X

ARM demos Samsung's next major CPU, the Exynos 5 Octa

The Exynos 5 Octa is the next major processor iteration in Samsung's CPU lineup, featuring eight CPU cores. It's the company's next great processing beast and should fuel the company's premium tablets for the next few years.

Eric Franklin Former Editorial Director
Eric Franklin led the CNET Tech team as Editorial Director. A 20-plus-year industry veteran, Eric began his tech journey testing computers in the CNET Labs. When not at work he can usually be found at the gym, chauffeuring his kids around town, or absorbing every motivational book he can get his hands on.
Expertise Graphics and display technology. Credentials
  • Once wrote 50 articles in one month.
Eric Franklin

Eric Franklin/CNET

BARCELONA, Spain--Not content with dual- or even quad-core CPUs, Samsung has upped the ante with its Exynos 5 Octa. Announced at CES 2013, the Octa is the latest iteration of the Exynos line and will likely begin powering Samsung's tablets in the next few months.

The Nexus 10 seats the current most powerful Samsung CPU, the Exynos 5 Dual. That chip houses two CPU cores and was made using the A15 fab process. The Octa powers eight CPU cores (four A7s and four A15s).

Samsung's Exynos 5 Octa gets benchmarked (pictures)

See all photos

At its booth ARM had the CPU running canned benchmarks, demonstrating the relative core-by-core stress. It also displayed the relative thermal draw each task pulled.

Eric Franklin/CNET

Unfortunately, this was not a GPU-focused test and to be honest it's difficult to get a real idea of how the Octa will perform unless there's a direct comparison. I would have loved to see the Nexus 10 running the same benchmark right next to it, to get some idea of relative performance.

I'm expecting the Exynos 5 Octa to debut later this year inside a flagship Samsung tablet.