AMD Launches the Second-Generation A-Series APUs

[Cristian_25H]

AMD today announced the widely anticipated launch of its 2nd-Generation AMD A-Series Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) for mainstream and ultrathin notebooks, All-in-One and traditional desktops, home theater PCs and embedded designs.

The 2nd-Generation A-Series APU, codenamed "Trinity", is a grounds-up improved design over the previous generation, enabling a best-in-class PC mobility, entertainment, and gaming experience. New features of the product design include:

● Double the performance per watt of the previous generation;
● The AMD HD Media Accelerator with a unique set of technologies designed to optimize video quality available with premium and Internet video content, and accelerate video file conversion;
● An increase in CPU performance of up to 29 percent with higher processor speeds thanks to the next-generation AMD "Piledriver" CPU core with 3rd-Generation AMD Turbo Core technology, where power is dynamically shifted between the CPU and GPU depending on application needs, effectively providing a more responsive experience that can boost CPU frequencies to up to 3.2 GHz;





● AMD Radeon HD 7000 Series graphics for an increase of graphics performance up to 56% over the previous generation. Combined, the CPU and GPU cores deliver more than 700 gigaflops of computing performance - several times more than the fastest x86 CPUs - to boost performance of hundreds of applications;
● Up to 12 hours of battery life through CPU and GPU power enhancements, with clear battery life leadership in notebook form factors.

"The latest OEM notebooks, ultrathins, All-in-Ones and desktops based on the new AMD A-Series APU enable the best video and gaming experiences, highly responsive performance with AMD Turbo CORE, and accelerate an ever-increasing range of productivity and multimedia applications -- in sleek, stylish designs at price points that make sense," said Chris Cloran, corporate vice president and General Manager, AMD Client Business Unit. "Our 2nd-Generation AMD A-Series APU is a major step forward in every performance and power dimension, allowing users to enjoy a stunning experience without having to give up the things that matter to them most. This experience doesn't stop at mainstream notebooks. It carries over into affordable ultrathin form factors featuring the latest in AMD Radeon graphics."

The Growing AMD Accelerated Application Ecosystem
The developer ecosystem continues to gravitate to the unmatched level of compute and unique processing capabilities of the APU as more than 100 applications and games are now accelerated by AMD APUs. The 2nd-Generation AMD A-Series APU gives users superior Web-based video experience thanks to plug-ins for Google Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer 9 that make it easy for consumers to turn on AMD Steady Video technology. Recent applications that have been optimized for use on AMD A-Series APUs include Adobe Photoshop CS6, WinZip 16.5 and VLC Media Player. AMD A-Series APUs are also well-positioned to take advantage of the upcoming transition to the Windows 8 operating system.

"We are excited for the introduction of the 2nd-Generation AMD A-Series APU and are confident it will continue the great work Microsoft and AMD have done together on the A-Series APU," said Aidan Marcuss, senior director, Windows Business Planning, Microsoft Corp. "We look forward to seeing the A-Series APU in action with Windows 8 to deliver a great user experience across a variety of hardware."

For developers who want to engage in the industry's move toward heterogeneous computing, the upcoming AMD Fusion Developer Summit will offer them a unique opportunity to enhance their knowledge base. More information on AFDS can be found here.

Unmatched Mobility
With more than 12 hours of 'resting' battery life, AMD is now an industry leader in notebook battery-life performance. The 2nd-Generation AMD A-Series APU delivers increased levels of performance, while consuming half the power as its predecessor.

These gains can be attributed to the new power-optimized "Piledriver" CPU core, as well as to AMD Start Now technology, which is designed to maximize system responsiveness by quickly entering and exiting low power states. With AMD Start Now, the computer resumes from sleep mode in as few as two seconds and boots to the desktop in as few as 10 seconds.

In ultrathin form factors, AMD enables an uncompromised visual experience thanks to a power-efficient and premium AMD Radeon graphics engine. Consumers can expect to see ultrathin notebooks based on dual-core 17-watt and quad-core 25-watt AMD A-Series APUs. These products will be easily identifiable by aluminum-styled VISION Technology stickers at a range of competitive price points.

