Apple A5X Die Size Measured: 162.94mm^2, Samsung 45nm LP Confirmed

by Anand Lal Shimpi on 3/16/2012 1:59:00 PM
Posted in Tablets , Apple , iPad , SoC

Contrary to what we thought yesterday based on visual estimation of the A5X die, Chipworks has (presumably) measured the actual die itself: 162.94mm^2. While the A5 was big, this is absolutely huge for a mobile SoC. The table below puts it in perspective.

CPU Specification ComparisonCPUManufacturing ProcessCoresTransistor CountDie SizeApple A5X45nm?2?163mm2Apple A545nm2?122mm2Intel Sandy Bridge 4C32nm4995M216mm2Intel Sandy Bridge 2C (GT1)32nm2504M131mm2Intel Sandy Bridge 2C (GT2)32nm2624M149mm2NVIDIA Tegra 340nm4+1?~80mm2NVIDIA Tegra 240nm2?49mm2 The PowerVR SGX 543MP2 in Apple's A5 takes up just under 30% of the SoC's 122mm^2 die size, or around 36.6mm^2 just for the GPU. Double the number of GPU cores as Apple did with the A5X and you're looking at a final die size of around 160mm^2, which is exactly what Chipworks came up with in their measurement.

 Update: Chipworks confirmed the A5X is still built on Samsung's 45nm LP process. You can see a cross-section of the silicon above. According to Chipworks' analysis, the A5X features 9 metal layers. Note that this is around 2x the size of NVIDIA's Tegra 3. It's no surprise Apple's GPU is faster, it's spending a lot more money than NVIDIA to deliver that performance. From what I hear, NVIDIA's Wayne SoC will finally show what the GPU company is made of. The only issue is that when Wayne shows up, a Rogue based A6 is fairly likely. The mobile GPU wars are going to get very exciting in 2013. Image Courtesy iFixit Thanks to @anexanhume for the tip! Print This Article 46 Comments View All Comments Post a Comment and this is why i'm waiting for next year's model by alent1234 on Friday, March 16, 2012 huge battery and same usage time meant something is up

why is apple still using 45nm? steve jobs should never have sued samsung alent1234 Reply RE: and this is why i'm waiting for next year's model by A5 on Friday, March 16, 2012 I'm not sure who they contract their manufacturing out to now, but it is a very real possibility that they couldn't get 28nm going in time to hit Apple's production timeline. You have to remember that these chips have probably been in production for several months.

I'm guessing that the "A6" that showed up in the beta code is a die shrink of this chip for the next iPhone. I don't think they'll have an A15 design ready for a July launch. A5 Reply RE: and this is why i'm waiting for next year's model by alent1234 on Friday, March 16, 2012 samsung is still making them along with the screens. the least apple could have done was 32nm.

not sure if it's apple staying with the same process or samsung not offering to make CPU's for them on anything better and the move to TSMC is taking time alent1234 Reply RE: and this is why i'm waiting for next year's model by scook9 on Friday, March 16, 2012 Probably because the 45nm node is extremely well optimized at this point. Apple cannot afford low yields with the demand they see. scook9 Reply RE: and this is why i'm waiting for next year's model by dagamer34 on Friday, March 16, 2012 It's not as if Samsung has released any phones with 32nm chips in them. dagamer34 Reply RE: and this is why i'm waiting for next year's model by quiksilvr on Saturday, March 17, 2012 *Facepalm* Samsung WAS making a 28nm chip for Apple as far back as October. It was going to be the new A6 and an even thinner iPad 3 was supposed to happen. BUT since Apple got their panties in a bunch Samsung told Apple to piss off. quiksilvr Reply RE: and this is why i'm waiting for next year's model by KoolAidMan1 on Saturday, March 17, 2012 28nm yields are relatively low across the board. For the number of iPads Apple is going to be selling this year, it makes sense that they went with the more dependable 45nm process. It is either that or deal with not being able to make enough iPads to satisfy demand.

