AMD has formally launched its next-generation Trinity Accelerated Processing Units (APUs). The company says that the improvements in architecture and Piledriver core has resulted in a chip that is twice as efficient per watt as its predecessor the Llano, despite sticking with a 32nm fabrication process. AMD says that based on price, its chips offer superior performance for each dollar spent against Intel’s latest 22nm Ivy Bridge (3rd generation Core series) processors.
AMD codenamed the new chips Trinity as they are designed to cover three product segments, although they will carry the Fusion label in the market. This includes desktops, notebooks, and its Ultrabook response, ‘ultra-thin’ notebooks, particularly at the lower end of the price spectrum. Thanks to its improved performance, a 17-watt A6-4455 will deliver the same performance as an equivalent 35-watt Llano chip. It is destined for ultra-thin notebooks that could cost just half as much as an Intel-powered ultrabook.
The AMD Trinity aimed at notebooks and AIO (all-in-one) desktops starts with the A10-4600M quad-core processor clocked at 2.3GHz in the 35/65-watt class. It is also capable of dynamically peaking at 3.2GHz for short periods during more demanding tasks. Against its leading competition, a second-generation Core i5-2520M, the AMD integrated GPU blows past the Intel in graphics performance, but is down slightly in terms of outright processing power.
AMD’s 100-watt Trinity for desktops also trumps the equivalent Intel Ivy Bridge Core i7-3770K in graphics performance. In some of the latest games, it produced results as much as 50 percent better than the integrated Intel GPU. However, again, outright CPU performance is down on the Intel offering, but is still up by 28 percent over its Llano predecessor.
The AMD Trinity series of processors will start making appearances in hardware from Asus, Lenovo, Samsung, Toshiba and Acer over the coming two months.
