AMD APUs have CPU modules, cache, and a discrete-class graphics processor, all on the same die using the same bus. This architecture allows for the use of graphics accelerators, such as OpenCL, with the integrated graphics processor. The goal is to create a "fully integrated" APU, which, according to AMD, will eventually feature 'heterogeneous cores' capable of processing both CPU and GPU work automatically, depending on the workload requirement.
TeraScale-based GPU K10 architecture (2011): Llano • "Stars"
AMD K10-cores • Integrated
Evergreen/VLIW5-based GPU (branded
Radeon HD 6000 series) •
Northbridge •
PCIe The
physical memory is partitioned between the GPU (up to 512
MB) and the CPU (the remainder). and praised for its better GPU performance. AMD was later criticised for abandoning
Socket FM1 after one generation.
Bobcat architecture (2011): Ontario, Zacate, Desna, Hondo •
Bobcat-based CPU •
Evergreen/VLIW5-based GPU (branded
Radeon HD 6000 series and
Radeon HD 7000 series) •
Northbridge It features the 9-watt AMD C-Series APU (codename: Ontario) for netbooks and low power devices as well as the 18-watt AMD E-Series APU (codename: Zacate) for mainstream and value notebooks,
all-in-ones and small form factor desktops. Both APUs feature one or two Bobcat x86 cores and a Radeon
Evergreen Series GPU with full DirectX11,
DirectCompute and OpenCL support including
UVD3 video acceleration for HD video including
1080p. The Desna APU is based on the 9-watt Ontario APU. Energy savings were achieved by lowering the CPU, GPU and northbridge voltages, reducing the idle clocks of the CPU and GPU as well as introducing a hardware thermal control mode. The Hondo APU is a redesign of the Desna APU. AMD lowered energy use by optimizing the APU and FCH for tablet computers. The Deccan platform including Krishna and Wichita APUs were cancelled in 2011. AMD had originally planned to release them in the second half 2012.
Piledriver architecture (2012): Trinity and Richland •
Piledriver-based CPU •
Northern Islands/VLIW4-based GPU (branded
Radeon HD 7000 and
8000 series) • Unified
Northbridge – includes AMD Turbo Core 3.0, which enables automatic bidirectional power management between
CPU modules and
GPU. Power to the
CPU and
GPU is controlled automatically by changing the
clock rate depending on the
load. For example, for a non-
overclocked A10-5800K APU the
CPU frequency can change from 1.4 GHz to 4.2 GHz, and the
GPU frequency can change from 304 MHz to 800 MHz. In addition, CC6 mode is capable of powering down individual CPU cores, while PC6 mode is able to lower the power on the entire rail. • AMD HD Media Accelerator – includes AMD Perfect Picture HD, AMD Quick Stream technology, and AMD Steady Video technology. •
Display controllers:
AMD Eyefinity-support for
multi-monitor set-ups,
HDMI,
DisplayPort 1.2,
DVI ;Trinity The first iteration of the second generation platform, released in October 2012, brought improvements to CPU and GPU performance to both desktops and laptops. The platform features 2 to 4 Piledriver CPU cores built on a 32 nm process with a TDP between 65 W and 100 W, and a GPU based on the Radeon HD7000 series with support for DirectX 11, OpenGL 4.2, and OpenCL 1.2. The Trinity APU was praised for the improvements to CPU performance compared to the Llano APU. ;Richland • "Enhanced
Piledriver" CPU cores • Temperature Smart Turbo Core technology. An advancement of the existing Turbo Core technology, which allows internal software to adjust the CPU and GPU clock speed to maximise performance within the constraints of the
Thermal design power of the APU. • New low-power consumption CPUs with only 45 W TDP The release of this second iteration of this generation was 12 March 2013 for mobile parts and 5 June 2013 for desktop parts.
Graphics Core Next-based GPU Jaguar architecture (2013): Kabini and Temash •
Jaguar-based CPU •
Graphics Core Next 2nd Gen-based GPU •
Socket AM1 and
Socket FT3 support • Target segment desktop and mobile In January 2013 the Jaguar-based Kabini and Temash APUs were unveiled as the successors of the Bobcat-based Ontario, Zacate and Hondo APUs. The Kabini APU is aimed at the low-power, subnotebook, netbook, ultra-thin and small form factor markets, while the Temash APU is aimed at the tablet, ultra-low power and small form factor markets. Kabini and Temash are AMD's first, and also the first ever quad-core x86 based
SoCs. The integrated
Fusion Controller Hubs (FCH) for Kabini and Temash are codenamed "Yangtze" and "Salton", respectively. The Yangtze FCH features support for two USB 3.0 ports, two SATA 6 Gbit/s ports, as well as the xHCI 1.0 and SD/SDIO 3.0 protocols for SD-card support. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One were revealed to both be powered by 8-core semi-custom Jaguar-derived APUs.
