China’s entry-level GPU with AMD RX 550-level of performance is ready for tapeout — Loongson 9A1000 is finally off the drawing board and headed to fabs

Having started its development in 2023, Loongson Technology’s 9A1000 graphics card is one step closer to the finishing line. According to Chinese media outlet ITHome, the development of the 9A1000 has been completed, and the graphics card will begin tapeout in the third quarter of this year.

The 9A1000 is Loongson’s first graphics card, marking a significant milestone for the Chinese manufacturer, which had previously focused mainly on processors. The company positions the 9A1000 as an entry-level graphics card that supports AI acceleration. Therefore, it doesn’t compete in the same segment as the Lisuan G100, another Chinese graphics card, that allegedly rivals the GeForce RTX 4060.

Although we’ve been aware of the 9A1000 for some time, we still don’t know its exact specifications. Loongson has kept details under wraps, only hinting that it offers performance similar to the Radeon RX 550, a card that was released eight years ago. However, it’s too early to call it a win for Loongson, since the manufacturer still has to evaluate the 9A1000 after the tapeout.

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The latest update on the 9A1000 indicates that Loongson has apparently reduced the area of the stream processor by 20%. The manufacturer also claims that it has increased the 9A1000’s operating frequency by 25%, while optimizing power consumption during light loads by 70%. In terms of feature set, the 9A1000 supports OpenGL 4.0 and OpenCL ES 3.2 APIs.