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AMD Integrates Ryzen PRO and Radeon Vega Graphics In Next-Gen APUs (zdnet.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the coming-to-a-laptop-near-you dept.

The three biggest PC OEMs -- Dell, HP, and Lenovo -- are now offering AMD Ryzen PRO mobile and desktop accelerated processing units (APUs) with built-in Radeon Vega graphics in a variety of commercial systems. There are a total of seven new APUs -- three for the mobile space and four for the desktop. As AMD notes in its press release, the first desktops to ship with these latest chips include: the HP Elitedesk G4 and 285 Desktop, the Lenovo ThinkCentre M715, and the Dell Optiplex 5055. ZDNet's Adrian Kingsley-Hughes writes about what makes Ryzen PRO so appealing: Ryzen PRO has been built from the ground up to focus on three pillars -- power, security and reliability. Built-in security means integrated GuardMI technology, an AES 128-bit encryption engine, Windows 10 Enterprise Security support, and support for fTPM/TPM 2.0 Trusted Platform Module. One of the features of Ryzen PRO that AMD hopes will appeal to commercial users is the enterprise-grade reliability that the chips come backed with, everything from 18-moths of planned software availability, 24-months processor availability, a commercial-grade QA process, 36-moth warranty, and enterprise-class manageability.

There are no worries on the performance front either, with the Ryzen PRO with Vega Graphics being the world's fastest processor currently available for ultrathin commercial notebooks, with the AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 2700U offering up to 22 percent more productivity performance than Intel's 8th-generation Core i7-8550U in testing carried out by AMD. AMD has also designed the Ryzen PRO processors to be energy-efficient, enabling up to 16 hours of battery life in devices, or 10.5 hours of video playback. The Ryzen PRO with Vega Graphics desktop processors are also no slouches, opening up a significant performance gap when compared to Intel Core i5 8400 and Core i3 8100 parts. AMD also announced that it is sampling its second-generation Threadripper 2900X, 2920X and 2950X products. "For Threadripper Gen2 you can expect a refresh of the current line-up; an 8-core Threadripper 2900X, a 12-core Threadripper 2920X and of course a 16-core Threadripper 2950X," reports Guru3D.com. "AMD will apply the same Zen+ tweaks to the processors; including memory latency optimizations and higher clock speeds."

AMD has something for the datacenter enthusiasts out there too. Epyc, AMD's x86 server processor line based on the company's Zen microarchitecture, has a new promo video, claiming more performance, more security features, and more value than Intel Xeon. The company plans to market Epyc in an aggressive head-to-head format similar to how T-Mobile campaigns against Verizon and AT&T. Given Intel Xeon's 99% market share, they sort of have to...

76 comments

  1. Apu by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Please come again.

    1. Re:Apu by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      :) Apu is a hard working man.

    2. Re:Apu by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Damnit Apu! The Squishee machine is broken again!

    3. Re:Apu by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      I said good day! /Fez

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    4. Re:Apu by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, thanks Phil Fish.

      By the way, your game fucking sucked.

  2. 18 Moths of Planned Software Availability by Myrdos · · Score: 1

    That's too bad. My company requires a minimum of 20 moths per unit.

    1. Re:18 Moths of Planned Software Availability by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      36-moth warranty though so they have you covered after right up until the second set dies....

    2. Re:18 Moths of Planned Software Availability by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      These aren't your everyday moths. These are specially-trained; they seek out blinking red rack lights, drawing your attention to faults.

    3. Re:18 Moths of Planned Software Availability by amorsen · · Score: 5, Interesting

      On the upside, the warranty is for 36 moths, so that may allay your fear of lack of bugs a bit.

      More seriously, 18 months of planned software ability?! That should be measured in years! I have just retired a server from 2006, appropriately due to too many problems with the firmware combined with modern Linux. 18 months useful life from a CPU is a joke.

      --
      Finally! A year of moderation! Ready for 2019?
    4. Re:18 Moths of Planned Software Availability by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How many Mothras is that?

    5. Re:18 Moths of Planned Software Availability by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well a brown moth can live from 11 to 13 months. So if the 18 moths are given to you in sequential order that’s nearly 18 years of moths!

    6. Re:18 Moths of Planned Software Availability by Lunix+Nutcase · · Score: 1

      But will the commercial-grade QA process make up for the moths coming in under count?

