AMD made an update to its desktop APU lineup, with the addition of the A10-7890K. This socket FM2+ chip, based on the "Kaveri" Refresh silicon, replaces the A10-7870K as the fastest APU you can buy. The chip's maximum (Turbo Core) frequency is upped to 4.30 GHz, compared to the 4.20 GHz on the A10-7870K. The nominal clock speed remains unchanged, it's rumored to be 4.00 GHz, but it wouldn't surprise us if AMD kept it at 3.90 GHz. AMD could bundle its recently demoed Wraith air-cooler with this chip, which promises significantly lower noise levels than the older reference cooler. In addition to the A10-7890K, AMD announced that it is working with its motherboard partners to launch a fresh wave of socket FM2+ and AM3+ boards that feature modern connectivity, such as USB 3.1 type-C and type-A, and M.2 PCIe slots.

AMD is planning to expand its socket FM2+ chip lineup with three new parts, the A10-7890K and A8-7690K APUs, and the Athlon X4 880K CPU. The three parts surfaced on the compatibility list of socket FM2+ motherboards by BIOSTAR. The architecture mentioned is "Kaveri," but the silicon could very well be "Godavari," (Kaveri refresh).

The refreshed lineup will be led by the A10-7890K, which features CPU clock speeds of 4.10 GHz out of the box, with an unknown TurboCore frequency (the current series leader A10-7870K offers 3.90 GHz with 4.10 GHz TurboCore). The A8-7690K offers CPU clocks of 3.70 GHz, and an unknown TurboCore frequency. There's no word on the iGPU clock speeds of the two chips. The third and most intriguing part is the Athlon X4 880K, with 4.00 GHz CPU clocks. The Athlon X4 FM2+ series lack integrated graphics, and make for good buys for people planning to build machines with discrete GPUs, on the FM2+ platform. All three chips offer unlocked base-clock multipliers, enabling CPU overclocking.

AMD today introduced the latest addition to its line of desktop A-Series processors, the A10-7870K APU, a refresh to the existing line of processors codenamed "Kaveri". The A10-7870K delivers a best-in-class experience for eSports and online gaming with superior performance, best-in-class efficiency in DirectX 12, and unique features. The new processor also delivers exceptional performance in modern workloads and is designed for the future with Microsoft Windows 10.

The latest iteration of the popular and powerful AMD A-Series APU family provides premium performance and multitasking powered by up to 12 compute cores (4 CPU + 8 GPU). The responsiveness and processing power of the A10-7870K APU enables an immersive user experience on Windows 10 PCs while offering an easy path for PC builders looking to upgrade to discrete-level graphics and faster processing at an afforadable price. The A10-7870K APU is available at e-tail now at a suggested price (SEP) of US $137, and through participating system builders.

AMD is readying its next-gen APUs, codenamed "Godavari" for launch in May 2015, according to industry sources in Taiwan. A successor to "Kaveri," Godavari will feature updated "Excavator" architecture based CPU cores, and the latest Graphics CoreNext 1.2 based stream processors on the integrated GPU. The APU will feature PCI-Express gen 3.0 and high-speed DDR3 integrated memory controllers, just like its predecessor "Kaveri," and could be based on the existing FM2+ platform. These chips will compete against some of the entry/mainstream variants of Intel's Core "Broadwell" processors. It's likely that these chips could be built on existing 28 nm process.

It's also being reported that AMD will launch its first APUs based on the 14 nanometer fab process, codenamed "Summit Ridge," in 2016. These will be succeeded by "Raven Ridge" APUs in 2017. AMD could use Samsung and GlobalFoundries to make its 14 nm chips. Lastly, AMD is reportedly in talks with ASMedia to integrate its USB 3.1 controller logic into its new motherboard chipset, which it plans to launch in September 2015.

