AMD Fusion APUs Get Official: DirectX 11, 1080p HD & 10hr Battery Life

AMD has officially launched its Fusion APU series, a hybrid range of CPU/GPU chips incorporating both into a single die. Targeted at ultraportables, notebooks and netbooks, the new AMD E-Series "Zacate" and C-Series "Ontario" APUs each use the Bobcat CPU core, and AMD reckon they're capable of DirectX 11 graphics, UVD3 video acceleration, 1080p HD playback, 2D conversion to 3D and up to 10hrs battery life depending on system.

Four chips will debut initially, with single- and dual-core versions of the E- and C-Series chips. The E-Series – intended for mainstream notebooks, all-in-ones and SFF desktops – will consist of the 1.5GHz single-core E-240 and the 1.6GHz dual-core E-350, both with an 18W TDP. The C-Series – for HD netbooks "and other emerging form factors" – will see the 1.2GHz single-core C-30 and 1.0GHz dual-core C-50, both with a 9W TDP.

Later in 2011, the AMD Fusion mainstream platform – for regular and performance notebooks, and mainstream desktops – will arrive, with the 32nm die A-Series "Llano" APU, which includes up to four x86 cores and a DirectX 11-capable discrete-level GPU. AMD has lined up Acer, Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Lenovo, MSI, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba to produce notebooks using the new Fusion APUs.

Press Release:

AMD Fusion APU Era Begins

Big Experiences, Sleek Designs, All-Day Battery Life and Notebooks That Stay Cool All Day Now Possible with Revolutionary Single Chip1

Today at the Consumer Electronics Show, AMD (NYSE: AMD) launched a new class of accelerated processor that combines more compute capabilities than any processor in the history of computing. The AMD Fusion Family of Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) incorporate – in a single die design – multi-core CPU (x86) technology, a powerful DirectX®11-capable discrete-level graphics and parallel processing engine, a dedicated high-definition video acceleration block, and a high-speed bus that speeds data across the differing types of processor cores within the design. New generations of desktop, notebook and HD netbooks are now available based on AMD Fusion APUs at affordable price points. Tablets and embedded designs based on AMD Fusion APUs are expected be available later in Q1 2011. The new range of products features include stutter-free HD video playback, breakthroughs in computational horsepower to handle the most demanding applications2, DirectX 11-capable graphics and all-day battery life.1

AMD expects leading manufacturers Acer, Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Lenovo, MSI, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba to announce plans to deliver AMD Fusion APU-based systems at very compelling value and mainstream price points.

"We believe that AMD Fusion processors are, quite simply, the greatest advancement in processing since the introduction of the x86 architecture more than forty years ago," said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, AMD Products Group. "In one major step, we enable users to experience HD everywhere as well as personal supercomputing capabilities in notebooks that can deliver all-day battery life.1 It's a new category, a new approach, and opens up exciting new experiences for consumers."

HD 2.0 Everywhere

High definition (HD) content is ubiquitous today. From YouTube videos to DirectX 11 games to Blu-ray, the world is tapping into various ways to enjoy this content with the computer serving as the hub. And thanks to the VISION Engine from AMD, a set of capabilities unique to all AMD Fusion APU-powered PCs, the visual side of computing never looked more vivid and realistic. The VISION Engine is an unmatched combination of:

DirectX 11-capable graphics

Massive parallel processing to speed application performance3

The UVD3 video acceleration block found in the new AMD Radeon™ HD 6800 Series GPUs

Unique graphics driver capabilities updated on a monthly basis to continuously improve visual performance

Selecting a PC equipped with the VISION Engine and software from AMD partners means Internet browsing is a faster, application-like experience; 1080p HD video playback is gorgeous, smooth and quiet; standard definition video looks high-definition; 2D content can be converted into stereoscopic 3D; even the most graphics-intensive websites load quickly; manipulating HD content is fast and easy; and 3D gaming at HD resolutions is fast and life-like.4

Personal Supercomputing

Much of a computing experience is linked to software and, until now, software developers have been held back by the independent nature in which CPUs and GPUs process information. However, AMD Fusion APUs remove this obstacle and allow developers to take full advantage of the parallel processing power of a GPU – more than 500 GFLOPs for the upcoming A-Series "Llano" APU – thus bringing supercomputer-like performance to every day computing tasks. More applications can run simultaneously and they can do so faster than previous designs in the same class.2

AMD AllDay™ Power

Additionally, AMD Fusion technology enables all-day battery life – 10 hours or more.1 The new power-saving features present in the single-chip design greatly extend the time between plug-ins, even when enjoying HD content.

