AMD Trinity desktop APUs officially launched

AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced retail and distribution channel availability of its second generation AMD A-Series Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) for desktop, small form-factor and home theater PCs. These new APUs target do-it-yourself (DIY) PC builders, mainstream gamers and value-added resellers who want to upgrade their PC infrastructure with affordable performance, discrete-level graphics, multiple cores and fast processing for outstanding responsiveness.

The second generation desktop AMD A-Series APU is available at prices ranging from $53 to $122 USD. Compared to similarly priced competitive offerings, the new APUs offer more cores, more speed, best-in-class entertainment experiences and an easy upgrade path based on a stable socket infrastructure2. AMD APU users also gain access to the AMD AppZone and a comprehensive list of accelerated applications that leverage the full compute power of the APU. With hardware-accelerated support for DirectX® 11 on AMD Radeon™ graphics and AMD Eyefinity technology delivering a more immersive experience, the AMD A-Series APUs are the ideal solution for systems running the highly-anticipated Microsoft Windows® 8 and today’s Microsoft Windows® 7 operating systems.

“The new AMD A-Series APU is ideal for anyone looking for a new desktop or home theater PC with leading performance for the dollar,” said Leslie Sobon, corporate vice president, Desktop and Component Products, AMD. “The combination of processing speed, multiple compute cores and discrete-level graphic capabilities on the second generation AMD A-Series APU make it an excellent platform for the gamer and PC enthusiast alike.”

More Cores, More Speed and More Value
The second generation AMD A-Series APU provides higher performance and capabilities over the first generation:

More than 700 GFLOPS of compute performance3;

Up to 4.2 GHz max frequency;

Unlocked Central Processing Unit (CPU) with AMD OverDrive™ software for up to 6.5 GHz of extreme overclocking performance.

With CPU and Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) AMD Turbo Core 3.0 Technology, the second generation AMD A-Series APU performance is improved by allowing frequencies of the GPU and CPU cores to automatically increase. PC users looking for ultimate control tweaking their system can use the AMD OverDrive software application to overclock both the CPU and the GPU, and also increase the memory frequency to deliver a superior gaming experience.

Better Video and Gaming with AMD Radeon Graphics
The second generation AMD A-Series APUs include AMD Radeon™ HD 7000 Series graphics, providing high-performance discrete-class graphics. These APUs extend AMD’s legacy of gaming leadership with a significant increase in both CPU and GPU performance over the previous generation and support for:

AMD Eyefinity Technology – The only multi-monitor technology that supports a single-surface Windows 8 experience across up to four monitors. For the first time, this immersive technology is available from an APU without the need for a discrete graphics card;

Industry-leading, high-performance DirectX 11 graphics architecture capable of delivering full 1080p gaming for a life-like level of detail;

AMD Radeon™ Dual Graphics support that delivers a performance boost of up to 75 percent when a discrete graphics card is added to the APU. The AMD Radeon Dual Graphics option also offers support for DirectX® 9 and 10 for older game titles, and uses new AMD CrossFire™ Application Profiles for easier updates.

Easy Upgrade Path
The second generation desktop AMD A-Series APUs combine AMD’s next-generation “Piledriver” CPU architecture with AMD Radeon HD 7000 Series graphics on the new FM2 motherboard infrastructure to deliver a host of new features and a brilliant visual experience, all on a platform with future upgrade capability.

Three different chipset options are available on motherboards with the FM2 socket, each with a different feature set: AMD A55, A75 and A85X. These chipsets support AMD Memory Profiles which enable graphics memory to run at 1866 MHz, with up to a 266 MHz boost for faster performance.