MediaTek has launched its newest flagship mobile System-on-Chip (SoC), the Dimensity 9400, marking a significant leap in mobile computing power. Built on TSMC’s 2nd-generation 3 nm process, this chipset promises substantial improvements in both performance and energy efficiency. Compared to its predecessor, the Dimensity 9300, this new processor is up to 40% more power-efficient. 

2nd-Generation “All-Big-Core” CPU Design

At the heart of the Dimensity 9400 is MediaTek’s second-generation “All-Big-Core” architecture, featuring the new powerful Arm Cortex-X925 CPU. Clocked at 3.62 GHz, the Cortex-X925 provides 35% faster single-core performance and 28% faster multicore performance than last year’s model, the Dimensity 9300.

The SoC’s 8-core CPU comprises one Cortex-X925 core (super-big core), three Cortex-X4 cores (big cores), and four Cortex-A720 efficiency cores. While the seven companion cores’ configuration mirrors last year’s, MediaTek has made significant improvements in the cache memory, boosting the L3 cache by 50% (from 8MB to 12MB) and doubling the L2 cache, which further enhances processing efficiency. Combined with LPDDR5x memory running at 10.7 Gbps, this setup ensures that the Dimensity 9400 can better handle compute-hungry tasks, including high-end gaming and intensive applications.

By doubling down on the “All-Big-Core” approach, Mediatek aims to maintain a competitive edge using brute performance. 

Arm Immortalis G925 GPU: Enhancing Mobile Gaming

The Dimensity 9400 also introduces the Arm Immortalis G925 GPU, which brings 12 cores of graphical power. MediaTek claims this GPU can deliver 40% faster ray tracing and is 44% more power-efficient than its predecessor.

Ray tracing is a rendering technique used to enhance computer graphics’ realism. It simulates how light interacts with surfaces and objects to create reflections, shadows, and other visual effects. However, the GPU must be extremely powerful to maintain high frame rates in complex 3D scenes with millions of triangles. With this new GPU, Mediatek claims PC-grade raytracing capabilities. Well, we will have to see how it works in real life to confirm the claim.

NPU 890: Powering Agentic AI And On-Device LoRA Training

One of the standout features of the Dimensity 9400 is its NPU 890, MediaTek’s 8th-generation Neural Processing Unit (NPU), designed to accelerate AI-driven applications. This NPU delivers 80% more performance in handling Gen-AI prompts on large language models (LLMs), while also offering 35% better power efficiency over the previous generation (APU790).

What sets NPU 890 apart is its ability to support Agentic AI, a form of AI that can operate autonomously, make decisions, and achieve goals without human supervision. This is a shift from traditional generative AI, which focuses on content creation from prompts and does not operate autonomously. 

Additionally, the NPU can handle on-device LoRA (Low-Rank Adaptation) training, an efficient method for fine-tuning large language models (LLMs), which helps to optimize on-device Gen-AI performance. 

According to Finnbar Moynihan, GM/VP of Corporate Marketing, MediaTek, the NPU 890 is capable of high-resolution video generation and enables the first multi-modal AI at the edge (on-device) at 50 tokens per second.

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