Taiwanese computer manufacturer Asustek Computer joined Chinese CPU designer Loongson Technology on stage as it announced the Loongson 3A6000, which it says is made entirely in China, during a product release event in Beijing on November 28.
It is understood that the new four-core Loongson 3A6000 CPU based on Loongson's own LoongArch architecture started production in August in China using the 14/12nm process. There is speculation that Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) is the primary foundry for Loongson's 6000 series.
Based on Asustek's benchmark results, the overall performance of the Loongson 3A6000 is equivalent to the Intel Core i3-10100 processor launched in 2020. The Loongson 3A6000 does not rely on any foreign authorized technology – it is a new generation of CPU developed in China whose performance has reached that of the international mainstream level.
Loongson chairman Hu Weiwu stated that the LoongArch ecosystem will be built through sharing and joint construction. He added that licensing the Loongson IP will be a one-time authorization, and royalties will never be collected. Based on this, it can be seen that Loongson is moving away from previous CPU licensing models.
Loongson will bring together more chipmakers through the open licensing of its instruction set and CPU core IP to launch products based on LoongArch. The company hopes to invite more partners to join in building its ecosystem.
It is worth noting that Loongson was previously engaged in several years of IP patent licensing litigation with CIP United.
The core performance of the Loongson 3A6000 clocks in at 2.5GHz and supports 128-bit Loongson SIMD eXtension (LSX) and 256-bit Loongson Advanced SMID eXtension (LASX), as well as simultaneous multithreading (SMT2). The 3A6000 has eight logic cores and integrates a dual-channel DDR4-3200 controller and security module.
Regarding the follow-up product in the Loongson 3B6000, Hu said, "Loongson aims to improve efficiency and is striving to achieve a performance per GHz close to or reaching the level of Apple's CPU." The 3B6000 endeavors to increase the performance per GHz by another 20-30% and will use advanced processes to increase the clock speed, ranking its CPU performance among the top globally.
During the product release event, Asustek announced the launch of its XC-LS3A6M consumer motherboard that supports the Loongson 3A6000 processor. According to Asustek, the Loongson 3A6000 can be overclocked to 2.63GHz and conservatively reach 3GHz (BIOS limit) under liquid nitrogen, which can be further improved in the future. The performance of the Loongson 3A6000 is on par with Intel's latest Gen 13 and 14 Core processors at 2.5GHz.
Asustek's support of Loongson has sparked debate online in China, asking why Asustek was featured and not a domestic PC brand manufacturer such as Lenovo or Tongfang.
Loongson also launched a printer main control chip, the Loongson 2P0500, China's first printer main control chip based on an independent instruction set.
Article translated by Eifeh Strom
