AMD, which for over 45 years has been driving innovation in high-performance computing, graphics and visualisation technologies, used a day before CES 2018 to lay out its plans for the year. Building on the global enthusiasm generated in 2017 by Ryzen processors and Radeon graphics technology, AMD detailed its forthcoming roll-out plan for its new and next generation of high-performance computing and graphics products. Alongside announcing the first desktop Ryzen processors with built-in Radeon Vega Graphics, AMD also detailed the full line-up of Ryzen mobile APUs – including the new Ryzen PRO and Ryzen 3 models – and provided a first look at the performance of its upcoming 12nm second-generation Ryzen desktop CPU expected to launch in April. In the field of graphics, where AMD enjoys an enviable edge over competitors, the company announced the expansion of the Vega family with Radeon Vega Mobile and said that its first 7nm product is planned to be a Radeon Vega GPU specifically built for machine learning applications.
“We successfully accomplished the ambitious goals we set for ourselves in 2017, re-establishing AMD as a high-performance computing leader with the introduction and ramp of 10 different product families,” said AMD president & CEO, Lisa Su. “We are building on this momentum in 2018 as we make our strongest product portfolio of the last decade even stronger with new CPUs and GPUs that bring more features and more performance to a broad set of markets.”
During the event, AMD CTO & SVP Mark Papermaster shared updates on the company’s process technology roadmaps for both x86 processors and graphics architectures. x86 Processors: The Zen core, currently shipping in Ryzen desktop and mobile processors, is in production at both 14nm and 12nm, with 12nm samples now shipping. He added that the Zen 2 design is complete and will “improve on the award-winning Zen design in multiple dimensions.”
Graphics processors: Papermaster announced expanding the Vega product family in 2018 with the Radeon Vega Mobile GPU for ultrathin notebooks, and the first 7nm AMD product, which is a Vega-based GPU built specifically for machine learning applications. For graphics, 2018 will see AMD’s Vega graphics core expanding its reach, and the company discussed its first mobile discrete graphics solution based on the Vega architecture.
