Brand new high performance GPU architecture removes many traditional constraints from Gaming, VR, Professional Design and
Machine Intelligence arenas
SUNNYVALE, CA--(Marketwired - Jan 5, 2017) - Today AMD (NASDAQ: AMD)
unveiled preliminary details of its forthcoming GPU architecture, Vega. Conceived and executed over 5 years, Vega architecture
enables new possibilities in PC gaming, professional design and machine intelligence that traditional GPU architectures have not
been able to address effectively. Data-intensive workloads are becoming the new normal, and the parallel nature of the GPU lends
itself ideally to tackling them. However, processing these huge new datasets requires fast access to massive amounts of memory.
The Vega architecture's revolutionary memory subsystem enables GPUs to address very large data sets spread across a mix of memory
types. The high-bandwidth cache controller in Vega-based GPUs can access on-package cache and off-package memories in a flexible,
programmable fashion using fine-grained data movement.
"It is incredible to see GPUs being used to solve gigabyte-scale data problems in gaming to exabyte-scale data problems in
machine intelligence. We designed the Vega architecture to build on this ability, with the flexibility to address the
extraordinary breadth of problems GPUs will be solving not only today but also five years from now. Our high-bandwidth cache is a
pivotal disruption that has the potential to impact the whole GPU market," said Raja Koduri, senior vice president and chief
architect, Radeon Technologies Group, AMD.
Highlights of the Vega GPU architecture's advancements include:
- The world's most advanced GPU memory architecture: The Vega architecture enables a new memory hierarchy
for GPUs. This radical new approach comes in the form of a new high-bandwidth cache and its controller. The cache features
leading-edge HBM2 technology which is capable of transferring terabytes of data every second, doubling the bandwidth-per-pin
over the previous generation HBM technology. HBM2 also enables much greater capacity at less than half the footprint of GDDR5
memory. Vega architecture is optimized for streaming very large datasets and can work with a variety of memory types with up to
512TB of virtual address space.
- Next-generation geometry pipeline: Today's games and professional applications make use of incredibly
complex geometry enabled by the extraordinary increase in the resolutions of data acquisition devices. The hundreds of
millions of polygons in any given frame have meshes so dense that there are often many polygons being rendered per pixel.
Vega's next-generation geometry pipeline enables the programmer to extract incredible efficiency in processing this complex
geometry, while also delivering more than 200% of the throughput-per-clock over previous Radeon architectures.1 It
also features improved load-balancing with an intelligent workload distributor to deliver consistent performance.
- Next-generation compute engine: At the core of the Vega architecture is a new, next-generation compute
engine built on flexible compute units that can natively process 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit or 64-bit operations in each clock
cycle.2 These compute units are optimized to attain significantly higher frequencies than previous generations and
their support of variable datatypes makes the architecture highly versatile across workloads.
- Advanced pixel engine: The new Vega pixel engine employs a Draw Stream Binning Rasterizer, designed to
improve performance and power efficiency. It allows for "fetch once, shade once" of pixels through the use of a smart on-chip
bin cache and early culling of pixels invisible in a final scene. Vega's pixel engine is now a client of the onboard L2 cache,
enabling considerable overhead reduction for graphics workloads which perform frequent read-after-write operations.
GPU products based on the Vega architecture are expected to ship in the first half of 2017.
Supporting Resources
About AMD
For more than 45 years AMD has driven innovation in high-performance computing, graphics, and visualization
technologies -- the building blocks for gaming, immersive platforms, and the datacenter. Hundreds of millions of consumers,
leading Fortune 500 businesses, and cutting-edge scientific research facilities around the world rely on AMD technology daily to
improve how they live, work, and play. AMD employees around the world are focused on building great products that push the
boundaries of what is possible. For more information about how AMD is enabling today and inspiring tomorrow, visit the AMD
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Cautionary Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) including the features,
functionality and expectations regarding AMD's Vega GPU architecture and the timing and availability of GPU products based on
AMD's Vega architecture, which are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Forward-looking statements are commonly identified by words such as "would," "may," "expects," "believes," "plans,"
"intends," "projects" and other terms with similar meaning. Investors are cautioned that the forward-looking statements in this
document are based on current beliefs, assumptions and expectations, speak only as of the date of this press release and involve
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. Such statements are
subject to certain known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond AMD's
control, that could cause actual results and other future events to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or
projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. Material factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from current expectations include, without limitation, the following: Intel Corporation's dominance of the
microprocessor market and its aggressive business practices may limit AMD's ability to compete effectively; AMD is party to a
wafer supply agreement with GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc. (GF) with obligations to manufacture products at GF with certain exceptions. If
GF is not able to satisfy AMD's manufacturing requirements, its business could be adversely impacted; AMD relies on third parties
to manufacture its products, and if they are unable to do so on a timely basis in sufficient quantities and using competitive
technologies, AMD's business could be materially adversely affected; failure to achieve expected manufacturing yields for AMD's
products could negatively impact its financial results; the success of AMD's business is dependent upon its ability to introduce
products on a timely basis with features and performance levels that provide value to its customers while supporting and
coinciding with significant industry transitions; if AMD cannot generate sufficient revenue and operating cash flow or obtain
external financing, it may face a cash shortfall and be unable to make all of its planned investments in research and development
or other strategic investments; the loss of a significant customer may have a material adverse effect on AMD; AMD's receipt of
revenue from its semi-custom SoC products is dependent upon its technology being designed into third-party products and the
success of those products; global economic uncertainty may adversely impact AMD's business and operating results; the markets in
which AMD's products are sold are highly competitive; AMD may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service its debt
obligations or meet its working capital requirements; AMD has a substantial amount of indebtedness which could adversely affect
its financial position and prevent it from implementing its strategy or fulfilling its contractual obligations; the agreements
governing AMD's notes and the secured revolving line of credit (Secured Revolving Line of Credit) impose restrictions on AMD that
may adversely affect its ability to operate its business; uncertainties involving the ordering and shipment of AMD's products
could materially adversely affect it; the demand for AMD's products depends in part on the market conditions in the industries
into which they are sold. Fluctuations in demand for AMD's products or a market decline in any of these industries could have a
material adverse effect on its results of operations; AMD's ability to design and introduce new products in a timely manner is
dependent upon third-party intellectual property; AMD depends on third-party companies for the design, manufacture and supply of
motherboards, software and other computer platform components to support its business; if AMD loses Microsoft Corporation's
support for its products or other software vendors do not design and develop software to run on AMD's products, its ability to
sell its products could be materially adversely affected; and AMD's reliance on third-party distributors and Add-in-Board
partners subjects it to certain risks. Investors are urged to review in detail the risks and uncertainties in AMD's Securities
and Exchange Commission filings, including but not limited to AMD's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September
24, 2016.
1 Data based on AMD Engineering design of Vega. Radeon R9 Fury X has 4 geometry engines and a peak of 4
polygons per clock. Vega is designed to handle up to 11 polygons per clock with 4 geometry engines. This represents an
increase of 2.6x. VG-3
2 Discrete AMD Radeon™ and FirePro™ GPUs based on the Graphics Core Next architecture consist of multiple discrete
execution engines known as a Compute Unit ("CU"). Each CU contains 64 shaders ("Stream Processors") working
together. GD-78