---
title: Pipelined Data Masters in D-Series GPUs
description: To allow concurrent processing of different types of jobs PowerVR GPUs have a data master per job type, including geometry, 3D, compute and 2D (or data movement). 
image: https://blog.imaginationtech.com/hubfs/IMG%20PIPELINED%20DATA%20MASTERS%20Blog%20banner%20%E2%80%93%201.jpg
---

[![Imagination](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/hubfs/Imagination_December2019%20Theme/Images/Header%20Logo%20White.svg) ![Imagination](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/hubfs/Imagination_December2019%20Theme/Images/Header%20Logo%20Black.svg)](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/)

- [Products & Solutions](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/) 
    - [GPU](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/gpu/)
    - [CPU](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/cpu/)
    - [AI](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/ai/)
    - [Ethernet](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/ethernet/)
    - [Ray Tracing](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/ray-tracing/)
    - [Automotive](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/automotive/)
    - [Consumer](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/consumer/)
    - [Desktop](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/desktop/)
    - [Mobile](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/mobile/)
    - [Product Finder](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/catalog/)
- [Developers](https://developer.imaginationtech.com/)
- [News & Insights](https://www.imaginationtech.com/news/) 
    - [Newsroom](https://www.imaginationtech.com/news/?query=news&filter-language=english&filter-search=)
    - [Resources Hub](https://www.imaginationtech.com/resources/?query=resource&filter-language=english&filter-search=)
    - [Blog](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/)
    - [Events](https://www.imaginationtech.com/events/)
    - [Webinars](https://www.imaginationtech.com/webinars/)
    - [University Programme](https://university.imgtec.com/)
    - [中文社区](http://imgtec.eetrend.com/)
- [Company](https://www.imaginationtech.com/about/) 
    - [About Us](https://www.imaginationtech.com/about/)
    - [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion](https://www.imaginationtech.com/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/)
    - [Imagining a Sustainable Future](https://www.imaginationtech.com/imagining-a-sustainable-future/)
    - [Corporate Social Responsibility](https://www.imaginationtech.com/csr/)
    - [Leadership Team](https://www.imaginationtech.com/leadership/)
    - [Contact Us](https://www.imaginationtech.com/contact-us/)
- [Careers](https://www.imaginationtech.com/careers/) 
    - [Work at Imagination](https://www.imaginationtech.com/careers/)
    - [Life at Imagination](https://www.imaginationtech.com/careers/life-at-imagination/)
    - [Hybrid Working](https://www.imaginationtech.com/careers/hybrid-working/)
    - [Early Careers](https://www.imaginationtech.com/careers/early-careers/)
    - [Search Jobs](https://www.imaginationtech.com/careers/vacancies/)

- [Products & Solutions](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/) 
    - [GPU](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/gpu/)
    - [CPU](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/cpu/)
    - [AI](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/ai/)
    - [Ethernet](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/ethernet/)
    - [Ray Tracing](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/ray-tracing/)
    - [Automotive](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/automotive/)
    - [Consumer](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/consumer/)
    - [Desktop](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/desktop/)
    - [Mobile](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/mobile/)
    - [Product Finder](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/catalog/)
- [Developers](https://developer.imaginationtech.com/)
- [News & Insights](https://www.imaginationtech.com/news/) 
    - [Newsroom](https://www.imaginationtech.com/news/?query=news&filter-language=english&filter-search=)
    - [Resources Hub](https://www.imaginationtech.com/resources/?query=resource&filter-language=english&filter-search=)
    - [Blog](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/)
    - [Events](https://www.imaginationtech.com/events/)
    - [Webinars](https://www.imaginationtech.com/webinars/)
    - [University Programme](https://university.imgtec.com/)
    - [中文社区](http://imgtec.eetrend.com/)
- [Company](https://www.imaginationtech.com/about/) 
    - [About Us](https://www.imaginationtech.com/about/)
    - [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion](https://www.imaginationtech.com/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/)
    - [Imagining a Sustainable Future](https://www.imaginationtech.com/imagining-a-sustainable-future/)
    - [Corporate Social Responsibility](https://www.imaginationtech.com/csr/)
    - [Leadership Team](https://www.imaginationtech.com/leadership/)
    - [Contact Us](https://www.imaginationtech.com/contact-us/)
- [Careers](https://www.imaginationtech.com/careers/) 
    - [Work at Imagination](https://www.imaginationtech.com/careers/)
    - [Life at Imagination](https://www.imaginationtech.com/careers/life-at-imagination/)
    - [Hybrid Working](https://www.imaginationtech.com/careers/hybrid-working/)
    - [Early Careers](https://www.imaginationtech.com/careers/early-careers/)
    - [Search Jobs](https://www.imaginationtech.com/careers/vacancies/)

×

[GPU](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/tag/gpu)

## Pipelined Data Masters in D-Series GPUs

![Picture of Eleanor Brash](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/hs-fs/hubfs/eleanor-brash.png?width=60&name=eleanor-brash.png)

 By [Eleanor Brash](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/author/eleanor-brash)

 Aug 16, 2024  |  1 min read

- 16 August 2024
- [Eleanor Brash](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/author/eleanor-brash)

Imagination’s [PowerVR GPUs](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/gpu/) are driven by a firmware processor responsible for high-level scheduling and priority of workloads. It does this in combination with fixed function units: the data masters. To allow concurrent processing of different types of jobs PowerVR GPUs have a data master per job type, including geometry, 3D, compute and 2D (or data movement). 

