Designed for ultrathin and high-performance mobile PCs, the next-generation 2014 Performance Mobile Accelerated Processing Units (APUs), currently AMD’s most advanced mobile APUs, were recently launched by the company in the Philippines.
Integrating CPUs with graphic cores, the new mobile APUs, which carry the features and capabilities of the AMD A-Series APU family, codenamed “Kaveri,” mark the debut of Heterogeneous System Architecture (HAS) features and Graphics Core Next (GCN) Architecture for mobile devices.
2014 AMD A-Series APU Standard
The HSA specifications are a set of tools that take advantage of the joint processing power of CPUs, graphics processing units (GPUs) and other computing units for better system performance.
“This latest breakthrough from AMD is a total package of superior compute performance, striking graphics, and cost-effective power use with leading technologies in the industry, making the 2014 AMD A-Series APUs a potent force in today’s computing generation,” said Ryan Sim, General Manager for AMD Far East Ltd in the ASEAN region.
Sim notes that the introduction of the latest line of APUs to the Philippine market is part of their vision to improve and ultimately transform the computing experience of Filipino consumers.
According to Sonny Sy, AMD’s National Sales Manager in the Philippines, the new mobile APUs combine two processors on a single chip. These are the performance of 12 compute cores (4 CPU + 8 GPU) and the power of GCN architecture with Radeon R7 series graphics card.
The mobile APUs also feature HSA which allows the CPU and the GPU to work together in harmony by quickly dividing and directing the right tasks toward the appropriate cores which results in better performance and efficiency for consumers and commercial desktop and notebook PCs.
With this new enhancement, the APUs has a Heterogeneous Uniform Memory Access (hUMA) where both CPU and GPU have full access to the entire system memory. Another feature is the UltraHD (4K) resolutions and new video post-processing enhancements that make 1080p videos look amazing when upscaled on an UltraHD-enabled monitor or TV.
For best gaming and entertainment experience, the mobile APUs have Mantle application programming interface (API) which simplifies game optimizations for programmers and developers to unlock improved gaming performance to unprecedented levels.
“The AMD-powered Mantle API is 136% faster and provides up to 119% more performance,” Sy said.
The processors also boast of an AMD Radeon Dual Graphics which boost gaming performance from 49% to 108%; and feature the combination of AMD Quick Stream, AMD Steady Video and the AMD TrueAudio technology which Sy says, supports up to 32 discrete channels, to deliver lifelike audio and video.
Graphics Performance
In terms of graphics performance, the AMD A10 APU is 50% better and more than 1.2 times the compute performance as compared with Intel i5-4200U Haswell processor. The FX APU has 50% better graphics performance and more than 1.13 times the compute performance as compared with Intel i7-4500U Haswell processor.
Compared with AMD’s previous generations of processors, FX APU has up to 40% more graphics performance-per-watt; and up to 30% more system compute-per-watt.
AMD also introduced a professional line of Performance Mobile APUs known as AMD PRO A-Series components which offer outstanding stability and longevity, and enable open, industry-standard DASH manageability.
Pricing and Availability
The Acer and Lenovo notebooks, which are powered by AMD’s 2014 A-Series APU processor lineup and incorporated with AMD Radeon R-Series discrete graphics for an exceptional cinematic or gaming experience, are now available in the local market.
The Acer E15, which is powered by AMD A8-7100 APU with Radeon R5 Graphics and features 8 Compute Cores (4 CPU + 4 GPU), is sold at P29,900.
The Lenovo IdeaPad Z50-75, which is equipped with AMD A10-7300 APU with Radeon R6 Graphics and features 10 Compute Cores (4 CPU + 6 GPU), is sold at P33,995.
Also available soon are other computer brands that are also equipped with 2014 AMD A-Series APUs.
