ARM Holdings CEO Rene Haas
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Arm is bringing two new Neoverse compute subsystems to market, each based on its third generation Neoverse IP. The solutions extend its N-Series and brings its first V-Series product to market.
In tandem with its technology announcements, Arm is also expanding its Arm Total Design initiative, which now includes a broader ecosystem of partners to accelerate and simplify the development of custom SoC designs based on Neoverse platforms.
Neoverse CSS V3 for High-Performance Compute
The Neoverse V3 is Arm’s first V-series product, which targets high-performance compute workloads such as AI, high-frequency trading, and other computational-heavy applications.
Arm Neoverse CSS V3
Arm Holdings
The V3 is also built on the new Neoverse V3 core, which offers the highest single-thread performance in the Neoverse line and includes hardware support for the Arm Confidential Computing architecture. The V3 features industry leading private L3 cache sizes, significantly contributing to its performance capabilities.
The architectural changes have paid off. Armâs Neoverse V3 delivers more than a 50% increase in per-socket performance compared to the N2 and can scale up to 128 cores per socket.
Neoverse CSS N3 extends Armâs Power Efficiency Story
The Neoverse N3 is an extension of its N-series portfolio, designed to focus on power efficiency. It is particularly well-suited for applications requiring high efficiency, such as telecommunications, networking, and data processing units, and can also accommodate cloud configurations.
Arm Neoverse CSS N3
Arm Holdings
The N3 platform is built upon the new Arm v9.2 architecture, which offers a 2 megabyte per core private L2 cache and support for the latest PCIe and CXL IO standards, alongside UCIE chiplet standards. It can provide 32 cores with a TDP as low as 40 watts, demonstrating its scalability and energy-efficient design.
The new N3 delivers a significant 20% performance-per-watt improvement over its predecessor, the Neoverse N2.
Balancing high performance with energy efficiency, the Neoverse N3 caters to the growing need for sustainable and powerful computing solutions, making it a key player in Arm’s strategy to address the diverse requirements of the computing market.
Expanding Arm Total Design
The Arm Total Design initiative has expanded significantly, enhancing Arm’s approach to developing custom SoCs. The initiative shows considerable growth, with Arm reporting that it now includes over 20 partners, a rapid expansion that underscores its attractiveness and strategic importance in the technology sector.
The collaborative ecosystem facilitates frictionless delivery of custom SoCs, leveraging the collective expertise of partners across various technological aspects. These include IP verification, firmware customization, and the construction of chiplets using advanced process nodes.
By expanding its partner base and focusing on the streamlined, cutting-edge development of SoCs, Arm reinforces its commitment to innovation and strengthens its role as a facilitator of collaborative technology development in the global computing landscape.
Analystâs Take
The new Arm Neoverse CSS N3 and CSS V3, along with the expansion of its Arm Total Design initiative, mark significant strides in high-performance computing and SoC development.
The announcements highlight the dual thrust propelling Arm’s strategy forward: addressing energy efficiency with the N3’s 20% improvement in performance-per-watt while targeting high-performance applications with the V3’s 50% enhancement in performance-per-socket.
This is particularly impactful in the AI and cloud computing industries, where demand for high-performance and energy-efficient compute solutions is rapidly growing. Arm’s focus on these sectors aligns with the trajectory of technological advancements.
The expansion of its Arm Total Design initiative, now encompassing over 20 partners, underscores a collaborative and innovation-driven ethos, streamlining SoC development and reducing time-to-market. This is essential when servicing an ecosystem as diverse and expansive as Armâs.
The market is responding to Armâs efforts. In its most recent earnings call, Arm CEO Rene Haas highlighted the growing adoption of NVIDIA’s Arm-based Grace Hopper products while pointing out that Microsoft’s upcoming Arm-based server processor, Cobalt, is built using Neoverse CSS. High-performance and cloud computing is no longer the domain of just AMD and Intel. There’s demand for Arm-based solutions.
As Arm lowers the barriers to integrating its technology while keeping its cores’ capabilities current with evolving market needs, the company will continue to influence future compute architectures, especially with the increasing reliance on AI-driven technologies.
Disclosure: Steve McDowell is an industry analyst, and NAND Research is an industry analyst firm that engages in, or has engaged in, research, analysis and advisory services with many technology companies, including those mentioned in this article. Mr. McDowell does not hold any equity positions with any company mentioned in this article.
Wanda Parisien is a computing expert who navigates the vast landscape of hardware and software. With a focus on computer technology, software development, and industry trends, Wanda delivers informative content, tutorials, and analyses to keep readers updated on the latest in the world of computing.
