Previously codenamed "Carrizo", the 6th Generation AMD A-series desktop (A10-7870K APU) and notebook processors boast of being the world's first high-performance Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) in a System-on-Chip (SoC) design. The 6th Generation AMD APUs aims to deliver superior streaming entertainment and smoother gaming performance, for both consumer and business applications.
The new A-series notebook processors also claims certain other technology firsts including the world's first High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) hardware decode support for notebooks, the first Heterogeneous Systems Architecture (HSA) 1.0-compliant design, and the first ARM TrustZone-capable high-performance APU.
The processor will be packing up to 12 Compute Cores (4 CPU and 8 GPU) taking advantage of AMD "Excavator" cores and the 3rd generation of AMD's Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture. They will be future ready with support for multi-threaded APIs including DirectX 12, Vulkan and AMD's Mantle, to be compatible with the latest gaming technologies. Support for AMD's FreeSync technology will also be included. The notebook processor apparently delivers up to two times the battery life than before and two times the gaming performance of other competing platforms. The AMD A10-7870K APU will be supported by existing AMD socket FM2+.
AMD Kaveri APU
“AMD takes a major step forward today by unveiling the world’s most advanced eSports and online gaming processor technology in the A10-7870K APU, giving players the ability to game like a pro without spending like one,” said Matt Skynner, corporate VP and general manager, Computing and Graphics Business Unit at AMD. “eSports is one of the fastest-growing pastimes in the world with hundreds of millions of gamers worldwide playing games like StarCraft II, League of Legends, DOTA 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Our partners have plans to introduce our 6th-generation APU in many of today’s most innovative notebook platforms, demonstrating the full potential of the APU’s capabilities.”
Notebooks loaded with the 6th Generation AMD A-series processor will start shipping with OEMs starting in June while the A10-7870L APU is available now.