    7. Re:18 Moths of Planned Software Availability by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Grace Hopper would be so proud.

    8. Re:18 Moths of Planned Software Availability by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      On her worst day she'd knock your teeth so far down your throat you'd be chewing your own turds.

    9. Re: 18 Moths of Planned Software Availability by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      Commercial is actually the lowest grade of semiconductor.

    10. Re:18 Moths of Planned Software Availability by postbigbang · · Score: 0

      QA is part of the problem with the Ryzen CPU issues.

      ANY CPU YOU BUY FROM AMD right now is subject to the bugs of an onboard PSProcessor whose flash is immune from scrutiny until this is patched. No patch dates have been forthcoming, and every one of them has the same ugly bug. This is not commercial grade. This is recycling grade.

      Have a nice APU day.

      --
      ---- Teach Peace. It's Cheaper Than War.
    11. Re: 18 Moths of Planned Software Availability by tigersha · · Score: 1

      Our company wants butterflies, not moths

      --
      The dangers of excessive individualism are nothing compared to the oppressiveness of excessive collectivism
    12. Re:18 Moths of Planned Software Availability by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      18 months useful life from a CPU is a joke.

      No the joke is the idea that a CPU is not forward compatible to any system which doesn't rely on some fancy new instruction only available in new ISAs. The punchline of that joke is that motherboard chipsets are complicated enough not to have driver support backwards compatibility for more than 10 years.

      When did CPUs become cheap USB webcams in terms of soft/firmware support?

    13. Re:18 Moths of Planned Software Availability by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      More seriously, 18 months of planned software ability?! That should be measured in years!

      OK - 1.5 years...

    14. Re:18 Moths of Planned Software Availability by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      It doesn't mean that in 18 months Windows will drop support for it. It means that you get at least 18 months of firmware updates. Things like improved RAM compatibility and bug fixes.

      Hopefully security fixes keep coming after that, but as Intel has demonstrated there is no guarantee.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  3. Moar cores by PopeRatzo · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm holding out for the 32-thread Ryzen 3900x Pantyripper.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
    1. Re:Moar cores by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hurr hurr. You so funnay!

      Why bother when you’re hung like a toothpick?

    2. Re:Moar cores by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The operative phrase is "Asian needle dick".

    3. Re:Moar cores by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Better yet "Hung like a button on a fur coat".

    4. Re:Moar cores by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Seriously, I can't wait until the day comes where you don't have to buy a separate GPU to be able to run new games on high settings.

      It will happen. Not sure what Nvidia's going to do. Maybe make their own PC CPUs or team up with Intel.

    5. Re:Moar cores by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It will happen.

      +5 funny.

    6. Re:Moar cores by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not sure what Nvidia's going to do. Maybe make their own PC CPUs

      That for sure is one thing they won't do.

      Unless you're using Personal Computer in the very generic way, which nobody does anymore.

    7. Re:Moar cores by Z80a · · Score: 1

      That's already a thing called Epyc.
      But i suggest you to wait for the 128 thread Awe2ome.

    8. Re:Moar cores by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, even the Threadripper 1950x does 32 threads (w/ 16 H/W cores).

    9. Re:Moar cores by joss · · Score: 1

      > It will happen.

      So will the heat death of the universe, but I'm not holding my breath.

      For what you wish to come true, there would need to not be such a thing as GPUs otherwise new games will always all their high settings to exploit whatever additional power the GPU provided. Forget about it.

      --
      http://rareformnewmedia.com/
    10. Re:Moar cores by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It will happen.

      What mainly drives new GPU's - apart from retarded consumers who look at benchmarks and runs out to spend top dollars for a new graphicscard because the one which can push 250 fps in 1080p at ultra is clearly superior than the one which only manages 200 - is the need to push more pixels for higher resolutions.

      As things stand, an Rx580 is more than enough for ultra settings in any game at 1080p. 4k screens are not yet really a thing, and it's questionable if they ever seriously will be, 8k will probably never be a mainstream thing. The point is that we're reaching a point of diminishing returns, where pushing more pixels simply makes no sense, especially compared to the costs.