AMD today officially announced FreeSync, an open-standard technology that makes video and games look more fluid on PC monitors, with fluctuating frame-rates. A logical next-step to V-Sync, and analogous in function to NVIDIA's proprietary G-SYNC technology, FreeSync is a dynamic display refresh-rate technology that lets monitors sync their refresh-rate to the frame-rate the GPU is able to put out, resulting in a fluid display output.

FreeSync is an evolution of V-Sync, a feature that syncs the frame-rate of the GPU to the display's refresh-rate, to prevent "frame tearing," when the frame-rate is higher than refresh-rate; but it is known to cause input-lag and stutter when the GPU is not able to keep up with refresh-rate. FreeSync works on both ends of the cable, keeping refresh-rate and frame-rates in sync, to fight both page-tearing and input-lag.

In addition to its new A-series APUs, AMD announced two new CPUs, the Athlon 860K, and the FX-8300. Built in the FM2+ package, the Athlon 860K is a quad-core CPU based on the 28 nm "Kaveri" silicon, with its integrated graphics disabled. It features four "Steamroller" CPU cores clocked at 3.70 GHz, with an unlocked base-clock multiplier that enables overclocking. The two modules that make up the four cores feature half their normal L2 cache amounts, and so the total L2 cache is just 2 MB. The chip will run on socket FM2+ motherboards based on the A88X, A85, A75, and A55 chipsets. The FX-8300, on the other hand, is a budget eight-core processor in the AM3+ package. It's based on the 32 nm "Vishera" silicon, featuring eight CPU cores spread across four "Piledriver" modules; clocked at 3.20 GHz, with 3.50 GHz of Turbo Core frequencies. The chips feature 2 MB of L2 cache per module, and 8 MB of shared L3 cache. Its TDP is rated at 95W.

AMD unveiled a new mid-range APU to take on Intel's Core i3 "Haswell" processors, the A10-7800 (model: AD7800YBI44JA). Based on the 28 nm "Kaveri" silicon, and built in the socket FM2+ package, this part differs from the A10-7850K in lacking an unlocked CPU base clock multiplier, and a rated TDP of just 65W (compared to the former's 95W). The A10-7800 features four x86-64 cores based on the "Steamroller" micro-architecture, spread across two modules, featuring 4 MB (2x 2 MB) of L2 cache; clocked at 3.50 GHz, with a TurboCore frequency of 3.90 GHz. Also featured is Radeon R7 Series integrated GPU featuring 512 GCN2 cores, with support for AMD Mantle and DirectX 11.2. Its uncore component features a dual-channel DDR3 integrated memory controller, with support for DDR3-1866 MHz, and a PCI-Express gen 3.0 root complex. It's expected to be priced between US $140 and $150.

To celebrate the introduction of its new 2014 AMD Performance Mobile APUs designed for ultrathin and high-performance mobile PCs, AMD yesterday launched its all-new enthusiast-class Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) for notebooks (formerly codenamed "Kaveri") to the edge of space, symbolically expanding the physical environment of mobile computing in parallel to how AMD expanded the performance envelope of mobile computing through its new APU design.

The new mobile APUs mark the debut of Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA) features and Mantle gaming support for mobile devices, establishing these APUs as AMD's most advanced mobile computing technology to-date.

AMD (NYSE: AMD) today introduced its new 2014 Performance Mobile APUs designed for ultrathin and high-performance mobile PCs, bringing the features and capabilities of the popular and powerful AMD A-Series APU family (codenamed "Kaveri") to power-efficient notebooks for both personal and professional use. The new mobile APUs mark the debut of Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA) features and Graphics Core Next (GCN) Architecture for mobile devices, establishing them as AMD's most advanced mobile APUs to-date. Notebook and desktop systems powered by AMD's entire 2014 APU lineup, including systems from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Toshiba and others also debuted at COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2014.