Samsung denying components out of spite is a ridiculous idea. They may be competing in the consumer products division, but in terms of components Apple is by far Samsung's largest client. KoolAidMan1 Reply RE: and this is why i'm waiting for next year's model by pedrostee on Sunday, March 18, 2012 you appear certain in your reply.. any evidence or just blowin smoke? pedrostee Reply RE: and this is why i'm waiting for next year's model by Shadowmaster625 on Friday, March 16, 2012 Why not? I'm sure at least 50 million dump yuppies will rush out to throw away their ipoop 2 in favor of dropping yet another $500-$1000 on an ipoop 3.

And what do you get for that extra $500 to $1000? A slightly prettier homescreen to stare at after safari crashes! Shadowmaster625 Reply RE: and this is why i'm waiting for next year's model by name99 on Friday, March 16, 2012 Read most of the other comments in this thread. Then ask yourself if you are not, perhaps, a little ashamed of your particular contribution to this debate.

We all have bad days, we all make mistakes. But you can make up for it by, in future, perhaps considering the tone of the people around you and trying to match that tone. name99 Reply Subject Comment Post Comment Please login or register to post a comment.
User Name Password Remember me? Login 1 2 3 4 5 Next » View All Comments Post a Comment Follow AnandTech
Latest from AnandTech Pipeline Submit News! Microsoft Talks Windows 8 Touch Experience on Windows 7 Tablets Novatel MiFi 4620L Jetpack Available on April 12th for $49.99 Google begins Android 4.0.4 Rollout NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 Launch Recap AMD Radeon HD 7870 Launch Recap AMD Radeon HD 7850 Launch Recap Jen-Hsun's Email to NVIDIA Employees on a Successful Kepler Launch Microsoft Talks Screen Resolution in Windows 8, Suggests "Retina"-esque Tablets Acer Iconia Tab A510: Tegra 3 Hits $450 Quick Look: ASUS 1025C and Cedar Trail Tested: Battery Life on the new iPad Archos 80 and 101 G9 Turbo 1.5 GHz Available Now In US DailyTech AT&T Says Lumia 900 Launch Will Blow Away the Every iPhone Launch Yet Quick Note: NASA's Remaining Space Shuttles Stripped, Prepared for Final Resting Places Proposed Amendment to Prevent Employers from Asking for Facebook Usernames/Passwords Fails Best Buy Reports Earnings, Announces the Closing of 50 Stores 3/29/2012 Daily Hardware Reviews Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Locates Apollo 11 F-1 Engines, Looks to Resurrect Them New Estimates Peg the Lifetime Cost of Lockheed F-35 Lightning II at $1.45 Trillion All Windows 8 PCs Will Have 5-Fingered Touch Apple CEO Tim Cook Visits New Foxconn Plant in China, Meets with Vice Premier Li Keqiang NSA: China is Destroying U.S. Economy Via Security Hacks 2013 Ford Explorer "Sport" Airs, Gets EcoBoost Obama Admin. Aims to "Share" Combat Aircraft Training Spectrum MIT Builds 3D Solar Structures Capable of Generating 20 Times the Power Output of Flat Panels Only 82K ASUS Transformer Primes Delivered, Cause Unknown 3/28/2012 Daily Hardware Reviews Ford Transit Connect EV Battery Maker Azure Dynamics Files for Bankruptcy Cadillac XTS Luxury Sedan to Get Directional Vibrating Seat Warnings Twitter @gruber @drwave note that you'll exhaust your 5GB monthly data before you drain the iPad's battery (!) @gruber @drwave 25.3 hours on a single charge, maintaining a constant 50KB/s transfer to a WiFi tethered MacBook Air. http://t.co/AKfXa5DO @Javed_Del I really hope ASUS is using all of the Transformer products as a learning experience for a killer Windows 8 version @bamurphymac thank you for reading! @AgentKyle IVB hasn't officially launched yet so we'll still have to wait and see :-P @rammyrameesh let me recover from writing and I'll see if that's a possibility :) @hitechjeff thank you, fixed! Finally done, whew: http://t.co/0yIPIOh6 @guspaz consider it done so very close, yet so very far away…still working on it guys!  

Copyright © 1997-2012 AnandTech, Inc. All rights reserved. Terms, Conditions and Privacy Information.
Click Here for Advertising Information