AMD CPUs, SoC Rumors and Speculations Temp. thread 2

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With the interesting branch prediction changes on deck...they may very well close that gap tremendously. I doubt they actually catch intel...but they might get very much in the ball park.
 


October launch feels too optimistic.
 
"In a rather surprising announcement AMD’s Carrzio APU, specifically the FX-8800P at 35 Watts, is being used in a VR headset from Sulon called the Q and paired with Sulons own spatial processing hardware. "

http://semiaccurate.com/2016/03/14/amd-announces-radeon-pro-duo-capsaicin-event/
 


Kitguru cites WCCFTECH which itself cites an anonymous poster in a obscure forum, full of blatantly wrong information...

I expect late 2016 paper launch and volume availability for early 2017.
 


Why is it surprising?
 


EDIT2: I actually replied in the correct one... FML.

I said that it's weird because for a thermally constricted environment, an APU from AMD does not make much sense over, say, an Iris Pro part from Intel. Now, AMD does have the SDK and all the "VR Ready" things they're disclosing now, but I do agree it seems like a "uh?" type of thing only considering the perf/watt over the parts.

Cheers!
 


Yes. If you analyze it with more time, AMD makes sense at the end.

Still, I wonder how hot that thing gets. Does it have active cooling?

Cheers!
 


It may be utilizing the adjustable TDP hardware AMD had in the last batch of mobile parts...
 


So it will run at 15W tops? I guess my question still remains, since 7W from tablet devices feels pretty warm to the touch and I don't know if I'd like 15W of heat near my skull like that. We already have the Colombian Neck Tie, so this one can be called the Silicon Valley Head Squeeze?

In any case, I hope Toms gets a first hands on it. It still looks interesting.

Cheers!
 


The discovery tablet had intelligent skin that would curb the performance of the APU inside it to prevent it from being too hot to the touch.

I suspect there is some aspect of that technology involved.
 
If I'm reading that right, AMD is going to take the (wrong in my opinion) approach of slapping HBM on their APUs to try and hide the fact that accessing main memory is a slow operation. Basically, the same idea Intels iGPUs have with their EDRAM/ESRAM caches. Same issues (price, power, performance) will apply.
 


It would make sense if they were going to do something like 8 GB for memory split between system RAM and VRAM.

That would actually make a pretty stellar budget/mid level gaming rig with little more than a MB/PSU/HDD required to throw a system together.
 


A better option would be to add in the HBM for just VRAM and leave the CPU to system RAM as it would probably be near impossible to get the built on HBM to work with external system RAM.
 
An APU with HBM? I say: "it was about damn time" *puts cigar*.

It doesn't matter it only has 8GB of shared memory for Windows/Linux. Are we going to run application that will demand in the short time more than that? I really don't think so. There is no way an APU will be able to cope with VR/AR tech out there. Plus, they could come up with some sort of IMC that can handle HBM and DDR4... Not that they might, but they could.

For all other HTPC mundane tasks with a side of gaming, it will be marvelous! Or at least, I expect it to be.

I do hope they pack a decent cooler this time though.

Cheers!
 


Maybe but games are taking up a lot of system RAM these days. Some games, like Batman Arkham Knight, are performing better with 16GB of available system RAM.

Plus you have to consider the cheap people who want to cheap on every part possible.

I don;t think trying to completely replace system RAM is the best way to go about it and the better option is to use HBM as VRAM or if it is possible a cache only for the CPU, a large one at that.

I do have to agree that their AM1 cooler is crap as my HTPC has a AM1 CPU with a cooler and it, well it is not quiet. Need to look into replacing it.
 


And talking about coolers... The CM GeminII M4 is great in my book. Noctuas low profile are great as well.

In any case, I wonder how they'll make HBM live in the DIY world. Soldered cap is a must I'd say... I hope they don't go TIM though. And if the diagrams from WROFLCOPTERTECH are to be believed, then metal cap it is. From all the fuss they made about GPUs with HBM, I'm sure APUs won't be different...

And yes, I do know of a few games that love a lot of RAM, but those games are not meant to be played with the GPU inside an APU anyway. Still, I do hope, since they're aimed at Server market (HPC), they come with 16GB flavors for the public. I bet they'll be more expensive than IrisPro, but I'm willing to bet they will be well worth it. At least, for graphical stuff on a small package.

Cheers!
 


Games are not optimized to use VRAM like that though, so unless AMD wants to slap 2GB HBM directly on the CPU die (expensive and necessitates an insanely large die) or puts in extra logic on die to better optimize usage (same issues), the primary bottleneck will still be system RAM. Games require GB, not MB, of data at a time, and if the VRAM can't handle it, the CPU to RAM interface remains the primary bottleneck.
 
It really depends on how much space you are willing to sacrifice for the extra performance.

I mean, an ITX system with an APU makes perfect sense for a very tight package. Then you have mATX with makes a little less sense, but it's still small enough to have a slim case and small PSU to justify it (my personal choice here). Anything bigger is a waste and I agree with that.

Since there's the rumor for HBM as a side dish, I will put my hope and dreams on it 😛

Cheers!

EDIT: Typo.
 
Again, my suspicion with the HBM is it will effectively be an L4 cache, with the same limitations as Intels EDRAM. It helps, but it's hard to cost justify.

If we seriously want on-die GPUs that compete with low-end discrete options, then we need a much faster memory option that is cost effective for consumers to slap 16GB+ into and a much faster memory interface then we have now.
 
Well, HBM is plenty fast for an APU even in it's slowest flavor (256 bit bus for 1 stack?) which should be 1GB of VRAM (if L4/dedicated), right?

I mean, if Intel has it as L4, then HBM would be as fast as an L5 sort of cache level? haha. Well, it's on package, so it should technically be some flavor of RAM and not cache, right? Semantics... I hate it, lol.

In any case, I do expect them to be IrisPro level of expensive, but I also believe graphics wise they will be miles away from Intel. That is when all the "Zen has to improve IPC" conversation kicks in. I believe we can all agree Intel is not up to par with AMD (nor nVidia for the matter) on iGPU; be it drivers or actual Shader/SIMD engines, so the only thing left for the APUs to really be interesting now that the HBM rumor came, is for Zen to deliver within strike zone of Haswell, hopefully on par or better.

On another front... From Tom's article, I really have to say I was impressed on how well the thermal circuitry works in Godovari. Maybe a little to good, since the CPU did not go beyond 3Ghz when it might have had some room, given the GPU workloads. Looks like AMD has gotten the boost aspect of the APU really well.

Cheers!
 
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