Steamroller architecture (2014): Kaveri •
Steamroller-based CPU with 2–4 cores •
Graphics Core Next 2nd Gen-based GPU with 192–512 shader processors • 15–95 W thermal design power Kaveri contains up to four Steamroller CPU cores clocked to 3.9 GHz with a turbo mode of 4.1 GHz, up to a 512-core Graphics Core Next GPU, two decode units per module instead of one (which allows each core to decode four instructions per cycle instead of two), AMD TrueAudio,
Mantle API, an on-chip ARM Cortex-A5 MPCore, and will release with a new socket, FM2+. Ian Cutress and Rahul Garg of
Anandtech asserted that Kaveri represented the unified system-on-a-chip realization of AMD's acquisition of ATI. The performance of the 45 W A8-7600 Kaveri APU was found to be similar to that of the 100 W Richland part, leading to the claim that AMD made significant improvements in on-die graphics performance per watt; AMD announced the release of the Kaveri APU for the mobile market on 4 June 2014 at
Computex 2014, The announcement included components targeted at the standard voltage, low-voltage, and ultra-low voltage segments of the market. In early-access performance testing of a Kaveri prototype laptop, AnandTech found that the 35 W FX-7600P was competitive with the similarly priced 17 W Intel i7-4500U in synthetic CPU-focused benchmarks, and was significantly better than previous integrated GPU systems on GPU-focused benchmarks.
Tom's Hardware reported the performance of the Kaveri FX-7600P against the 35 W
Intel i7-4702MQ, finding that the i7-4702MQ was significantly better than the FX-7600P in synthetic CPU-focused benchmarks, whereas the FX-7600P was significantly better than the i7-4702MQ's
Intel HD 4600 iGPU in the four games that could be tested in the time available to the team. •
Graphics Core Next 2nd Gen-based GPU with 128 shader processors •
Graphics Core Next 3rd Gen-based GPU •
Memory controller supports DDR3 SDRAM at 2133 MHz and DDR4 SDRAM at 1866 MHz
Steamroller architecture (Q2–Q3 2015): Godavari • Update of the desktop Kaveri series with higher clock frequencies or smaller power envelope • Steamroller-based CPU with 4 cores •
Graphics Core Next 2nd Gen-based GPU • Memory controller supports DDR3 SDRAM at 2133 MHz • 65/95 W TDP with support for configurable TDP •
Socket FM2+ • Target segment desktop • Listed since Q2 2015
Excavator architecture (2016): Bristol Ridge and Stoney Ridge • Excavator-based CPU with 2–4 cores • 1 MB L2 cache per module •
Graphics Core Next 3rd Gen-based GPU • Memory controller supports DDR4 SDRAM • 15/35/45/65 W TDP with support for configurable TDP • 28 nm •
Socket AM4 for desktop • Target segment desktop, mobile and ultra-mobile
Zen architecture (2017): Raven Ridge •
Zen-based CPU cores with
simultaneous multithreading (SMT) • 512 KB
L2 cache per core • 4 MB L3 cache • Precision Boost 2 •
Graphics Core Next 5th Gen "Vega"-based GPU •
Memory controller supports
DDR4 SDRAM •
Video Core Next as successor of
UVD+
VCE • 14 nm at
GlobalFoundries •
Socket FP5 for mobile • Refresh of Raven Ridge on 12 nm with improved latency and efficiency/clock frequency. Features similar to Raven Ridge • Launched April 2018
Zen 2 architecture (2019): Renoir •
Zen 2-based CPU microarchitecture • 15 and 45 W TDP for mobile and 35 and 65 W TDP for desktop • 7 nm at
TSMC •
Socket FP6 for mobile and
socket AM4 for desktop •
Graphics Core Next 5th Gen "Vega"-based GPU • Memory controller supports DDR4 and LPDDR4X SDRAM up to 4266 MHz 35W to 65W TDP for desktop. •
RDNA 2-based GPU •
RDNA 3-based GPU with up to 12 CU • Up to 54 W TDP for mobile • Up to 65 W TDP for desktop •
RDNA 3.5-based GPU with up to 16 CU • Memory controller supports DDR5-5600 and LPDDR5x-8000 • XDNA2-powered NPU with up to 55 TOPS • Up to 54 W TDP for mobile • Node:
TSMC N4 • Socket FP8 for mobile • Released for mobile early 2024 == See also ==