The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

It’s true in sports, just as it is in technology. An accelerated processing unit (APU) is more than just a CPU + GPU. Much more. And, AMD Fusion is more than just a technology product supported by software and hardware vendors. AMD Fusion is about an entire ecosystem changing the computing landscape as we know it.

At the 6^th annual AMD Technical Forum & Exhibition in Taiwan today, I stood on stage in front of more than 700 attendees from over 14 countries – a mix of academics, enthusiasts, press and technology companies – and showed a demo of our 32nm “Llano” APU,   the next-generation AMD Fusion processor for mainstream notebook and desktop PCs, scheduled to be available in 2011.

“Llano” is the kind of APU that makes you stop and stare. It stands to delivers world-class performance, ranging from everyday multi-tasking to stunning video and gaming. But, what’s really important was the energy and focus of the room. Collectively, AMD and its technology partners are preparing for new era. Matt Skynner, Corporate VP and General Manager of AMD’s Graphics division, Don Newell, Server CTO, and other AMD execs also took the stage, along with Eddie Wu, OEM Asia General Manager of Microsoft (check out the full agenda here).

The AMD Technical Forum & Exhibition (TFE) began as an engineering conference focused primarily on thermal engineering. Today, it is about “One AMD,” and we fully embrace our partners as part of that vision. We are all in it together. TFE experienced a more than 60% uptick in attendees since last year, and more than twice as many representatives from the press. What was once an event rooted in “speeds and feeds” has become a forum for hundreds of ecosystem partners to come together and map out where technology is going next. This includes not just processing capability, but product design, memory technology, manufacturing and the list goes on.

The consensus among the participants was clear: consumers want a more vivid, immersive PC experience; whether they are gamers, moviemakers, photo editors or just avid social networkers.  They also want mobility and battery life and PC form factors that just look good. This is what AMD Fusion – and its powerful ecosystem – aims to deliver. And, coming away from TFE, I’m feeling pretty good about the future.

Chris Cloran is corporate vice-president and general manager, client group, at AMD. 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.