      Thus, if you take that in consideration, there really is no reason why APU's shouldn't be able to completely take over the market, especially when they reach the point where they have the kind of capabilities where only a minuscule part of the market really need a dedicated GPU. Something which will further serve to jack up their already significant cost which will further shrink the market.

      Considering your UID, you should remember when every "full spec'd" computer did not only have to have a separate NIC, graphicscard and soundcard, but a math co-processor as well. There's no reason the same can't happen to the GPU, the main thing holding them back ATM is the insistence on making them share the memory bus with the rest of the system. AMD kind of had the idea with "Sideport" a long time ago, dunno why it didn't go anywhere. Presumably the usual mix of cheap MB manufacturers combined with limitations in the implementation.

    11. Re: Moar cores by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That 580 draws twice or more of the power of a cpu, you're not going to see similar capability in an apu any time soon.

      You're assuming a few things:
      1. The amount of work to display high quality graphics will stagnate. But there's no sign of this. Look at how slow older graphics cards are at newer games. Or the quality tradeoff you need to make for reasonable performance on even the best igpus.

      2. That performance, density and power efficiency will continue to improve at historical rates. It's becoming clear that we're nearing the end of process shrinks allowing last generation dgpu performance on current generation igpus.

    12. Re:Moar cores by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I bet you never thought that a handheld computer would ever be more powerful than a Cray.
      I bet you never thought that computers would have clockspeeds measured in GHz.
      I bet you never thought that home computers would have gigs of RAM and terabytes of storage space.
      I bet you never thought that the iPod would be popular.
      I bet you never thought smartphones and tablets would catch on.
      I bet you never thought that HTTP would dominate everything on the internet.
      I bet you never thought that "Synapse" aka Windows 10 would ever exist.

      Always have to laugh when I come across someone with such a minuscule scope claiming that something is "impossible", only to watch you eat crow when it soon becomes possible. Mark my words, high-end CPU/GPU hybrid chips WILL exist and within a relatively short amount of time. When it happens, you will realise what a shortsighted idiot you are.

    13. Re: Moar cores by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes and the Cray 2 used 200kW of power. Clearly they'll never be able to make a computer with better performance run on less power. Progress doesn't exist in your little world.

    14. Re: Moar cores by Desler · · Score: 1

      So you believe in fantasies like infinite growth?

    15. Re: Moar cores by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Indeed it does. It's also already a year old, and one generation behind the newest.

      1. It *will* stagnate. If you're playing at 1080p which the *vast* majority of people are doing already with *very* little movement towards higher resolutions, there is no point in getting anything fancier. No, really. 200+ fps is idiotic. Ok, there will be edge cases, like VR which will need these fancy gpus but that's it, edge cases, which means a smaller market. This will mean A) higher unit prices. Which in turn means B) an even smaller market, and... goto A. You on the other hand are assuming that IGPs will stagnate. Talk about not seeing any signs of this!

      2. No, I'm making no such assumptions. What I'm fairly confident in, is that we will see further architectural improvements to the IGP which will make it sufficiently competitive with dgpus as to make the latter an extremely expensive edge case. The capability of the IGPU is not anywhere near being tapped out yet. The 2400G is fairly competent considering the price as a gaming machine at 1080p, and that's with an architecture where the CPU and the IGPU are still competing over the system bus. Just for a start. I'm certain there's a lot more that can be done, if such low-hanging fruit is available.

    16. Re:Moar cores by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm holding out for the 32-thread Ryzen 3900x Pantyripper.

      The Thread Ripper is already a 16 cores/32 threads CPU, you know

    17. Re:Moar cores by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Technically it would be Ryxen 39xxX

    18. Re: Moar cores by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As much as you believe in zero growth. Like I said, progress doesn't exist in your little world.

      I guess technology is totally over. Might as well go back to living in mud huts and wearing bear skins because according to you and your arbitrary lines, technological improvement beyond this point is impossible.

    19. Re:Moar cores by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They even do exist already, it's called the Playstation 4 and similar things.
      Consoles can do it by using fixed, soldered RAM though. Also they're not very great compared to what could be but they're using old CPU cores yet.

      For a consumer or general purpose PC we do need dual pools of RAM on an APU, it is possible already but not cheap enough yet - HBM2 memory technology is usable for the purpose already but expensive and low volume.

    20. Re:Moar cores by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They even do exist already, it's called the Playstation 4 and similar things.