Best-in-class Entertainment
As more and more people turn to their computers as the hub for their entertainment, the visual aspect of computing becomes ever more important. To enhance these capabilities, AMD created the AMD HD Media Accelerator - a unique set of technologies that enable the best video quality on a PC. Key features of the HD Media Accelerator include:

● AMD Perfect Picture HD - An image, video processing and display technology that automatically makes images and video better with color vibrancy adjustments, edge enhancement, noise reduction and dynamic contrast fixes;
● AMD Steady Video Technology - A technology that enables smooth playback of jittery video content with a single button click thanks to plug-ins for popular Web browsers and multimedia applications;
● AMD Quick Stream Technology - A new technology that prioritizes video streaming on PC systems for a smooth, virtually uninterrupted video stream;
● True HD video chat with up to four people at once;
● AMD Video Converter - A video compression engine for fast conversion and sharing of media files across multiple formats and devices;
● Full decode support for H.264, MPEG-2, VC-1, MVC, DivX and WMV.

Gaming Leadership
The 2nd-Generation AMD A-Series APU builds on AMD's legacy of gaming leadership with an increase in graphics performance of up to 56% over the previous generation and support for:

● AMD Eyefinity Technology - For the first time, this immersive technology is available from an APU without the need for a discrete graphics card;
● Performance-leading DirectX 11 graphics architecture and 1080p gaming a life-like level of detail;
● AMD Radeon dual graphics support that delivers a performance boost of up to 75 percent when adding a discrete graphics card to the APU. The AMD Radeon dual graphics option also offers support for DirectX 9 for older game titles, and uses new AMD CrossFire Technology Profiles for easier updates.

Availability and Technical Details
AMD has a record number of design wins with companies like Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba based on our 2nd-Generation AMD A-Series APUs and VISION Technology from AMD, with mainstream and ultrathin notebooks as well as embedded solutions, available beginning today.



Desktops systems and component channel parts will be available later this year.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Chaitanya]

when can we expect desktop models?

 

[reverze]

when can we expect desktop models?

august

 

[Huddo93]

If this performs semi decent in games at 1080p, Id seriously consider putting together a small micro atx gaming machine 2 take to LAN's, especially now that I have had first hand experience on my main desktop being partially destroyed by one.

 

[Completely Bonkers]

I'd like to see a desktop PCB with one of these integrated. I'd be more than satisfied with an ITX or mATX board - trouncing the Atoms it would replace.

 

[CyberBuddha]

Pap1er

Looks promising to me...

 

[v12dock]

The A10-4600M is a fantastic little mobile chip

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5831/amd-trinity-review-a10-4600m-a-new-hope

 

[HalfAHertz]

I expected much more in the graphics department.

 

[NC37]

The A10-4600M is a fantastic little mobile chip

http://www.anandtech.com/show/5831/amd-trinity-review-a10-4600m-a-new-hope

The budget laptop of my dreams...I'll be in my bunk...

 

[Atom_Anti]

It is too unfortunate that the 25W and 17W has different socket than the 35W version. How can I put the 35W into Sleekbook?

 

[jigar2speed]

I expected much more in the graphics department.

It's competitive with much faster laptops and you wanted something more ?

 

[AndreiD]

After reading through the Anandtech article, I honestly don't see anything all that great about this part. You can get a Sandy Bridge i5 + Nvidia 640M GPU laptop for barely a little more than what the A10-4600 will cost (looking at current AMD prices of the old generation), and get much better CPU and GPU performance, and in some scenarios even better battery life.
The HD4000 integrated GPU on Ivy Bridge processors is about the same thing as a 7660G. 20% better in some scenarios for the AMD integrated GPU is really poor performance if you ask me, especially for a part designed to offer much better GPU performance than the competitor. And also AMD's heterogeneous computing doesn't even come close to what the competitor offers (maybe it will in the future with updated drivers, but at the moment it's nothing to be proud of).

So in the end, what does this part do that is good? It's better than the previous generation, and that's about it.
From what I see, my i5 2410M + GT540M laptop is better in every possible way than the A10-4600, and what I have is already a year and some months old and is about in the lower midrange of performance level when it comes to laptops.

I would have loved to buy an AMD laptop, but sadly the performance isn't even there, it is a step forward, but not a big one.

 

[Over_Lord]

The budget laptop of my dreams...I'll be in my bunk...

