AMD has launched its 6th generation A-series accelerated processing unit (APU) chip processors – branded as A8, A10 and FX series – at a press event at Computex in Taiwan.
AMD claimed the product series, also known as Carrizo, has reached the full potential of the APU, and the latest System-on-Chip (SoC) design is primarily architecture for solid online gaming, premium streaming entertainment and exceptional computing experiences.
This true single-chip solution would be incorporated into mainstream laptops with a price range of $400-$700. It is well-designed to support the upcoming features of Windows 10 and DirectX 12's backing of 3D acceleration for serious gaming and High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) support.
Roanne Sones, one of the general managers in Microsoft's Operating Systems division, stated that gaming has been a main focus for Windows 10, and that the performance improvements of Carrizo APUs with DirectX 12 were very impressive. She also highlighted other significant features, such as better support for multi-monitor setups and high-resolution monitors, as well as AMD's work on longer battery life, HEVC hardware and improved refresh rates.
During the press event, AMD displayed performance tests indicating that the Carrizo APUs provide faster framerates and longer battery life than rival Intel Core processors on popular online games such as Dota 2 and League of Legends. The company also demonstrated how Carrizo can support fluid gaming and simultaneous live streaming to Twitch through the Gaming Evolved client.
"We're going to win on graphics, and what you see here is twice the performance of an Intel Core i7," said Kevin Lensing, AMD's Senior Director of Product Management, at the Computex press conference.
The Carrizo lineup consists of both 15-watt and 35-watt APUs, but the main performance gains were recorded in the lower power chips. In comparison to its predecessor Kaveri, which uses the same 28nm process technology, the CPU performance has been amplified 4 to 15 percent. Graphics performance has improved 10 to 15 percent on the 35W APUs and 65 percent on the 15W units.
AMD has redesigned these latest chips to meet expectations of better graphics and longer battery at a competitive price. The company added that their CPUs were based on four Excavator cores, while the GPUs were created from the architecture of eight cores from the updated AMD Radeon Graphics Core Next (GCN).
The vendors who have committed to building systems based on this new platform include Asus, Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Toshiba and could be purchased as early as next month or two in time for Back to School.
