Nvidia Brands Quad-Core Tegra 3 Architecture '4-PLUS-1'

ARTICLE DATE : February 23, 2012

Nvidia has settled on a name for the unique processor architecture used for its quad-core Tegra 3 chip – 4-PLUS-1.

The "PLUS-1" refers to the mobile processor's fifth core, a "battery-saver" core that runs on very low power and executes tasks at low frequency when the chip's more powerful and power-hungry ARM Cortex-A9 cores aren't needed.

"The fifth core has been referred to by many things—from 'companion core,' 'shadow core,' or even the 'ninja core,'" Nvidia said in an email announcing the new name. "Today, we're officially calling it the 4-PLUS-1 quad-core architecture and trademarking the name."

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

Wait a second, what was wrong with "ninja core"? Or "shadow core" for that matter? Both seem a lot cooler than 4-PLUS-1, which sounds like a Eurovision Song Contest entry.

Not so, argued Nvidia, which linked the new brand name to a more formidable musical force.

"And 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," the graphics chip maker promised.

Um, okay then.

At any rate, whatever it's called the Tegra 3 is some pretty cool technology. The fifth core enables what Nvidia calls Variable Symmetric Multiprocessing (vSMP), which revs up the chip's four powerful cores and 12 graphics engines for demanding tasks like gaming, but shuts them off and uses the battery-saver core for standby mode and less resource-intensive tasks like processing email.

So far, Tegra 3 has made an appearance in just one high-profile product, the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime tablet, though Nvidia promised more news on this front at the upcoming Mobile World Congress.

The arrival of the year's biggest event dedicated to mobile may explain the timing of Nvidia's decision to brand the Tegra 3 architecture. But how about another theory, backed by not a shred of evidence? Apple is rumored to be using a quad-core chip in its next-generation tablet, the so-called iPad 3, which is tipped to be announced in early March. Has Nvidia had a peek at that rumored chip's design and taken pains to put its proprietary stamp on the 4-PLUS-1 architecture because of it?

For more, check out Nvidia Officially Launches Tegra 3 (slideshow below), Dissecting Nvidia's Kal-El Companion Core Processor Tech, and our review of the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime.

