What simply occurred? Chinese language semiconductor agency Loongson is making daring claims about its upcoming {hardware} lineup. At a latest investor briefing, executives hyped the 9A2000 GPU as delivering RTX 2080-class efficiency and touted “world-leading” CPU designs within the works.
For some context, Loongson is a Chinese language fabless chip firm grown in another country’s state-sponsored efforts to develop home CPUs. Its 3A6000 chip launched in late 2023 is claimed to match AMD’s Zen 3 and Intel’s Tiger Lake architectures from 2020. Whereas the corporate has largely performed within the CPU house till now, the GPU choices symbolize a brand new push.
Their present mannequin, the 9A1000, is a fairly tame GPU geared toward funds programs and low-end AI duties. However the 9A2000 is allegedly taking issues to the subsequent stage.
Based on Loongson’s Chairman and Common Supervisor Hu Weiwu, the 9A2000 delivers efficiency as much as 10 occasions increased than its predecessor. He claimed it must be “akin to Nvidia RTX 2080,” in accordance to ITHome.
The RTX 2080 is getting a bit lengthy within the tooth at this level, having first launched approach again in 2018. Nevertheless it’s nonetheless a really succesful GPU that may run most trendy video games at respectable settings.
There are some potential hiccups, although. The RTX 2080 rocks full DirectX 12 assist, whereas Hu solely dedicated to “perhaps” having DX12 compatibility for the 9A2000. That might put a damper on its gaming ambitions, although Hu did declare it ought to be capable to run the hit recreation Black Delusion: Wukong because of its DirectX 11 assist.
That stated, Loongson has one other card to play. On the identical briefing, Weiwu additionally supplied a teaser for his or her next-gen 3B6600 CPU, making some lofty efficiency claims about its structure. He touted “important” modifications beneath the hood that ought to elevate its single-threaded muscle to “world-leading” ranges, in accordance to a different ITHome report.
Earlier leaks counsel this processor will pack eight LA864 cores clocked at a stout 3GHz, together with built-in LG200 graphics.
As for the launch, Weiwu gave a tentative first half of 2025 goal for preliminary manufacturing, with mass availability hopefully following within the second half of subsequent 12 months.
Loongson has usually performed extra of a supporting function within the CPU enviornment and is but to make a dent outdoors of China. But when this 3B6600 chip can really cling with the heavyweights of x86 and Arm in per-core efficiency, it will mark a serious step up for the corporate.
