A Fusion APU Comes to Life at Computex
There is certainly no shortage of technology companies that will tell us their product is the first, the best, the most revolutionary, the greatest of all time, and so on. And 99% of the time our eyes glaze over when we hear those words. To truly reshape an entire industry, you need more than just a product. You need that product to seize the market at exactly the right time. You need an ecosystem of partners and customers to align with you. And, more often than not, you need to focus less on being revolutionary, and more on being evolutionary. Today, we took another step towards evolving the way we think of a PC and what it can do for us.
Today, the AMD Fusion™ family of APUs came to life.
To recap, at Computex in Taipei, I took the stage with Microsoft and showed the world that AMD Fusion APUs are no longer just an idea on paper. An AMD Fusion APU – delivering powerful CPU and GPU capabilities for HD, 3D and data-intensive workloads in a single-die processor– demonstrated APU accelerated Internet Explorer 9 and DirectX 11 rendering and special effects, which you can see here.
And, in doing that, history was made.
First and foremost, this is a testament to the brilliant engineering minds within AMD. In all of my years in the computing industry, I’ve never seen anything more technologically sophisticated, and we couldn’t wait any longer to show you an AMD Fusion APU in action.
But, for those of you who are less concerned with the circuitry and design, and are more concerned about a computer that’s fast, runs your favorite apps, plays and manipulates HD video, has a great user interface, etc. this demo applies to you too. The demo shows us what is possible in the cool, sleek devices we all love. I’m talking about ultrathin notebooks, touchscreens, new low-power PC form factors, and the list goes on. Quite simply, with AMD Fusion APUs and the support of our technology partners, those devices (and ones we haven’t even dreamed up yet) can get a whole lot better. More than ever before, what we’ve all typically thought of as “the future” is right in front of us – within reach.
We’ll have more to share as we continue to get closer to launching these AMD Fusion APUs. Be sure to stay tuned here for updates along the way, and in the meantime, check out what our software partners have to say:
If you haven’t watched the archived webcast, make sure to do that here. What did you think? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.
Rick Bergman is senior vice president and general manager, AMD Products Group. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.
POSTED IN: Uncategorized
TAGS: APU, Computex, Demo, DirectX 11, Fusion, Internet Explorer, Microsoft
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COMMENTS: 18
that’s pretty cool. Too bad I couldn’t make it to see demo in my own eyes.
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Hello Rick, could you tell wich member of the AMD Fusion™ family was demonstrated? Ontario or Llano? Curious about it
Thanks already!
Hi Curious. We disclosed only that we were demonstrating “low-power Fusion” during the Computex event June 2nd. We also disclosed, however, that we privately demonstrated both “Ontario” and “Llano” based APUs to customers during Computex. We also have sampled both APUs to customers.
Awesome video, it really shows how excited developers are about it! Why isn’t this on tv?
Also… Physics on APUs will happen, right? Right?
Hi Eddy. To see this video on You Tube, click here.
And yes, you can look forward to physics on APUs. See this.
Rick, you clearly have Intel’s undivided attention! Intel showed their response to Fusion, called Sandy Bridge, the day before AMD’s demo
http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/01/intel-briefly-demos-next-gen-sandy-bridge-laptop-platform-at-com/
Hi Michael, thanks for the link. Putting Intel IGP on the die in “Sandy “Bridge” is certainly similar to fusion in that it is an on-die implementation. But that’s where the similarities end. AMD is combining world-class multi-core x86 with world class DX11 GPU capabilities in our Fusion designs, with both processor types performing vital computing functions (with the GPU handling highly parallel computing tasks, for example). Thus AMD Fusion designs feature not only a heterogeneous compute capability, but also current generation graphics technology.
Thanks for your reply, John. With AMD and Intel both shipping “APU” chips early next year, there will surely be a focus on who offers better performance and better power efficiency. And maybe some widely used applications will start getting meaningful benefits using the GPU for non-graphics work. Good stuff!
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Love Fusion!!!
I get that APU has lower power requirements than CPU+GPU, but will the combined architecture perform much better than a a high end CPU paired with a high end GPU?
Hi Charlie. There are three key attributes to fusion: performance, power, and form factor. Your question deals primarily with ultimate performance, independent of power and form factor. The pairing of a high-end CPU and a high-end GPU is essentially a desktop tower statement today. For the high-end desktop tower market (typically gaming PCs with some content creation), AMD will bring the “Scorpius” platform to market in 2011, featuring discrete CPUs and GPUs. AMD is targeting the notebook, netbook, all-in-one, mainstream desktop and small form factor PC market with Fusion in 2011.
you guys are clearly targeting, where are money is. good job. i am not clear about one point, i have a laptop with discrete graphics and good cpu , what is point in buying a fusion apart from battery life saving’s perspective, why should i upgrade to ur newlaptop, i can leverage IE9 graphics acceleration in the same laptop. Through some light on that .:-)
by the way, AMD is particularly quit about scorpius (bulldozer platform), you guys holding a ACE or something else ? you guys started sampling scropious too..
Krish
Hi,
What socket will use desktop Fusion processor? Am3, am3+ or another ?
Hi there. “Zacate” and “Ontario” are not socketed; they are BGA implementations for sleeker cooler form factors. “Llano” APU socket plans have not yet been disclosed. Stay tuned!