Frankly I'm disappointed.

- AMD still stuck on 32nm(not even 28nm) v/s INTEL's 22nm

- CPU Performance doesn't even BEAT the A8-3500(Llano 35W model) even with higher clocks, under most scenarios

- GPU barely makes it past Intel HD4000(Intel has done an admirable job, Haswell will be 3x this)

- Cheap Ivy Bridge Dual Core Laptops with HD4000 would beat AMD's 25W Quad Core/Low Voltage both in power efficiency, performance and price.


I'm surprised why AMD didn't go for a 45W Model, which had slightly higher clocks both for CPU and GPU(more on the GPU, the only powerful thing in there). A 45W model with say:

- 2.4GHz CPU(~3.4GHz Turbo)
- 900MHz GPU(on Turbo)

could make a world of a difference..

 

[Vulpesveritas]

After reading through the Anandtech article, I honestly don't see anything all that great about this part. You can get a Sandy Bridge i5 + Nvidia 640M GPU laptop for barely a little more than what the A10-4600 will cost (looking at current AMD prices of the old generation), and get much better CPU and GPU performance, and in some scenarios even better battery life.
The HD4000 integrated GPU on Ivy Bridge processors is about the same thing as a 7660G. 20% better in some scenarios for the AMD integrated GPU is really poor performance if you ask me, especially for a part designed to offer much better GPU performance than the competitor. And also AMD's heterogeneous computing doesn't even come close to what the competitor offers (maybe it will in the future with updated drivers, but at the moment it's nothing to be proud of).

So in the end, what does this part do that is good? It's better than the previous generation, and that's about it.
From what I see, my i5 2410M + GT540M laptop is better in every possible way than the A10-4600, and what I have is already a year and some months old and is about in the lower midrange of performance level when it comes to laptops.

I would have loved to buy an AMD laptop, but sadly the performance isn't even there, it is a step forward, but not a big one.

Performance isn't there... umm.. Show me an i5 2410m + GT540M for $600 new in store. It's not meant to compete with discrete cards, it's supposed to own the budget (see what the majority of people buy) Sub-$700 segment.
Newegg laptop list of PC's faster than an A10 for under $700; PCs & Laptops, Laptops / Notebooks, Laptops / Not...
One refurbished, and the other two are on sale below $700 but are usually above.

Frankly I'm disappointed.

- AMD still stuck on 32nm(not even 28nm) v/s INTEL's 22nm

- CPU Performance doesn't even BEAT the A8-3500(Llano 35W model) even with higher clocks, under most scenarios

- GPU barely makes it past Intel HD4000(Intel has done an admirable job, Haswell will be 3x this)

- Cheap Ivy Bridge Dual Core Laptops with HD4000 would beat AMD's 25W Quad Core/Low Voltage both in power efficiency, performance and price.


I'm surprised why AMD didn't go for a 45W Model, which had slightly higher clocks both for CPU and GPU(more on the GPU, the only powerful thing in there). A 45W model with say:

- 2.4GHz CPU(~3.4GHz Turbo)
- 900MHz GPU(on Turbo)

could make a world of a difference..

So a Radeon HD 7970 barely makes it past a Radeon HD 6870? Did you even really look at the GPU scores?...
Also the CPU tests don't quite make sense to me.. bulldozer wasn't that bad, averaging 10-20% less clock-for-clock vs llano... so did IPC drop when it was supposed to increase or is there a severe issue with the floating point unit the cause of the low CPU scores here? Because integer performance should have increased...
And I would like to see a 45w part too. Perhaps later on with an MX name?
And we'll be seeing 22nm next year with steamroller cores, GCN cores, and HSA. The true hope is a year away... I hope.

 

[Melvis]

Frankly I'm disappointed.

- AMD still stuck on 32nm(not even 28nm) v/s INTEL's 22nm

- CPU Performance doesn't even BEAT the A8-3500(Llano 35W model) even with higher clocks, under most scenarios

- GPU barely makes it past Intel HD4000(Intel has done an admirable job, Haswell will be 3x this)

- Cheap Ivy Bridge Dual Core Laptops with HD4000 would beat AMD's 25W Quad Core/Low Voltage both in power efficiency, performance and price.


