Having started its development in 2023, Loongson Technology's 9A1000 graphics card is one step closer to the finishing line. According to Chinese media outlet ITHome, the development of the 9A1000 has been completed, and the graphics card will begin tapeout in the third quarter of this year.
The 9A1000 is Loongson's first graphics card, marking a significant milestone for the Chinese manufacturer, which had previously focused mainly on processors. The company positions the 9A1000 as an entry-level graphics card that supports AI acceleration. Therefore, it doesn't compete in the same segment as the Lisuan G100, another Chinese graphics card, that allegedly rivals the GeForce RTX 4060.
Although we've been aware of the 9A1000 for some time, we still don't know its exact specifications. Loongson has kept details under wraps, only hinting that it offers performance similar to the Radeon RX 550, a card that was released eight years ago. However, it's too early to call it a win for Loongson, since the manufacturer still has to evaluate the 9A1000 after the tapeout.
The latest update on the 9A1000 indicates that Loongson has apparently reduced the area of the stream processor by 20%. The manufacturer also claims that it has increased the 9A1000's operating frequency by 25%, while optimizing power consumption during light loads by 70%. In terms of feature set, the 9A1000 supports OpenGL 4.0 and OpenCL ES 3.2 APIs.
According to Looongson, the 9A1000 is up to 4X faster than the LG200, the integrated graphics unit inside the 2K3000 processor. The 9A1000 also provides up to 40 TOPS of AI computing power, which is slightly below that of AMD's XDNA 2 NPU inside the Ryzen AI Max+ (codenamed Strix Halo) chips, which deliver up to 50 TOPS.
The 9A1000 isn't the only graphics card on Loongson's plate. The company is also working on the 9A2000, which it claims is up to 10X faster than the 9A1000, with performance levels comparable to those of the GeForce RTX 2080. There are also plans for a 9A3000, a follow-up to the 9A2000, but no known specifications are available yet.
Although it may not be immediately apparent, numerous Chinese corporations and startups have entered the graphics card industry. However, many of these entities fail and subsequently cease operations. Therefore, we only hear news about the more prominent firms, such as Biren, Moore Threads, and, in recent years, Loongson and Lisuan Technology.
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