"AMD takes a major step forward today on our journey to transform and enhance the computing experience with the launch of the 2014 Performance Mobile APU family," said Bernd Lienhard, corporate vice president and general manager, Client Business Unit, AMD. "With a combination of superior total compute performance, stunning graphics and efficient power use alongside industry-first technologies, these new APUs set a new bar for cutting-edge consumer and commercial PCs."
The announcement of the 2014 Performance Mobile APU family features AMD's first FX-branded enthusiast-class APU for notebooks, and follows the recent introduction of AMD's 2014 Low-Power and Mainstream APUs.

Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth, a turn-based strategy game based in the interstellar age, in which you travel to and colonize habitable planets by realpolitik, was announced last weekend, with support for AMD's Mantle API, besides DirectX 11. Mantle should make the game increasingly playable on AMD "Kaveri" APUs with eye-candy cranked up, and at reasonable mainstream resolutions such as 1080p. Mantle reduces the CPU's role in graphics processing, and should benefit APUs. Developer Firaxis announced the game for three PC platforms, Windows, OS X, and Linux (over Steam). Don't add it to your summer bucket-list just yet. It's slated for this fall.A trailer video follows.

MSI launched the A78M-E45, a fairly well-equipped socket FM2+ motherboard in the micro-ATX form-factor, based on the AMD A75 chipset. The board supports the latest A-series "Kaveri" APUs, in addition to previous generation "Richland," and "Trinity" ones. It features a 5-phase VRM to power the FM2+ socket, which is cooled by VRM heatsinks. The socket is wired to a PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot. Other expansion slots include a PCI-Express 2.0 x16 (electrical x4), a PCIe 2.0 x1, and a legacy PCI, all wired to the A75 FCH.

Display connectivity on the A78M-E45 includes dual-link DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI 1.4a. The board offers a total of six USB 3.0 ports, four on the rear panel, and two by headers. Storage connectivity includes six SATA 6 Gb/s ports. 8-channel HD audio, gigabit Ethernet, PS/2 mouse/keyboard connectors, and a number USB 2.0/1.1 ports make for the rest of the connectivity. The board is driven by UEFI BIOS. MSI didn't reveal pricing.

MSI, a world leader in motherboards, debuts its first AMD FM2+ socket based Mini-ITX motherboard, the MSI A88XI AC. The MSI A88XI AC supports the new AMD Kaveri APU and is FM2 backwards compatible (Richland and Trinity). Equipped with a rich feature set including Intel Dual Band Wireless AC WiFi/Bluetooth and PCIe Gen 3.0 support, the MSI AX88XI AC is the ideal small form factor multimedia, office or gaming solution without compromising on features.

The MSI A88XI AC motherboard features a wide variety of multimedia solutions such as H.264 hardware decoding, support for 4K UHD video, Blu-ray playback and 8-channel HD Audio through HDMI. When combined with today's processors featuring advanced integrated graphics, MSI motherboards support triple display configurations for more efficiency and flexibility of the desktop layout. The MSI A88XI AC motherboard is ready for 4K UHD resolution with support up to 4096 x 2160. 4K UHD and triple display support deliver an amazing experience when watching movies and playing games.

AMD's upcoming low-power APU lineup, based on a common silicon code-named "Kabini," will launch with no less than five models. These could include chips built in both the socketed AM1 FCPGA and BGA packages, to cater to different target form-factors. The series starts off at the bottom with the dual-core E1-2100 and E1-2150. The two feature CPU clock speeds of 1.00 and 1.05 GHz, respectively, 1 MB of L2 cache, and Radeon HD 8210 graphics. The HD 8210 features 128 stream processors based on the Graphics CoreNext architecture. The CPU cores, on the other hand, are based on the "Jaguar" micro-architecture.

