Along with the release of new generation processor cores, Cortex-X4, A720, and A520, Arm has also unveiled its 5th generation GPUs namely, Immortalis G720, Mali G720, and Mali G620 - as its most awaited computing solutions for 2023.  This time around, Arm has brought up Deferred Vertex Shading, or DVS for the enhancement in bandwidth and power efficiency of GPU, complementing its already achieved features such as Variable Rate Shading and ray tracing.

Differences in Immortalis and Mali GPUs

At present, there are minimal distinctions between Immortalis and Mali. GPUs marketed as Immortalis in Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) chipsets must include a ray-tracing unit, whereas the Mali GPU has the option to include or exclude it.Also, Immortalis G720 can be configured with up to 16 cores with 10 being the minimum, while the Mali G720 can have between 6 and 9 cores. The more budget-friendly Mali G620 has more limited cores support of only 5.

Improvements in Immortalis G720 GPU

The Immortalis G720 stands out as the best GPU from Arm to date, offering exceptional performance, advanced features, and an efficient design.It features new technology, as mentioned before, Deferred Vertex Shading, that effectively reduces memory access. Arm emphasizes that memory access accounts for approximately one-third of power consumption in high-end gaming. By minimizing the need for memory access, DVS achieves energy savings, prevents chip overheating, eliminates thermal limitations, and ultimately enhances performance.

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The Deferred Vertex Shading Technology

This feature allows the GPU to prioritize and process the shading of vertices at a later stage called fragment shading. It allows significant advantages in terms of performance and efficiency. Using deferring vertex shading, the rendering pipeline avoids storing intermediate data in memory, reducing bandwidth usage and improving overall performance.The DVS technology is built directly into the new Arm GPU, meaning developers do not need to make any specific adjustments to incorporate its usage. It also provides a greater advantage in ray tracing capabilities of the GPU.While there is no idea which chipmakers will adopt the Immortalis G720 architecture, it sure is made for flagship devices. Owing to last year’s Immortalis G715 performance, the new generation GPU that has more improved technology is sure to give a bang.

Other Improvements

In addition to its optimized memory access, the Immortalis G720 showcases a 15% improvement in performance per watt, an equal rate of improvement in peak performance, and a boost in frame rate.Arm has also added a 2x MSAA module, refining the GPU's ability to handle the anti-aliasing of graphics. The command stream front-end (CSF), responsible for scheduling, has received enhancements with extra working registers for streaming processing.

• Meanwhile, check out our comparison between Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, A16 Bionic, and Dimensity 9200.