Abstract: In one embodiment the present invention includes a method and apparatus for enabling a main core and one or more co-processors to operate in a de-coupled mode, thereby facilitating the execution of two or more instruction threads in parallel. A co-processor, according to an embodiment of the invention, has a coupling manager including a loop buffer for storing instructions which can be independently fetched and executed by the co-processor when operating in de-coupled mode. In addition, the coupling manager includes a loop descriptor and a counter/condition descriptor. The loop descriptor and condition descriptor work in conjunction with one another to determine what, if any, action should be taken when a co-processor is in a particular processing state, for example, as indicated by a counter keeping track of loop processing.

Abstract: A method and system for rendering a frame to be displayed on a screen includes a memory-sink mechanism configured to store a copy of a screen image in memory, a snoop mechanism configured to monitor a system parameter, a controller configured to switch between first and second operation modes in response to the snoop mechanism detecting a change to the system parameter, and a rendering mechanism to retrieve the copy of the screen image when the system operates in the second mode of operation.