Moving on, there's the E2-3800. It tucks in a quad-core CPU clocked at 1.30 GHz, 2 MB of L2 cache, and Radeon HD 8280 graphics. The features the same stream processor count of 128 as the HD 8210, but higher clock speeds. Going beyond the E-Series, we enter AMD's more popularized A-Series, with the A4-5000, A4-5050, and the A6-5200. The three are built in the AM1 package, and are not compatible with platforms that drive the bigger A-Series "Kaveri" chips. The A4-5000 and A4-5500 feature CPU clock speeds of 1.50 GHz and 1.55 GHz, respectively, and Radeon HD 8330 graphics, featuring 128 stream processors, but 500 MHz GPU clock - the highest in its class. The list also points to an A6-5200. We're not sure which silicon it's based on, but it's outfitted with a quad-core CPU clocked at 2.00 GHz, and Radeon HD 8400 graphics.

Crushed your F5 key on AMD driver download page yet? Unless you have four very specific AMD Radeon GPUs, you can stop it right now. According to DICE, developers of the first game to take advantage of Mantle, the 3D graphics API AMD is introducing with its Catalyst 14.1 beta driver, will give tangible benefits to only four specific GPUs - Radeon R9 290X, R9 290 (non-X), R7 260X, and A-Series "Kaveri" APU-integrated R7 200 series.

Owners of all other Radeon GPUs, including those based on the Graphics CoreNext (GCN) architecture, such as the recently launched R9 280X and R9 270X, are out of luck, for now. AMD is still ironing out issues with Mantle on those other GCN GPUs. Interestingly, in the same press note, DICE posted performance numbers yielded on an HD 7970, which look promising. AMD is expected to release its Catalyst 14.1 beta driver a little later this week, as it's jousting with some last-minute bug-finds.

The next level of small form factor PC gaming has arrived when CyberPower Inc., a global manufacturer of custom gaming PCs, today unleashes its Zeus Mini desktop series. Each model, priced from $599-1479, is stuffed with enough AMD or Intel processing and graphics crunching power to rival any full-size desktop PC.

CYBERPOWERPC's new Zeus Mini is ready to tear into games that demand the most system resources. Customers can choose between three AMD's Kaveri A-series processor models (Zeus Mini-A), or five different 4th Generation Intel Core processor models (Zeus Mini-I) starting with a Core i5-4440 up to a screaming fast Core i7-4770K at 3.50GHz. All processors in the Zeus Mini series are mounted to a Mini ITX motherboard packed with the latest AMD and Intel chipset that deliver the latest technologies including 802.11ac wifi, PCI Express 3.0, and more. Both processor options include multi-core support and dual-channel DDR3 gaming performance with a minimum of 8 GBs memory that is expandable to 16 GBs.

TechPowerUp released GPU-Z version 0.7.6, the latest version of the popular lightweight graphics subsystem information, monitoring, and diagnostic utility. Version 0.7.6 comes with support for new GPUs, including NVIDIA's upcoming Maxwell architecture. It also introduces the ability to tell the vendor of memory chips on your discrete graphics card, and a reliable new BIOS reading method for NVIDIA GPUs.

To begin with, GPU-Z adds support for NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce GTX TITAN Black, GeForce GTX 750 Ti, GTX 750 (non-Ti), both of which are based on NVIDIA's "Maxwell" micro-architecture, GTX 840M, and new GTX 760 "lite" (192-bit). On the AMD front, it adds support for AMD A-Series "Kaveri" iGPUs, Radeon R7 M265, FireStream 9350, HD 8530M, and HD 8650D. A new Intel Iris Pro 5200 variant is supported.

GPU-Z 0.7.6 comes with a revolutionary new feature, the ability to tell the vendor of the memory chips on your graphics card, so you don't have to take your card apart to tell the same. GPU-Z 0.7.6 also integrates NVIDIA NVFlash to reliably read BIOS of NVIDIA GPUs. Voltage monitoring of GeForce GTX 780 Ti is improved.DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z 0.7.6 | TechPowerUp GPU-Z 0.7.6 ASUS ROG Edition

The change-log follows.

AMD's A-Series "Kaveri" APUs perform tangibly better on system with dual-rank memory modules, according to an investigative report by ComputerBase.de. According to the report, the chip yields its best memory bandwidth when both its memory channels are populated with 2-rank DIMMs each. Either that, or four modules with one rank each. The report also found out that Kaveri can take advantage of DDR3-2400 as advertised. There was a 15.2 percent jump in performance between DDR3-1866 and DDR3-2400.

