Nvidia to draw on graphics strength for Windows 8 on ARM

10.04.2012
Nvidia is on the verge of delivering its own homegrown chips for Windows 8 devices, and the company hopes to use its extensive background in graphics to differentiate itself from competitors, according to a company executive.

The company hopes to push its ARM-based Tegra chips to Windows 8 tablets and laptops that offer powerful graphics and long battery life, said Rene Haas, vice president and general manager at Nvidia. Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 OS will work on both ARM processors and x86 microprocessors.

Most tablets today run on ARM processors, with many Android tablets from Motorola, Lenovo, Asus and Acer running on Nvidia's Tegra processors. The latest Tegra 3 processor has up to four ARM CPUs and 12 graphics cores.

Windows grew up on x86 chips from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices, but Windows 8 offers Nvidia an opportunity to break the status quo, Haas said. Nvidia has already demonstrated tablets running Windows 8. Other form factors could include touch-based clamshell laptops without fans, Haas said. A device maker could potentially reduce the size and weight of a laptop with a smaller battery, and still offer hours of run time.

"The kind of things Microsoft is pushing for with Windows 8 on ARM is not days of standby, but weeks," Haas said.

Nvidia already has a long history of building graphics drivers for the Windows OS based on x86 processors, and that puts Nvidia in a unique position in the ARM camp, Haas said. Graphics is also growing in importance, Haas said, citing examples of Apple's graphics intensive new iPad, and Intel's focus on improving graphics in its upcoming Core processors code-named Ivy Bridge.