      Not quite. It's more like a glimpse at what could be if the tech were more developed. Currently PS4 visuals look pretty bad compared to my gaming PC visuals.

      For a consumer or general purpose PC we do need dual pools of RAM on an APU

      Nah, just do like they do on the PS4 and use GDDR5 as unified RAM. It will boost general purpose processing too.

  4. Still don't understand AMD's new names by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Names like "Ryzen" and "Threadripper" do not sound like professional offerings from a multi-billion-dollar company.

    Hint to AMD: Those names sound like they're intended to attract "anime fanboi" teenagers as their primary demographic.

    1. Re:Still don't understand AMD's new names by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      To be fair, Intels Xeon name isn't much better.

      But professionals will just use the number designation anyway, be it the 1950X, 2200G, 8700k or Platinum 8180.

    2. Re:Still don't understand AMD's new names by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      t. Team Good Goy

    3. Re:Still don't understand AMD's new names by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Perhaps "Ryzen" doesn't appeal much, it's just an arbitrary marketing choice of random syllables like some billion dollar *company names* are chosen.

      However, I disagree with the name "threadripper". Marketed directly at the IT guys that make the buying decisions for servers in the data centers they administer, its name perfectly matches its functional intent--high parallel throughput.

    4. Re:Still don't understand AMD's new names by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Did you know that there is a urologist in Austin TX named Dick Chopp?!! Isn’t that cray cray?!!

    5. Re:Still don't understand AMD's new names by Megane · · Score: 1

      I prefer Doctor Mystery myself. (Disclaimer: I was a patient for some kidney work.)

      --
      #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
    6. Re:Still don't understand AMD's new names by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You let a hindu chimp touch your cock n’ balls?

    7. Re:Still don't understand AMD's new names by reboot246 · · Score: 1

      "Risen" (with a long 'i' - rhymes with Ryzen) is another name for a pimple or boil, an unpleasant infection of the skin. Every time I see the word "Ryzen" it nearly makes me sick.

    8. Re: Still don't understand AMD's new names by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      People making buying decisions for datacenters aren't looking at threadripper. Threadripper is a workstation processor. EPYC is the data enters product.

    9. Re: Still don't understand AMD's new names by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And EPYC is gayer than you sucking dicks behind Apple HQ.

    10. Re:Still don't understand AMD's new names by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, that makes sense in a way doesn't it? I bet Intel gets the same reaction to the name as you do.

    11. Re: Still don't understand AMD's new names by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, at least it's not gay to get your dick sucked.

      Source: anonymous coward

    12. Re:Still don't understand AMD's new names by Megane · · Score: 1

      Good work reading my post, knuckle dragger.

      --
      #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
  5. Was hoping for 8-core 2700U by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was hoping they were going to launch an 8-core mobile CPU, even if it required discrete graphics instead of onboard. They should have something to compete with Intel's new 6-core mobile offerings.

    1. Re:Was hoping for 8-core 2700U by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd rather not have an laptop at 50C idle and 15min of battery, thank you.

    2. Re:Was hoping for 8-core 2700U by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Then don't buy one. Some of us would like to do more than look at Facebook on our laptops.

  6. True Intel Rival by Roger+W+Moore · · Score: 1

    36-moth warranty though

    With that many bugs they'll really be rivalling Intel soon!

  7. Same as with Intel by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You're right, it is a huge deal. But how is that different than Intel?

    1. Re: Same as with Intel by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Intel doesn't currently have any bugs which make the hardware you buy untrusted. That is, you can't verify that the hardware hasn't already been affected by third party malware when you get it. This makes AMD hardware unusable for high security environments, and they've given zero indication how they will solve this.

      It's not enough to patch it after months, they need a secure way to verify that the patch is really installed.

    2. Re: Same as with Intel by postbigbang · · Score: 1

      That is correct. Every single Ryzen/Epyc CPU is in an unknown state. Was it intercepted? Probably not. Or: Maybe. Or maybe not. Or, can it be fixed with a BIOS reflash, or, um, not?

      The CIA/NSA/DoD don't have to worry about "back doors" and all that encryption stuff. They have AMD and Intel, partners in our better future.

