTC HDR Support
    HyperLane VirtualisationSource: https://www.imaginationtech.com/product/dxtp-64-2048-gpu/Interestingly, I don't see any mention of ray tracing. Given the level of detail it goes into (e.g. texture compression, HDR, etc.), I take that to imply RT support is lacking.


    I didn't see anything clearly stating that. I think the "RISC-V Firmware" feature is simply referring to support for RISC-V based host processors.


    They go on to mention how other members of the same product family do have Windows support:
    "DXTP is the final product of Imagination’s D-Series GPU family which includes the high-performance IMG DXD with DirectX FL11_0 for the desktop market"So, I think the author is on the wrong track. And just because these can be used by RISC-V CPUs doesn't mean they're only supported on RISC-V.


    The AI performance of this IP seems years behind the market!
    "the Samsung Galaxy S24 series, with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, has a more powerful NPU at 70 TOPS, compared to the 45 TOPS in the Google Pixel 9 Pro's Tensor G4 chipset."https://www.reddit.com/r/GooglePixel/comments/1f2vh3q/g4_tops_performance_lower_than_sdg3/

    Well, their specs page does list that among the "use cases", but I almost wonder if that was a copy-paste error, because their DXD (which came first) is their IP aimed at the desktop market. Furthermore, their press release says nothing about DXTP being targeted at desktops. It clearly wouldn't be viable, there. Even for laptops, it's a bit of a stretch.
    I think you forget that Moorethread is using their IP to build desktop GPUs
    Reply
  • bit_user
    mikeztm said:
    I think you forget that Moorethread is using their IP to build desktop GPUs
    Imagination IP? Yes. Not this IP, though. Most likely, cards like their S80 utilize Imagination's B-series IP:
    https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/gpu/img-b-series-gpu/
    Here's an article confirming it's what Innosilicon used for products of that same vintage:
    https://www.design-reuse.com/news/51042/imagination-innosilicon-gpu.html
    In future dGPUs, Moore Threads would most likely be using the DXD IP, which was announced last November:
    https://www.imaginationtech.com/news/imagination-launches-brand-new-line-of-high-performance-gpu-ip-with-directx/
    Reply
  • jackt
    They still havent released complete open source drivers for the "old" gpu...
    Incomplete or nothing for some model...
    Reply