AMD has launched the AMD A-series Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) codenamed “Kaveri,” currently the company’s most advanced and developer-friendly performance APUs. These processors combine two technologies on a single chip – the performance of 12 compute cores (4 CPU + 8 GPU) and the power of Radeon R7 graphics card which comes with new architectures such as the Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA) and Mantle programming interface. The A-series comes in two models: the AMD A10-7850K and AMD A10-7700K.
The next-generation AMD “Kaveri” processors feature HSA, a new intelligent computing architecture which allows both the CPU and the GPU to have access to the same system memory, resulting in better performance and efficiency for both consumers and developers. With this new enhancement feature, the APU has a Heterogeneous Uniform Memory Access (hUMA) where both CPU and GPU have full access to the entire system memory. The hUMA architecture improves the performance and efficiency of the processor by enabling the CPU and the GPU to seamlessly share data.
Now available, the processors have Mantle low-level programming interface inside which simplifies game optimizations for programmers and developers to improve gaming performance to unprecedented levels when unlocked. They also come with a TrueAudio technology, a 32-channel surround audio which is used to accelerate audio or sound processing from the CPU.
Both processor models, 7850K and 7700K, have four CPU cores, with default frequency clocking at 3.7GHz and 3.4GHz, and maximum Turbo core frequency reaching up to 4.0GHz and 3.8GHz, respectively.
With built-in GCN architecture, the Radeon R7 graphics unit that is integrated inside the A10-7850K model has eight GPU cores while the A10-7700K model has six GPU cores. The graphics cards in both models have GPU frequency of 720MHz and run at 95-watt processors.
The new AMD Kaveri platform supports UltraHD (4K) resolutions and new video post processing enhancements that make 1080p videos look even better when upscaled on UltraHD-enabled monitor or TV. It also features FM2+ socket compatibility for a unifying infrastructure that works with APUs and CPUs.
To test the capability of the GPU of the new AMD APUs, the company showcased a Battlefield 4 demo during the launching using AMD A10-7850K and Intel Core i5-4670K, where the AMD setup was executed at medium settings while the other setup (Intel), at low settings.
According to Sonny Sy, National Sales Manager of AMD in the Philippines, the Mantle driver from AMD and Battlefied 4 Mantle upgrade were made locally available last week.