      --
      ---- Teach Peace. It's Cheaper Than War.
    3. Re: Same as with Intel by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It doesn't need to be CIA/NSA/DoD, criminal networks are sophisticated enough for intercepted shipping to be a concern if there's a lot of financial and/or health information up for grabs.

      Worse, if you do end up getting owned by a zero day or stupid user (These are daily occurrences in enterprises) on that hardware you have to throw out the CPU/motherboard, because you have no way to known if they took the opportunity to install a boot loader that survives an OS re-install. It's only a matter of time before this becomes a requirement for PCI DSS and/or HIPPA certification. AMD needs to address this issue soon if they want any chance of eroding Intel's position in the enterprise market.

    4. Re: Same as with Intel by Armonk · · Score: 1

      You are still better off with AMD... 1) intel chips have way more vulnerabilities than AMD chips 2) intels ME backdoor has been discovered, AMD's trusted platform is yet to be exposed

    5. Re: Same as with Intel by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Security doesn't really care about the number of bugs, only whether they have mitigations or fixes, and how the vendor responds. Intel has been significantly better than AMD in how they have responded to enterprise clients.

      Intel ME was local only, it required a non-default setting in the bios, this problem has been fixed.

      AMD's equivalent requires elevated access, but is remotely exploited by default. They promised patches in a "few weeks" more than 8 weeks ago.

      As much as I'd like to hate on the evil Intel and support the underdog AMD. Intel has simply provided better responses to the problems, while AMD has been a bit vague and happy to let their fanboys muddy the waters with incorrect information.

    6. Re: Same as with Intel by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Intel has simply provided better responses to the problems"

      Um, no. Intel has been given 90 days or more to come up with responses. The most recent Spectre exploit releases have been delayed to give Intel more time. Don't forget that AMD was given only 1 day warning before the exploit was announced, mainly because the CTS disclosure was part of a coordinated short attack with the goal of making profit from the stock falling. AMD already has patches delivered to partners for testing, in under 90 days. https://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/news/252440601/AMD-patches-in-testing-with-ecosystem-partners

  8. What about the ole bugz of the past? by slimshady76 · · Score: 1

    Are these next-gen APUs still affected by Spectre-type vulnerabilities? I saw no mention of those flaws in the PR. But then again, it's a PR.

    1. Re:What about the ole bugz of the past? by xkenny13 · · Score: 2

      Are these next-gen APUs still affected by Spectre-type vulnerabilities? I saw no mention of those flaws in the PR. But then again, it's a PR.

      Apparently not, AMD chips appear to be in the clear:

      https://www.elazaradvisors.com...

    2. Re:What about the ole bugz of the past? by Armonk · · Score: 1

      it would seem that in an insane tech world, an AMD is the only thing that makes sense :-) joking aside, despite their trusted platform crap, AMD is the best choice as things currently stand... if AMD want to secure their position as the next leading CPU manufacturer from now on, they need to drop trusted platform and similar backdoor tech right now... they have an unprecidentet chance here... even if intel followed suit, AMD would still have been the first ones to do it and at a time where they already had wind in their sails... One has to wonder, are they not removing those backdoors because they are being forced to do it? the new US laws should protect them from any requests from the NSA or others...

    3. Re: What about the ole bugz of the past? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not entirely clear atm. The scheduler on AMD is largely a black box, whereas Intel's is documented. This combined with the reality of each vendor's market share, security researchers have been focusing on Intel as the easier target, given it's easier to get working proof of concept code.

      It remains to be seen whether AMD is more secure by implementation or by obscurity ATM. I'd wait to see what happens when the low hanging fruit on Intel is exhausted. I doubt AMD developed a fix for their processors for no reason.

      Their could be a future point where there is better understanding of how to influence the AMD scheduler and AMD will have to suddenly upgrade their optional mitigations to recommended, with potential performance implications.

  9. "enterprise-class manageability" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    where's the chips without this bullshit "feature" nobody ever asked for.. ever?

  10. My last pair of jeans came with 36 moth warranty. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And now they're full of holes!

  11. Good news everyone! by jay+age · · Score: 1

    After starting on the servers, desktops and a few low-end notebooks, now there are finally well specced notebooks with the Ryzen CPUs. These are great news for the consumers, Intel needs competition everywhere.
    ThinkPad A485 with the chassis equivalent to T480 is particularly tempting. Same great Linux compatibility with 100% less Meltdown.