I'm surprised why AMD didn't go for a 45W Model, which had slightly higher clocks both for CPU and GPU(more on the GPU, the only powerful thing in there). A 45W model with say:

- 2.4GHz CPU(~3.4GHz Turbo)
- 900MHz GPU(on Turbo)

could make a world of a difference..

Your post is complete joke :shadedshu

- Who cares?

- No idea yet

- False

- False

 

[Hustler]

Same old story from AMD reading the Annandtech article as regards mobile computing...interesting GPU held back by CPU performance that sucks.

Desktop variants could be interesting though when overclocked, good replacements for Quad Core Phenom II as supply of those finally drys up.

 

[Atom_Anti]

So in the end, what does this part do that is good? It's better than the previous generation, and that's about it.
From what I see, my i5 2410M + GT540M laptop is better in every possible way than the A10-4600, and what I have is already a year and some months old and is about in the lower midrange of performance level when it comes to laptops.

I would have loved to buy an AMD laptop, but sadly the performance isn't even there, it is a step forward, but not a big one.

The tests were done under medium-low graphics settings, while Trinity is made for High setting gaming. On high settings the effects need lot more modern GPU than Intel currently can offer. Believe me 6620G already far better than HD4000, but these low-medium profile tests cannot show the differences.
Think for power consumption too; the GT540M suck 35W, Intel I5 another 35W which altogether exactly double than Trinity's 35W. In High setting gaming profile the performance about the same, while Trinity laptop significantly runs cooler and stays more quiet.

 

[AndreiD]

Performance isn't there... umm.. Show me an i5 2410m + GT540M for $600 new in store. It's not meant to compete with discrete cards, it's supposed to own the budget (see what the majority of people buy) Sub-$700 segment.
Newegg laptop list of PC's faster than an A10 for under $700; PCs & Laptops, Laptops / Notebooks, Laptops / Not...
One refurbished, and the other two are on sale below $700 but are usually above.

Well, you pointed a link yourself, you can get an Acer with an i5 2450M and a GT540M which outperforms the A10 4600 especially in the CPU area by quite a margin.
Acer Aspire AS4830TG-6808 Notebook Intel Core i5 2... just 680$ and probably going lower as the new Ivy Bridge i5 laptops come to the market.
Do you see the prices on most A series laptops?
PCs & Laptops, Laptops / Notebooks, Laptops / Not...
The cheaper laptops sure are in their own segment, but the higher performance A series laptops are in the 600$ range, where you can just put maybe 100$ more and get a lot more performance. Unless A10 4600 Laptops cost around 500$, I see no reason why people would buy them.

The tests were done under medium-low graphics settings, while Trinity is made for High setting gaming. On high settings the effects need lot more modern GPU than Intel currently can offer. Believe me 6620G already far better than HD4000, but these low-medium profile tests cannot show the differences.
Think for power consumption too; the GT540M suck 35W, Intel I5 another 35W which altogether exactly double than Trinity's 35W. In High setting gaming profile the performance about the same, while Trinity laptop significantly runs cooler and stays more quiet.

Do you think you can play anything on high settings on a Trinity APU? On anything in this performance class you really can't play anything on high settings unless you lower the resolution a lot. True, the GT540 + Intel i5 solutions suck more power when gaming, but you do have graphics switching, when I don't do any gaming my laptop uses the processor IGP (you can see the normalized battery consumption tests: http://www.anandtech.com/show/5831/amd-trinity-review-a10-4600m-a-new-hope/8 where the A10 is about the same as a i5 2410, and the Intel CPU is quite a bit more powerful).
Cooler and more quiet has to do more with the laptop manufacturer implementation, the fan on my cheap Acer doesn't even run when I'm not playing games.

 

[Vulpesveritas]

Well, you pointed a link yourself, you can get an Acer with an i5 2450M and a GT540M which outperforms the A10 4600 especially in the CPU area by quite a margin.
Acer Aspire AS4830TG-6808 Notebook Intel Core i5 2... just 680$ and probably going lower as the new Ivy Bridge i5 laptops come to the market.
Do you see the prices on most A series laptops?
PCs & Laptops, Laptops / Notebooks, Laptops / Not...
The cheaper laptops sure are in their own segment, but the higher performance A series laptops are in the 600$ range, where you can just put maybe 100$ more and get a lot more performance. Unless A10 4600 Laptops cost around 500$, I see no reason why people would buy them.




