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AMD reveals its computing and graphics roadmap at the 2015 Financial Analyst meeting

By Wong Chung Wee - on 8 May 2015, 3:15pm

AMD reveals its computing and graphics roadmap at the 2015 Financial Analyst meeting

(Image source: AMD)

One of the key developments is the announcement of the new Zen CPU core. The new core will be launched as a FX CPU and it marks the company’s re-entry into the market segment of high-performance desktop and server computing. AMD Senior VP and CTO Mark Papermaster claims the new Zen CPU has 40% higher IPC than the current Bulldozer x86 CPU core. Also, Zen will feature “simultaneous multi-threading (SMT) for higher throughput and a new cache subsystem.” The Bulldozer CPU architecture for FX processors, as well as its successor Piledriver, features the clustered multi-thread technology (CMT). Based on our own experiences (1) (2), the AMD FX desktop CPUs, based on both CPU microarchitectures, turned in poor performances when compared to their Intel counterparts.

(Image source: AMD)

However, with the new Zen CPU, which features an entirely new core design, coupled with a high-bandwidth, low-latency cache system, AMD aims to re-establish its stakes in the relevant market computing segments. Its objectives are also helped by the fact the CPU cores are based on FinFET design, which is touted to let them scale chip production according to client computing as well as enterprise-level requirements. Slated for a 2016 launch, the Zen CPU also boasts support for DDR4 memory modules. Besides the revival of the AMD FX processor series, the company also shoehorned an announcement of its 64-bit K12 ARM chip, which targets energy-efficient data center servers. The last we heard of its plans for 64-bit ARM architecture-based computing was when it announced Opteron A1100 servers in January 2014.

(Image source: AMD)

Sharing the limelight with the Zen CPU are the upcoming 7th generation APUs, which are touted to deliver “discrete-level GPU gaming experience” The desktop APUs will share the same AM4 chip package as the Zen-based AMD FX CPUs, while the mobile APUs will feature the same FP4 package as the upcoming 6th gen Carrizo APUs. Some of the new APUs, like the new AMD FX chips, will support DDR4.

(Source: AMD)

On the GPU front, AMD has plans to release a new GPU, which is based on an improved GCN, coupled with High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) technology. This is in line with the rumor we had reported last month. However, the company didn’t provide confirm on whether the new fabrication process will skipped head to 14nm. The new GPU will eventually benefit from the adoption of the FinFET design, due to an increment in performance per watt of up to 3 times, but such benefits will have to wait till 2016. Also, the company touts of an immersive experience with the new GPUs due to their baked-in VR and AR acceleration.

From the key points of the company’s announcements, it seems AMD is bent on challenging Intel’s dominance on the CPU front with the latter’s new Zen-based FX processors. Also, with the upcoming GPU with HBM technology, AMD is throwing down the gauntlet at NVIDIA, in particular, the NVIDIA Pascal GPU that boasts of stacked 3D memory, with a unified memory space. With that thought, perhaps AMD should also explore the possibility of integrating HBM technology with their APUs in order to bring HSA to a whole new level. In the meantime, do watch this space for more updates.

(Source: AMD, Hothardware)

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