Out power and Outperform: E-Series, C-Series and A-Series APUs

The 2011 low power platform (formerly codenamed "Brazos") enhances the everyday computing experience and is available beginning today in two APU variations: E-Series and C-Series. These APUs feature the new x86 CPU core codenamed "Bobcat". "Bobcat" is AMD's first new x86 core since 2003 and was designed from the ground up to deliver stellar mobile performance.

Low Power APUs Model TDP Core Count Frequency

E-Series (former codename: "Zacate")

Designed for mainstream notebooks, All-in-Ones, and small form factor desktops E-350 18 W 2 1.6 GHz

E-240 18 W 1 1.5 GHz

C-Series (former codename: "Ontario")

Designed for HD netbooks and other emerging form factors C-50 9 W 2 1.0 GHz

C-30 9 W 1 1.2 GHz

The 2011 mainstream platform is primarily intended for performance and mainstream notebooks and mainstream desktops. It will feature the 32nm die A-Series "Llano" APU, which includes up to four x86 cores and a DirectX 11-capable discrete-level GPU, and is scheduled to ship in the first half of 2011 and appear in products mid-year.

Press Release:

Software and Hardware Ecosystem to Unleash the Power of AMD Fusion Technology

Leading software and hardware vendors demonstrate immediate support for AMD Fusion APUs

Jan. 4, 2011 — AMD today announced broad support for the AMD Fusion Family of Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) from the software and hardware ecosystem community. Working closely with software vendors, developers and motherboard suppliers, AMD has built a coalition of industry innovators committed to providing devices and applications that leverage the combined x86 computing power and discrete-level graphics performance of AMD Fusion APUs.

"AMD and its partners are leading the way to a new era of computing distinguished by immersive entertainment, outstanding Internet browsing and fast, efficient processing of digital workloads," said John Taylor, director, AMD Client and Software Product Marketing. "The creation of a robust x86- and GPU computing-based ecosystem to enable these next-generation experiences is the culmination of long-standing collaboration with developers, software and tools vendors, and component suppliers, as well as technology investments made possible by the AMD Fusion Fund."

"Personal computing is undergoing a significant evolution, fueled by the explosion of digital and multimedia content to enable a truly immersive web experience," said Tami Reller, corporate vice president of Windows marketing, Microsoft. "We think the work AMD has done with Fusion to combine x86 CPU architecture and discrete-level graphics performance creates opportunities for Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 9 to deliver real-world customer benefits including accelerated browsing, HD video and 3D gaming."

Next-Generation Applications

To access the uniquely powerful and efficient capabilities of the APU architecture, AMD collaborates with a variety of middleware and tools providers to offer software development kits that facilitate the use of industry-standard application programming interfaces (APIs) such as OpenCL™, OpenGL™, Direct2D and DirectCompute. AMD further supports the optimization of software for AMD Fusion APUs with AMD Accelerated Parallel Processing (APP) technology, which helps developers more easily tap into the combined power of the GPU and CPU to accelerate existing applications and create new possibilities in software.

Dozens of innovative companies will be demonstrating amazing computing experiences enabled by AMD technology including AMD Fusion APUs at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week in the Wired showcase sponsored by AMD (Grand Lobby), as well as in the AMD Technology Showcase. A variety of applications that span multimedia, gaming, productivity, web browsing, facial recognition, video conferencing and more will be on display from leading software suppliers, including:

Adobe

ArcSoft

Codemasters

Corel

CyberLink

DivX

EA / BioWare

Earthsim

Firaxis

Gazillion

Microsoft Internet Explorer

Microsoft Windows

Nuvixa

Roxio

Sega

Turbine

Viewdle

ViVu

AMD motherboard partners are also innovating around the launch of the first AMD Fusion APUs, as leading original design manufacturers (ODMs), including ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI and Sapphire, have announced integrated APU/motherboard products for the first PC platforms featuring AMD Fusion APUs.