They guys at Linux Rockchip have setup a comparison table between Rockchip processors, but it’s not quite complete yet, and Rockchip noticed it, so they’ve just sent them the most recent Company Presentation that provides more details, including a roadmap.
In this documentation, we can see the company targets different types of products with their SoCs:
- Android OTT dongle/box (aka mini PC, HDMI TV dongles…) – RK2928, RK3066, RK3068, and RK3188
- Tablets – RK2926, RK2928, RK3028, RK3066, RK3168, and RK3188
- EPD E-Book – RK2818, RK2906 and RK2918
- MP3 player – RKnanoC
On page 12 of the presentation, they have a convenient comparison table for the SoC used in mini PCs and Tablets.
| Series | RK2926 /RK2928 | RK3066 /RK3068 | RK3168 | RK3188 |
| Process | 55nm | 40nm | 28nm HKGM | 28nm HKGM |
| CPU | Cortex A9 | Dual Cortex A9 | Dual Cortex A9 | Quad Cortex A9 |
| MAX CPU Frequency | 1.0 GHz | 1.6 GHz | 1.2 GHz | 1.6 GHz |
| L1 | 32KB | 32KB | 32KB | 32KB |
| L2 | 128KB | 512KB | 256KB | 512KB |
| GPU | Mali 400 | Mali-400 MP4 | PowerVR 540 | Mali-400 MP4 |
| MAX GPU Frequency | 330 MHz | 400 MHz | 600 MHz | 600 MHz |
| Memory | DDR3/L | LPDDR2 DDR3/L | LPDDR2 DDR3/L | LPDDR2 DDR3/L |
| FLASH support | eMMC, MLC, NAND | eMMC, MLC, NAND | eMMC, MLC, NAND | eMMC, MLC, NAND |
| Video Decoder | Multi-Format, VP8, H.264 | Multi-Format, VP8, H.264 MVC | Multi-Format, VP8, H.264 | Multi-Format, VP8, H.264, MVC |
| Video Encoder | H.264 | H.264, VP8, MVC | H.264 | H.264, VP8, MVC |
We also learn Rockchip is working on a new RK32xx SoC (RK3288?) that will become available in Q2 2014 (Engineering Samples) with four of the latest ARM Cortex 12 cores, and the following features:
28nm HKMG Process- 1.8GHz Quad ARM A12 core
- ARM Mali-T624 GPU, support OPENGL ES1.1/2.0/Halti, OPEN VG1.1, OPENCL, Directx11
- High performance dedicated 2D processor
- Dual channels DDR controller, support, DDR3, DDR3L, LPDDR2, LPDDR3
- Display resolution up to 3840X2160, MIPI, LVDS, HDMI transmitter
- Embed 1300M ISP and MIPI-CSI interface
- 4K video multi format video decoding
- 1080P video encoding for H.264 and VP8, MVC
- Support MLC NAND, eMMC
- Image enhancement HW
- Low power display improvement HW
- Rich peripheral and connectivity
Interestingly, there’s no hardware support for H.265/HEVC and VP9 even in this 2014 processor, so they’ll have to decode these codecs by software, just like they plan to do with RK3188 up to 1080p.
Other interesting bits (to me) include:
- RK3168 and RK3188 are pin-to-pin compatible
- RK3068 has more pins than RK3066, yet it’s much smaller thanks to a smaller pitch (BGA548 14X14 0.5mm pitch vs BGA453 19X19, 0.8mm pitch)
- RK292X allows for low cost TV-BOX solution (“wireless HDMI”) with a PCBA cost of about $10 US.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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