An unreliable way of checking whether a DIMM has two ranks is by looking at whether both sides of its PCB has DRAM chips; a reliable way of doing that, however, is using software such as AIDA64 (Motherboard\SPD tab), which lists out number of ranks, and number of banks per rank; and of course, looking up the specs sheet. The reason visual inspection of a DIMM is not reliable these days is because of the way modern DRAM chips are designed. There are instances of DIMMs with chips on just one side, yet 2 ranks. Find more performance numbers at the source.

Here are the first pictures of an AMD A10-7700K "Kaveri" APU with its integrated heat-spreader (IHS, or 'lid') removed. Put next to its predecessors, "Richland," "Trinity," and "Llano," AMD's new APU silicon is its biggest for the DIY PC market, more so because it's built on the 28 nm silicon fab process, compared to its predecessors being built on 32 nm. The die measures roughly 245 mm², and packs a staggering 2.41 billion transistors.

Under the IHS, AMD is using a thermal paste to transport heat from the die, and not a solder. The chip should be easy to de-lid, if you know what you're doing. Kaveri integrates two "Steamroller" x86-64 CPU modules with two cores each, a total of 4 MB of L2 cache, a massive on-die GPU with 512 stream processors based on the Graphics CoreNext micro-architecture, a dual-channel DDR3 IMC with hUMA and DDR3-2400 native support; and a PCI-Express 3.0 root complex.

AMD announced its 2014 A-Series APU for the desktop platform, code-named "Kaveri," after the southern-Indian river. Built in the new FM2+ package, the APUs run only on socket FM2+ motherboards based on the AMD A88X, A78, and A55 chipsets; while the socket itself can seat older FM2 APU families, "Trinity" and "Richland." In many ways, the socket transition is similar to that of socket AM3+. "Kaveri" sees AMD integrate two of its newest CPU and GPU micro-architectures, "Steamroller" for CPU, and Graphics CoreNext 2.0 for the GPU. "Kaveri" is also built on newer generation 28 nm silicon fab process.

"Steamroller" is an evolution of the same modular CPU core design as its predecessors, "Piledriver" and "Bulldozer." AMD promises a 10 percent improvement in performance clock-by-clock, per core, which falls in line with AMD's normal scheme of annual incremental performance updates on its CPU micro-architectures. A "Steamroller" module is a combination of two 64-bit x86 cores, which feature dedicated and shared components. "Kaveri" has two such modules, and so physically, it features a quad-core CPU.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, today announced official support for next generation AMD A-Series APUs based on the highly anticipated 'Kaveri' architecture. GIGABYTE 'Kaveri' support includes current AMD A88X and A55 (rev3.0) platform motherboards plus forthcoming A78 platform motherboards.

"By enabling support on current GIGABYTE AMD motherboards for these new AMD A-Series APUs, GIGABYTE ensures our customers are able to take advantage of a whole new approach to PC architecture design," commented Henry Kao, Vice President of GIGABYTE Motherboard Business Unit. "Combining the highest level of quality design with the most advanced set of features, GIGABYTE FM2+ motherboards offer the best user experience for these new A-Series APUs."

With AMD's launching of the FM2+ APU today, BIOSTAR has been hard at work preparing a complete series of mainboards for the supporting A88X, A78 and A55 chipsets. To make upgrading even easier, these boards also have backwards support for previous generation FM2 APUs.

The new AMD "Kaveri" APUs will come with a new socket, the AMD socket FM2+ and will unify the processor families. Kaveri APU features a completely new CPU and GPU architecture. Socket FM2+ will be AMD's only option in 2014, replacing AM3+ and FM2 and BIOSTAR is providing mainboards ready from the get-go.