Do you think you can play anything on high settings on a Trinity APU? On anything in this performance class you really can't play anything on high settings unless you lower the resolution a lot. True, the GT540 + Intel i5 solutions suck more power when gaming, but you do have graphics switching, when I don't do any gaming my laptop uses the processor IGP (you can see the normalized battery consumption tests: http://www.anandtech.com/show/5831/amd-trinity-review-a10-4600m-a-new-hope/8 where the A10 is about the same as a i5 2410, and the Intel CPU is quite a bit more powerful).
Cooler and more quiet has to do more with the laptop manufacturer implementation, the fan on my cheap Acer doesn't even run when I'm not playing games.

1: Apparently you don't pay attention to detail. Given that the A10 will be getting around $100 cheaper compared to a laptop which is hard to find anywhere but online, and is $725 normally. That sale brings it down $50, but in the USA if you go to Office Depot / Office Max / Staples and go for an A series APU, then you'll see $100 off sales about once a month lasting for a week. Intel laptops rarely get those levels of sales. (I used to work at Office Depot btw.) Plus... let's face it, form factors sell. For whatever reason people are obsessed with thin, and when you can sell them a sleekbook/ultrathin for $600 vs $900+ intel based ultrabooks... what's going to sell?
In this price range, you're looking at things from the opinion of an enthusiast. Look at it from the perspective of an average consumer not looking to pay more than $500, $600 tops.

2: Yes, I expect to play a number of things at high settings. I have a Phenom II quad core CPU at 2ghz, and a Radeon HD 4250, yet I'm able to play Crysis 2 at 720 and get 20-24fps average with low detail settings. Important to note that- they used medium settings, which could be for or against it. Also consider drivers. This is pre-production, and the driver support isn't there yet, unlike the well matured drivers for the GTX 500 series cards. We may see performance increases yet.

 

[Atom_Anti]

Do you think you can play anything on high settings on a Trinity APU? On anything in this performance class you really can't play anything on high settings unless you lower the resolution a lot. True, the GT540 + Intel i5 solutions suck more power when gaming, but you do have graphics switching, when I don't do any gaming my laptop uses the processor IGP (you can see the normalized battery consumption tests: http://www.anandtech.com/show/5831/amd-trinity-review-a10-4600m-a-new-hope/8 where the A10 is about the same as a i5 2410, and the Intel CPU is quite a bit more powerful).
Cooler and more quiet has to do more with the laptop manufacturer implementation, the fan on my cheap Acer doesn't even run when I'm not playing games.

Yes, because I already play with A8-3550MX everything on maximum near 1366X resolution in Call of Duty 4, 5, 6 and I think will take COD 7 on maximum too. Try the same thing with HD4000, no way! For Trinity the newest games on High setting won't be problem, especially if Llano already could handle two years old games on maximum.

 

[reverze]

if you hate trinity so much dont buy it and go bash it somewhere else, this is a great APU, which intel cant beat, and has a low price and low TDP along with it. if you want a pure gaming laptop this isnt for you, for mild gaming , office , GPU accelerated browsing and video at a great price and battery usage there is no way around trinity.

 

[AndreiD]

1: Apparently you don't pay attention to detail. Given that the A10 will be getting around $100 cheaper compared to a laptop which is hard to find anywhere but online, and is $725 normally. That sale brings it down $50, but in the USA if you go to Office Depot / Office Max / Staples and go for an A series APU, then you'll see $100 off sales about once a month lasting for a week. Intel laptops rarely get those levels of sales. (I used to work at Office Depot btw.) Plus... let's face it, form factors sell. For whatever reason people are obsessed with thin, and when you can sell them a sleekbook/ultrathin for $600 vs $900+ intel based ultrabooks... what's going to sell?
In this price range, you're looking at things from the opinion of an enthusiast. Look at it from the perspective of an average consumer not looking to pay more than $500, $600 tops.

2: Yes, I expect to play a number of things at high settings. I have a Phenom II quad core CPU at 2ghz, and a Radeon HD 4250, yet I'm able to play Crysis 2 at 720 and get 20-24fps average with low detail settings. Important to note that- they used medium settings, which could be for or against it. Also consider drivers. This is pre-production, and the driver support isn't there yet, unlike the well matured drivers for the GTX 500 series cards. We may see performance increases yet.

