AMD has officially launched Trinity, its second-generation A-series accelerated processing units (APUs) with a clear goal of taking on Intel in the ultra-slim laptop market.
The company claims that Trinity represents a doubling in performance per watt from the Llano platform it replaces, helped by the use of Piledriver CPU cores and Radeon HD 7000-series GPU cores on the all-in-one chip.
'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,' claimed Chris Cloran, general manager of AMD's client business unit, at the launch.
'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.'
That latter point of Cloran's is a clear indication of where AMD is hoping to go with its latest A-series parts: devices which can directly compete with Intel's Ultrabook platform. With Trinity-based systems offering a claimed twelve hours of battery life on a single charge and offering thermal design profiles (TDPs) as low as 17W, the company could well have something with which to give Intel serious competition.
The Trinity family includes at launch three mainstream and two ultra-thin processors. At the top end, the A10-4600M boasts Radeon HD 7660G-equivalent graphics with 384 cores running at 497MHz and four 2.3GHz general-purpose Piledriver cores with 4MB of L2 cache. When AMD's Turbo Core technology is activated, the chip boosts performance to 3.2GHz CPU and 686MHz GPU.
For more budget-conscious OEMs, the A8-4500M features a Radeon HD 7640G-equivalent graphics processor with 256 cores running at 497MHz and four 1.9GHz Piledriver cores with the same 4MB of L2 cache. As with the A10-4600M, Turbo Core can be enabled to boost the chip to 2.8GHz and the GPU to 655MHz.
At the lower end of the mainstream Trinity range is the A6-4400M, which drops to a Radeon HD 7520G-equivalent graphics module with 192 cores running at 497MHz and two 2.7GHz Piledriver cores with 1MB of L2 cache. Turbo Core is again supported, pushing the chip to 3.2GHz and the GPU to 686MHz.
TDP on all three mainstream models is 35W, with DDR3-1600 supported on all models.
In the ultra-thin segment, the A10-4665M offers a Radeon HD 7620G-equivalent graphics module with 384 cores running at 360MHz and four 2.0GHz Piledriver cores with 4MB of L2 cache. Turbo Core pushes the chip to 2.8GHz and the GPU to 497MHz, while keeping within a 25W TDP.
The A6-4455M - the chip which gets the headline-grabbing twelve-hour 'resting' battery life - drops to a Radeon HD 7500G graphics part with 256 cores running at 327MHz and two 2.1GHz Piledriver cores with 2MB of L2 cache. Turbo Core pushes this to 2.6GHz on the CPU and 424MHz on the GPU, in a 17W TDP.
Both ultra-thin chip models top out at DDR3-1333, missing the support for high-speed memory of their mainstream brethren.
Desktop parts, both in pre-built OEM and ODM systems and as retail products, are due to follow later on in the year.
The company claims that Trinity represents a doubling in performance per watt from the Llano platform it replaces, helped by the use of Piledriver CPU cores and Radeon HD 7000-series GPU cores on the all-in-one chip.
'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,' claimed Chris Cloran, general manager of AMD's client business unit, at the launch.
'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.'
That latter point of Cloran's is a clear indication of where AMD is hoping to go with its latest A-series parts: devices which can directly compete with Intel's Ultrabook platform. With Trinity-based systems offering a claimed twelve hours of battery life on a single charge and offering thermal design profiles (TDPs) as low as 17W, the company could well have something with which to give Intel serious competition.
The Trinity family includes at launch three mainstream and two ultra-thin processors. At the top end, the A10-4600M boasts Radeon HD 7660G-equivalent graphics with 384 cores running at 497MHz and four 2.3GHz general-purpose Piledriver cores with 4MB of L2 cache. When AMD's Turbo Core technology is activated, the chip boosts performance to 3.2GHz CPU and 686MHz GPU.
For more budget-conscious OEMs, the A8-4500M features a Radeon HD 7640G-equivalent graphics processor with 256 cores running at 497MHz and four 1.9GHz Piledriver cores with the same 4MB of L2 cache. As with the A10-4600M, Turbo Core can be enabled to boost the chip to 2.8GHz and the GPU to 655MHz.
At the lower end of the mainstream Trinity range is the A6-4400M, which drops to a Radeon HD 7520G-equivalent graphics module with 192 cores running at 497MHz and two 2.7GHz Piledriver cores with 1MB of L2 cache. Turbo Core is again supported, pushing the chip to 3.2GHz and the GPU to 686MHz.
TDP on all three mainstream models is 35W, with DDR3-1600 supported on all models.
In the ultra-thin segment, the A10-4665M offers a Radeon HD 7620G-equivalent graphics module with 384 cores running at 360MHz and four 2.0GHz Piledriver cores with 4MB of L2 cache. Turbo Core pushes the chip to 2.8GHz and the GPU to 497MHz, while keeping within a 25W TDP.
The A6-4455M - the chip which gets the headline-grabbing twelve-hour 'resting' battery life - drops to a Radeon HD 7500G graphics part with 256 cores running at 327MHz and two 2.1GHz Piledriver cores with 2MB of L2 cache. Turbo Core pushes this to 2.6GHz on the CPU and 424MHz on the GPU, in a 17W TDP.
Both ultra-thin chip models top out at DDR3-1333, missing the support for high-speed memory of their mainstream brethren.
Desktop parts, both in pre-built OEM and ODM systems and as retail products, are due to follow later on in the year.
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