These data masters are responsible for the low-level running of these jobs, including setup work. Previous generations had single-tasking data masters, meaning that the data master would be executing a specific job and changing the job would require work by the firmware processor to set up the next job.  

This approach meant that most of the setup work occurred when changing from one render to the next which would often lead to idle time during which the firmware processor was setting up the next job and reprogramming registers. This setup work may have required data access and other complex synchronisation tasks, which due to latency could result in 1000s of cycles of firmware work during which no work was scheduled for the specific data master. This would often lead to idle time or even power-gating of the GPU core and thus lost performance and reduced scaling efficiency.  

As PowerVR GPUs became ever faster with more powerful SPUs, higher SPU counts and multicore, the rendering/processing performance of the GPU went up significantly. This meant that the time to process compute kernels and/or graphical renders reduced (as we have a larger, faster GPU core), but, we still had a single firmware processor which meant the setup time stayed the same. 

As an example, comparing [AXT-16-512](https://www.imaginationtech.com/product/img-axt-16-512/) to [DXT-72-2304](https://www.imaginationtech.com/product/img-dxt-72-2304/), our processing is theoretically 4.5x faster, but the firmware processing time stayed the same, so without change it represented a larger proportion of the total time. This is illustrated below: 

![Screenshot 2024-08-15 at 10.36.40](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202024-08-15%20at%2010.36.40.png?width=1944&height=352&name=Screenshot%202024-08-15%20at%2010.36.40.png)

IMG D-Series GPUs address this setup-time issue by introducing pipelining to the data masters. Pipelining means that the firmware can set up (pipeline) the next job while a previous job is still processing within the GPU. Effectively, the firmware work is now overlapped with GPU work instead of running serialised in-between jobs. This approach enables 5% higher performance for the same level of core, as we avoid idle cycles and improve utilisation of the GPU processing hardware, which means a better return on investment. 

The concept is illustrated below: 

![Screenshot 2024-08-15 at 10.37.58](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202024-08-15%20at%2010.37.58.png?width=1214&height=556&name=Screenshot%202024-08-15%20at%2010.37.58.png)

The idle time in previous generations could also be seen using our [PVRTune](https://developer.imaginationtech.com/solutions/pvrtune/) profiling tool: 

![Screenshot 2024-08-15 at 10.39.07](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202024-08-15%20at%2010.39.07.png?width=1934&height=868&name=Screenshot%202024-08-15%20at%2010.39.07.png)

Further details on changes made to the PowerVR architecture in IMG DXT can be found in the white paper [Ray Tracing for the Masses](https://www.imaginationtech.com/resources/rays-your-game-en/).  

[GPU](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/tag/gpu)

#### Share this post

- <https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://blog.imaginationtech.com/pipelined-data-masters-in-d-series-gpu&text=Pipelined%20Data%20Masters%20in%20D-Series%20GPUs>
- [mailto:?subject=https://blog.imaginationtech.com/pipelined-data-masters-in-d-series-gpu](mailto:?subject=https://blog.imaginationtech.com/pipelined-data-masters-in-d-series-gpu)

##### About the Author

![Picture of Eleanor Brash](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/hs-fs/hubfs/eleanor-brash.png?width=60&name=eleanor-brash.png)

[Eleanor Brash](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/author/eleanor-brash)

 Eleanor is Senior Product Marketing Manager at Imagination. She has been writing articles for the technology sector for over a decade and has special interests in semiconductor engineering, wireless communication, and game development. She works side-by-side with the product, engineering, and sales teams to raise awareness of Imagination’s solutions and help transform the company’s innovation into business outcomes.

[More from Eleanor Brash](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/author/eleanor-brash)

### Subscribe to our blog

### Introducing E-Series GPU

 Imagination E-Series GPU IP breaks through the barriers of throughput, memory, and power at the edge.Built for next-gen AI, E-Series delivers high performance and adaptability across mobile, automotive, desktop, and consumer markets, avoiding the rigidity of fixed-function accelerators while retaining the flexibility of GPU programmability. 

