Imagination Technologies announces POWERVR SGX544MP multi-processor graphics IP

Highly efficient and truly scalable multi-processing graphics technology adds DirectX 9 capability to high-performance POWERVR Series5XT

June 10, 2010 -- Imagination Technologies Group plc (LSE: IMG; "Imagination"), a leading multimedia and communications chip technologies company, announces POWERVR SGX544, a high performance graphics core for embedded and mobile applications with full support for Microsoft DirectX 9 and multi-processor capability.

POWERVR SGX544 is the second member of Imagination’s POWERVR Series5XT family.

POWERVR SGX544 can be implemented as a high-performance 4-pipe single core, or in multiprocessor (MP) configurations of between 2 and 16 cores (8 to 64 pipes.).

As embedded and desktop application platforms continue to converge, Imagination has seen growing demand for DirectX 9 capabilities. Building on Imagination’s long and proven track record in making DirectX capable graphics IP and software drivers, SGX544 provides full support for DirectX 9 Feature Level 3 with maximum hardware acceleration, making it ideal for tablets, computing devices and smartphones. In common with all POWERVR Series5XT cores SGX544 delivers all the benefits of SGX cores, including the highest performance per mm2 and per mW with lowest system overhead.

SGX544 also provides comprehensive market proven support for desktop OpenGL 2.1 (including X11 integration with DRI2, EXA and DRM support), OpenGL ES 1.1 & 2.0, OpenVG 1.1 and OpenCL 1.1 Embedded Profile, offering the widest ranges of supported APIs of any mobile or embedded graphics IP core available today. POWERVR SGX software stacks have passed rigorous Khronos and Microsoft conformance tests, guaranteeing fast time to market with high confidence across the widest range of embedded and desktop operating systems. Software configurations for Linux, Android, MeeGo, Palm’s WebOS, Nokia’s Maemo, Symbian, Windows Mobile, Samsung’s Bada Nucleus, and a variety of other RTOS are all shipping with POWERVR SGX powered devices today.

Tony King-Smith, VP marketing, Imagination, says: “We are delighted to announce our latest SGX544 DirectX 9 capable graphics core and complete driver stack. This latest core builds on the success of our MP technology, which already has five licensees and is set to deliver new levels of embedded graphics capabilities to millions of users over the next few years. SGX544 extends the Series5XT line to push the upper boundaries of performance in power and cost-constrained embedded environments, while building on our unrivalled portfolio of APIs across every significant embedded and desktop operating system.”

About POWERVR Series5XT

Members of the POWERVR SGX Series5XT Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) IP core family feature significant performance enhancements over the highly successful Series5 architecture used in the earlier SGX family of IP cores. All Series5XT SGX cores are based on a second-generation Universal Scalable Shader Engine (USSE2™) that delivers significantly higher processing throughput than the earlier Series5 USSE shader engine, and include architectural extensions enabling low-power and high-performance for 2D, 3D and general purpose (GP-GPU) processing in either single core or scalable multi-processor (MP) solutions.

About Imagination Technologies

Imagination Technologies Group plc (LSE:IMG) – a global leader in multimedia and communication silicon technologies – creates and licenses market-leading processor cores for graphics, video, multi-threaded embedded processing/DSP and multi-standard communications applications. These silicon intellectual property (IP) solutions for systems-on-chip (SoC) are complemented by strong array of software tools and drivers as well as extensive developer and middleware ecosystems. Target markets include mobile phone, handheld multimedia, home consumer entertainment, mobile and low-power computing, and in-car electronics. Its licensees include many of the leading semiconductor and consumer electronics companies. Imagination has corporate headquarters in the United Kingdom, with sales and R&D offices worldwide. See: www.imgtec.com.