1. Hard to find anywhere but online? What? I can get an Intel+Nvidia laptop like the one on Newegg pretty easily in Sweden at about the same price. You seriously make no valid points with the discounts which makes me believe I'd wasting my time trying to explain price points any further.
http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/08/hp-envy-spectre-xt-ultrabooks-sleekbooks/
The difference between the HP AMD and Intel 'sleekbooks' as they call them is 100$, not 300+$ as you wrote above.
An average consumer probably won't need a mid range GPU so they can get a 400$ Intel i3 or maybe even an AMD E350.

2. Drivers aren't going to turn a mid range GPU into a beast, most you can expect are a couple % here and there. And if you want to play things on high settings better stay away from laptops or be prepared to fork out over 1000$.

Yes, because I already play with A8-3550MX everything on maximum near 1366X resolution in Call of Duty 4, 5, 6 and I think will take COD 7 on maximum too. Try the same thing with HD4000, no way! For Trinity the newest games on High setting won't be problem, especially if Llano already could handle two years games on maximum.

Call of Duty isn't really all that relevant considering they use the same engine for the past several games. Like I've said above, if people want to play games on high settings, they better stay away from <1000$ laptops.

if you hate trinity so much dont buy it and go bash it somewhere else, this is a great APU, which intel cant beat, and has a low price and low TDP along with it. if you want a pure gaming laptop this isnt for you, for mild gaming , office , GPU accelerated browsing and video at a great price and battery usage there is no way around trinity.

So voicing my opinion that the new generation isn't such a major improvement over the old one is bashing? If they price laptops at around 500$ or less, then it's going to be pretty popular, otherwise, not so much.

 

[intelguy]

Oh,AMD is serious and I am serious too. I will build an AMD rig!!!!

 

[hardcore_gamer]

Frankly I'm disappointed.

- AMD still stuck on 32nm(not even 28nm) v/s INTEL's 22nm

- CPU Performance doesn't even BEAT the A8-3500(Llano 35W model) even with higher clocks, under most scenarios

- GPU barely makes it past Intel HD4000(Intel has done an admirable job, Haswell will be 3x this)

- Cheap Ivy Bridge Dual Core Laptops with HD4000 would beat AMD's 25W Quad Core/Low Voltage both in power efficiency, performance and price.


I'm surprised why AMD didn't go for a 45W Model, which had slightly higher clocks both for CPU and GPU(more on the GPU, the only powerful thing in there). A 45W model with say:

- 2.4GHz CPU(~3.4GHz Turbo)
- 900MHz GPU(on Turbo)

could make a world of a difference..

What a load of bollocks.

 

[sergionography]

Looks promising in my opinion, though these benches fron anand were so mediocre at best, testing them only in a few generic benchmark tools when they should atleast do some real time software tests and more specialized benchmarks.
Also for games many people pointed it out but many still fail to see it, the testing approach that was taken in the review is that for testing cpu and not the gpu, whwn testing a gpu you run iton highersettings so u can eliminate cpu bottleneck out of the question and stress the gpu regardless on what they believe trinity is designed for. While with anand review its like they skewed things a bit that the fps impact is due to the epic fast higher end i7 cpu beast and NOT an impact of the hd4000, as far as i know hd4000 on its own can barely match a llano a6 graphics

One thing the review also didnt really mentiIon is the larger software optimized for trinity and howfar they have got in hsa, ive seen this chinese review on trinity that lists all the new software optimized for trinity which at the end of the day is what it all comes down too.

EDIT: http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/laptops/1292020/amd-trinity-review-hands-on-with-a-prototype-laptop
check the second page for graphics and see how running the game on higher settings yields a much bigger gap in performance compared to llano, doing 38fps vs 27fps on llano in dirt 3 compared to the almost identical performance in lower settings when ran by anand
this review isnt in depth at all either, but just saw that one example that only supports my point

also here is the chinese review i was talking about, use google translate to read it, but im not sure how legit this is but still interesting read
http://notebook.pconline.com.cn/testing/contrast/1205/2781947_all.html#content_page_1