[Learn more](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/e-series/)

### Read Next

[![voice assistant on phone](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/hubfs/AdobeStock_1830810279.jpeg)](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/llm-performance-and-acceleration-on-powervr-part-2)

## [LLM Performance and Acceleration on PowerVR - Part 2](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/llm-performance-and-acceleration-on-powervr-part-2)

[AI](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/tag/ai) [GPU](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/tag/gpu)

3 min read

Part 2: Recap Welcome to the second part of this two-part blog series about how to accelerate large...

[Read more](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/llm-performance-and-acceleration-on-powervr-part-2)

[![](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/hubfs/Untitled%20design%20(5).png)](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/from-graphics-to-ai-and-back-again)

## [From graphics to AI, and back again](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/from-graphics-to-ai-and-back-again)

[GPU](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/tag/gpu)

4 min read

Forty-five years ago, my father was studying radio engineering in the Soviet Union. The transistors...

[Read more](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/from-graphics-to-ai-and-back-again)

[![](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/hubfs/AdobeStock_223397823.jpeg)](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/imagination-chiplets-scaling-system-design-beyond-the-monolithic-soc)

## [Imagination & Chiplets: Scaling System Design Beyond the Monolithic SoC](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/imagination-chiplets-scaling-system-design-beyond-the-monolithic-soc)

[Automotive](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/tag/automotive) [GPU](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/tag/gpu)

4 min read

For many years, improvements in SoC performance came from process scaling and integrating more...

[Read more](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/imagination-chiplets-scaling-system-design-beyond-the-monolithic-soc)

- Products 
    - [GPU](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/gpu/)
    - [CPU](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/cpu/)
    - [AI](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/ai/)
    - [Ethernet](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/ethernet/)
    - [Ray Tracing](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/ray-tracing/)
    - [Open Access](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/open-access/)
    - [Design Optimization Kit](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/design-optimisation-kit/)
    - [Product Finder](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/catalog/)
- Developers 
    - [Developers](https://developer.imaginationtech.com/)
    - [PowerVR SDK and Tools](https://developer.imaginationtech.com/powervr-sdk/)
    - [Developer Downloads](https://developer.imaginationtech.com/downloads/)
    - [Developer Documentation](https://docs.imgtec.com/)
    - [Developer Forums](https://forums.imgtec.com)
- About Imagination 
    - [About Us](https://www.imaginationtech.com/about/)
    - [Career Opportunities](https://www.imaginationtech.com/careers/)
    - [Imagining a Sustainable Future](https://www.imaginationtech.com/imagining-a-sustainable-future/)
    - [Corporate Social Responsibility](https://www.imaginationtech.com/csr/)
    - [Imagination Leadership](https://www.imaginationtech.com/leadership/)
    - [Contact Imagination](https://www.imaginationtech.com/contact-us/)
- Applications 
    - [Automotive](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/automotive/)
    - [Consumer](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/consumer/)
    - [Desktop](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/desktop/)
    - [Mobile](https://www.imaginationtech.com/products/mobile/)
- News & Insights 
    - [News](https://www.imaginationtech.com/news/)
    - [Resources](https://www.imaginationtech.com/resources/?query=resource&filter-language=english&filter-search=)
    - [Blog](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/)
    - [Events](https://www.imaginationtech.com/events/)
    - [Webinars](https://www.imaginationtech.com/webinars/)
    - [The Future of Automotive](https://www.imaginationtech.com/future-of-automotive/)
    - [University Programme](https://university.imgtec.com/)

[linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/company/imgtec) [twitter](https://twitter.com/imaginationtech) [youtube](https://www.youtube.com/user/Imgtec/) [github](https://github.com/powervr-graphics)

![Imagination](https://blog.imaginationtech.com/hubfs/Imagination_December2019%20Theme/Images/Footer%20Logo.svg)

© Imagination Technologies Limited. All rights reserved.

- [Privacy Policy](https://www.imaginationtech.com/privacy/)
- [Use of Cookies](https://www.imaginationtech.com/cookies/)
- [Terms of Use](https://www.imaginationtech.com/terms/)
- [Trademarks](https://www.imaginationtech.com/trademarks/)
- [Quality Policy](https://www.imaginationtech.com/quality-policy/)

[linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/company/imgtec) [twitter](https://twitter.com/imaginationtech) [youtube](https://www.youtube.com/user/Imgtec/) [github](https://github.com/powervr-graphics)

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "VideoObject",
  "contentUrl" : "https://2426966.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/2426966/video_assets/222365834860/inherited/web_optimized.mp4",
  "dateModified" : "2026-09-21T11:10:58.274Z",
  "duration" : "PT1M19S",
  "height" : 1080,
  "name" : "Neural Super Resolution - Public",
  "thumbnailUrl" : "https://resources.imaginationtech.com/hubfs/Social/Neural%20Super%20Resolution%20-%20Public.mp4/medium.jpg",
  "uploadDate" : "2026-09-21T11:10:47.048Z",
  "width" : 1920
}
```