AMD is reportedly releasing a fix for frame-pacing issues for Radeon-based systems with Eyefinity setups in January, 2014, according to an AnandTech report. This September, AMD rolled out the first fix into the frame-pacing issues that affected Radeon GPUs based on the Graphics CoreNext architecture, in which raw-framerate didn't come with the right pacing between each frame, resulting in display output that isn't fluid, which even caused accusations to fly from some quarters about how honest AMD really is with performance numbers of its GPUs.

The Catalyst update that rolled out in September 2013 resolved the problem for a majority of users - with single displays connected to single GPUs, but left out cases in which people use Eyefinity (single display head spanning across multiple physical displays), on CrossFireX (multi-GPU) setups. It was originally expected that AMD would release the so-called "phase 2" Catalyst driver update looking into frame-pacing issues this November, but since the month has passed, AMD has obviously hit a delay. AnandTech reports that delay could last as long as two months, and one should expect "phase 2" to come out only towards the later half of January, since in the first half, AMD, along with the rest of the industry, will be busy with the 2014 International CES, where it will launch its next-generation A-Series APUs, codenamed "Kaveri."

Specifications of two of AMD's top next-generation APUs, the A10-7850K and A10-7700K, were leaked to the web, revealing an incremental or evolutionary upgrade over the 6000 "Richland" series. To begin with, the two are based on the 28 nm "Kaveri" silicon. Straightaway we find that AMD hasn't been able to catch up with Intel's 22 nm leap for close to two years. All that it manages is to bring the rated TDP of the overclockable "K" chips down to 95W, from the traditional 100W. "Kaveri" puts three of AMD's recent innovations in CPU and GPU on one chip - "Steamroller" CPU micro-architecture, "Graphics CoreNext" GPU architecture, and hUMA (heterogeneous Uniform Memory Access), a technology that allows the CPU and GPU to access the same portion of memory simultaneously.

"Steamroller" features the same component hierarchy and basic design as its predecessors "Piledriver" and "Bulldozer," in which clumps of two cores that feature dedicated and shared number-crunching resources, called modules, make up the basic units of a processor. "Kaveri" features two such modules, and hence features four CPU cores. "Kaveri" misses out on an L3 cache cushioning transfers between the modules, and other uncore components on the APU yet again, and each module features a 2-megabyte L2 cache at its last level, totaling the L2 cache amount to 4 MB on "Kaveri." The integrated memory controller features a 128-bit (dual-channel) DDR3 memory interface, with support for standards as high as DDR3-2133 MHz on some models. The PCI-Express root complex complies with the newer PCIe gen 3.0 standard, as do we imagine the A-Link (chipset bus). AMD introduced huge changes with the GPU component.

MSI is pleased to announce a full line-up of FM2+ Military Class 4 motherboards featuring the new AMD A88X/A78/A55 chipset and FM2+ socket. These motherboards not only support the current FM2 Trinity and Richland APUs but are also ready for AMD's upcoming 4th generation Kaveri APU. AMD APUs are known for their excellent gaming and multi-media experience and support a wide range of display solutions.

4K UHD Output
Thanks to the AMD Kaveri APU and the MSI FM2+ motherboard native HDMI 1.4 connector it supports 4K resolutions (3840x2160) which provide much sharper and life-like images in combination with a 4K monitor.

AMD kicked off its 2013 Developer Summit (APU13) today, announcing a new unified Software Development Kit (SDK,) an improved CodeXL tool suite with added features and support for the latest AMD hardware, and added heterogeneous acceleration in popular Open Source libraries. Together, these tools provide a substantial step forward in productivity and ease-of-use for developers wishing to harness the full power of modern heterogeneous platforms spanning form servers to PCs to handheld devices.

"Developers are essential to our mission of realizing the full potential of modern computing technologies," said Manju Hegde, corporate vice president, Heterogeneous Solutions, AMD. "Enriching the developer experience by harnessing these technologies is a critical part of AMD's mission to accelerate developer adoption."