高通发布Adreno Neural Fusion移动GPU AI渲染技术，拟用于下一代旗舰Snapdragon平台

Qualcomm is introducing an artificial intelligence (AI)-based graphics processing unit (GPU) technology designed to improve the mobile gaming experience.
Qualcomm introduced Adreno Neural Fusion on Sept. 2. The mobile GPU technology is designed to deliver higher graphics quality while reducing rendering costs and power consumption.
"Adreno Neural Fusion is the result of an architectural overhaul designed to keep compute and data as close to the silicon as possible," Cisco Cheng, senior director of product marketing at Qualcomm, said. "It is designed to eliminate the compromises in traditional mobile gaming that forced users to choose among visual quality, smooth frame rates and battery life."
Graphics quality, frame rates and power consumption in games typically involve tradeoffs. Raising graphics quality lowers frame rates and increases power consumption, while achieving high frame rates has required reducing graphics quality because limited computing resources must be shared. Even with sufficient computing capacity, high-quality, high-frame-rate gaming inevitably increases power consumption and shortens battery life.
Matrix Cores Improve Performance, Power Efficiency by 40%
Qualcomm has addressed these architectural limitations with Adreno Neural Fusion, enabling high graphics quality and frame rates while reducing power consumption. This was achieved by improving the physical structure of the GPU architecture and integrating graphics and AI computing into a unified processing architecture.
AI technology is increasingly being used for neural processing that analyzes game images, upscaling to improve resolution through AI super resolution, and frame generation.
Qualcomm has introduced a new three-slice architecture for its Adreno GPU. Rather than operating as a single block, the GPU is divided into three slices. Each operates at a clock speed of 1.45 GHz and can perform computations independently.
Each slice incorporates a new Adreno Matrix Core. These are dedicated AI compute cores and mark their first introduction into the GPU. Qualcomm has already deployed matrix-compute acceleration architectures in its central processing units (CPUs) and neural processing units (NPUs).
The new Matrix Cores eliminate the need to send and receive AI compute data outside the GPU during graphics processing. This improves performance and power efficiency by as much as 40% compared with previous solutions. Previously, the GPU handled 3D graphics rendering while the NPU processed AI workloads separately, resulting in latency and wasted power.
Integrating 3D rendering and AI graphics technologies into a single pipeline also enables more sophisticated graphics enhancement. Conventional AI upscaling has caused side effects such as shimmering and ghosting.
Shimmering refers to flickering or unstable edges in rendered graphics, while ghosting leaves residual images during rapid scene changes. AI upscaling has also had the drawback of producing images that appear softer than native resolution. Adreno Neural Fusion is designed to minimize these problems while providing sharper graphics.
HPM Improves Power Efficiency by 12%
The architecture also adds on-chip memory technology to support high-speed AI computing. Qualcomm has placed 18 MB of High Performance Memory (HPM) inside the Adreno GPU, allowing intermediate computation results that previously had to be sent to main system memory to be processed within the GPU. Reducing data movement lowers latency and improves power efficiency by 12%.
HPM can be used within the graphics subsystem for workloads including tile-based rendering, which divides the screen into grids for rendering, frame buffers that temporarily store completed images, and compute operations.
Qualcomm has also added support for the developer ecosystem. The company has integrated Adreno Neural Fusion with major game-development engines Unity and Unreal Engine. Game developers can apply AI graphics technology without additional development work or engine updates.
"Adreno Neural Fusion is not simply the addition of a single feature, but the beginning of a major shift in mobile AI processing architecture," Qualcomm said. "Matrix acceleration has expanded across the NPU, CPU and GPU, evolving into a core capability across the entire platform."
Adreno Neural Fusion will be included in Qualcomm's next-generation flagship Snapdragon platform. Further details are scheduled to be unveiled at the Snapdragon Summit from Sept. 22 to Sept. 24.