AMD announces that shipment for desktop systems powered by its 7th generation AMD A-Series APUs has already started.
The latest generation APUs, which are coupled with AMD's new AM4 platform that supports DDR4 memory, were first shipped aboard Lenovo and HP-designed desktop systems. AMD notes that other OEM designs will follow.
The Sunnyvale-based company says that the new desktop systems can deliver smooth eSports gaming and high-speed processing, as well as enhanced streaming capabilities for both UHD and HD. The fresh releases have the highest memory bandwidth of any AMD desktop platform.
AMD corporate VP and general manager of client computing Kevin Lensing says that the release of both Lenovo and HP's new AMD-powered desktops is an essential milestone for the company.
"It marks a major increase in productivity performance, streaming video and eSports gaming experiences sought after by today's consumers, delivered through our new 7th Generation AMD A-Series desktop processors," explains Lensing while noting of the AM4 motherboard ecosystem that the new OEM desktop designs utilize and its compatibility with AMD's upcoming high-performance CPUs. In short, AMD's "Summit Ridge" desktop CPUs, which will feature the highly anticipated "Zen" cores, will use the same AM4 platform.
AMD's 7th generation APU, previously known as "Bristol Ridge," come in 35-watt and 65-watt versions. The highest-end models will feature four "Excavator" cores. AMD claims that the latest generation APU's 65-watt version can deliver the same performance as the last generation's 95-watt model.
The company proved this by pitting the 7th Generation AMD A12-9800 at 65W against the A10-8850 at 95W. The latter lost in both graphics performance in 3DMark and single-threaded CPU performance in Cinebench.
AMD also tested the A12-9800 against the Intel i5-6500 using PCMark 8 to simulate system performance. The A12-9800 managed a 3,483.25 score while the i5-6500 bested it with 3,702. With the results, AMD claims that the new 65-watt APU can offer "up to equivalent" performance in terms of productivity.
In graphics performance, however, the A12-9800 with its 3,521.25 3DMark score almost doubled the i5-6500's 1,765.75. This translates to a 99 percent graphics performance lead for the A12-9800. Nonetheless, it is important to note that the test did not involve a discrete graphics card.
AMD's 7th generation APUs support 4K Ultra HD video playback in both H.264 and H.265 formats. The new AM4 platform features an update I/O and peripheral support, which includes USB 3.1 Gen 2, PCIe Gen 3, SATA Express and NVMe.
