AMD Fusion APU Era Begins

AMD Fusion APU Era Begins

by Stratis Camatsos

Big Experiences, Sleek Designs, All-Day Battery Life and Notebooks That Stay Cool All Day Now Possible with Revolutionary Single Chip

The new year seems to be getting off to a fast and revolutionary start by AMD revealing a new generation of chips that promise to take personal computing to the next level with vastly superior audio-video handling capabilities rather than just an increase in speed.  The move is seen as one that will help PCs, notebooks and netbooks to top the new competitors on the market: the tablet PCs.

On January 4, 2011, at the Consumer Electronics Show, AMD launched a new class of accelerated processor that combines more compute capabilities than any processor in the history of computing. The AMD Fusion Family of Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) incorporate – in a single die design – multi-core CPU (x86) technology, a powerful DirectX®11-capable discrete-level graphics and parallel processing engine, a dedicated high-definition video acceleration block, and a high-speed bus that speeds data across the differing types of processor cores within the design. New generations of desktop, notebook and HD netbooks are now available based on AMD Fusion APUs at affordable price points. Tablets and embedded designs based on AMD Fusion APUs are expected be available later in Q1 2011. The new range of product features include stutter-free HD video playback, breakthroughs in computational horsepower to handle the most demanding applications DirectX 11-capable graphics and all-day battery life.i 

AMD expects leading manufacturersAcer, Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Lenovo,MSI, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba  to announce plans to deliver AMD Fusion APU-based systems at very compelling value and mainstream price points. “We believe that AMD Fusion processors are, quite simply, the greatest advancement in processing since the introduction of the x86 architecture more than forty years ago,” said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, AMD Products Group. “In one major step, we enable users to experience HD everywhere as well as personal supercomputing capabilities in notebooks that can deliver all-day battery life.i It’s a new category, a new approach, and opens up exciting new experiences for consumers.”

HD 2.0 Everywhere

High definition (HD) content is ubiquitous today. From YouTube videos to DirectX 11 games to Blu-ray, the world is tapping into various ways to enjoy this content with the computer serving as the hub. And thanks to the VISION Engine from AMD, a set of capabilities unique to all AMD Fusion APU-powered PCs, the visual side of computing never looked more vivid and realistic. The VISION Engine is an unmatched combination of:

Selecting a PC equipped with the VISION Engine and software from AMD partners means Internet browsing is a faster, application-like experience; 1080p HD video playback is gorgeous, smooth and quiet; standard definition video looks high-definition; 2D content can be converted into stereoscopic 3D; even the most graphics-intensive websites load quickly; manipulating HD content is fast and easy; and 3D gaming at HD resolutions is fast and life-like. 

Personal Supercomputing

Much of a computing experience is linked to software and, until now, software developers have been held back by the independent nature in which CPUs and GPUs process information. However, AMD Fusion APUs remove this obstacle and allow developers to take full advantage of the parallel processing power of a GPU – more than 500 GFLOPs for the upcoming A-Series “Llano” APU– thus bringing supercomputer-like performance to every day computing tasks. More applications can run simultaneously and they can do so faster than previous designs in the same class.ii

 AMD AllDay™ Power

Additionally, AMD Fusion technology enables all-day battery life – 10 hours or more.i  The new power-saving features present in the single-chip design greatly extend the time between plug-ins, even when enjoying HD content.

Out power and Outperform: E-Series, C-Series and A-Series APUs

The 2011 low power platform (formerly codenamed “Brazos”) enhances the everyday computing experience and is available beginning today in two APU variations: E-Series and C-Series. These APUs feature the new x86 CPU core codenamed “Bobcat”. “Bobcat” is AMD’s first new x86 core since 2003 and was designed from the ground up to deliver stellar mobile performance.

The 2011 mainstream platform is primarily intended for performance and mainstream notebooks and mainstream desktops. It will feature the 32nm die A-Series “Llano” APU, which includes up to four x86 cores and aDirectX 11-capable discrete-level GPU, and is scheduled to ship in the first half of 2011 and appear in products mid-year.