Wonderful triple. We study the AMD Trinity processor architecture
AMD seems to have finally decided that it was useless to compete directly with Intel and it is time to lure customers with alternative ways. One of them is the popularization of hybrid processors combining ordinary X86-Jadra and a video card. Given that AMD has long been producing both, the topic is more than fertile. A trial ball was launched about a year ago with the architecture of APU Llano, uniting Phenom and Radeon HD 6800 crystals. Today, APU Trinity is entering the stage, offering an improved version of Bulldozer and Radeon HD 6900.
Faster and higher
The new X86 architecture is called PILEDRIVER and is the direct development of the ideas of Bulldozer (it was on it that the first eight -core CPU from AMD came out a year ago). The process has remained the same – 32 nm. In place and high frequencies, at least 3.4 GHz, and under the pressure of automatic overclockers and all 4.2 GHz. Note that the autonomous dispersal paid special attention. If Llano was reluctant to go to legitimate steroids (the “turbo” was frankly weak and accessible to chosen models), then from now on AMD TurboCore 3.0 technology The stone has the right to choose the optimal mode and vary the performance of both CPU- and GPU modules. Thanks for this, I must say the changed algorithm, which takes into account not only the temperature indicators, but also the type of load, as well as the level of employment of individual elements of the crystal.
Did not offend AMD and lovers of manual settings: in the theory of Trinity should rise to 6.5 GHz. To facilitate the process, a special utility even appeared Overdrive , opening access to the parameters of both APU blocks and memory controller.
The family of diggers
Structurally PileDriver does not differ from bulldozer. For each processor module (input/output, cache, layout) accounts for two computing sections. In some ways, such a scheme is similar to Intel Hyper-Threading, but in an iron performance. Compared to the first Bulldozer, PileDriver thoroughly worked on the performance of the prediction and planner block, increased the size of L1 TLB, and also rewrote the selection algorithms from the second-level cache memory. But the L3-Kesha crystals lost-he, like in Llano, was simply cut out.
The North bridge received his changes. So, the memory controller was pulled to modern standards and taught to be friends with the DDR3-1866 and DDR3-2400 MHz planks (overclocking). Plus, when distributing resources, preference is now given to the X86 Yadram, which, according to AMD, are much less loaded by the bus than the built-in "video". The latter, by the way, was transferred to the Radeon Memory Bus -width 256 bits to the company interface. The APU chipset now communicates not according to the usual Hypertransport, but by PCIE. According to AMD, if you put it all together, it will turn out about 25% faster than Bulldozer. However, these numbers are most likely achieved in artificial conditions – in real tests, we are unlikely to see them. But what was really very transformed in Trinity is an integrated graphics.
Devastator
As in Llano, GPU eats half the area, but uses it much more efficiently. If the past APUs were built on the VliW5 architecture with five cores for each block, now it is based on VLIW4 with a cut part of special calculations. This design was represented by AMD two years ago in Radeon HD 6900 and made it possible to raise the performance of the line of video cards with the same production standards. Immediately, we note that with the Graphics Core Next (Radeon HD 7000) Vliw4 has nothing to do, so it will not be possible to combine the efforts of integrated and discrete boards.
The built -in nuclei are called Devastor ("Devastator") and are available in several versions. Pink Riches sister sites In the maximum costs six SIMD darts equipped with four textures and sixteen stream processors with four computing modules. As a result, Devastator may have up to 384 ALU instead of 400 pieces of last year's Sumo. It is not necessary to pay attention to the loss of 16 elements: the logic of the work is different, and compare the chips incorrectly in the forehead. Much more important – frequency. In an adult Devastator HD 7660D, it reaches 800 MHz, 80 MHz lower than in HD 6970, and 200 MHz higher than that of Sumo HD 6550d.
The list of supported Devastator technologies includes the entire current standard: DirectX 11.1, Shader Model 5.0, Opengl 4.2 and Opencl 1.1. Additionally, the owner of AMD Trinity receives the AMD HD Media Accelerator package. It includes operations on hardware decoding films, which was very missing Llano.
The new generation APU carries four displays controllers on board at once, which is twice as much as the predecessor. In other words, you can connect up to four monitors through VGA, DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort 1 interfaces.2. The only "but": for the fourth screen you will need a branch. Devastor did not do without AMD Eyefinity, allowing you to stretch games to incredible permits.
Modern:
At the time of writing this article, six models of processors were presented within the framework of the Trinity line. The marking got from Llano: A4 , A6 , A8 And A10. The first pair received only two X86 Yadra and 1 MB L2-Kesha. The second acquired four modules and 4 MB of cache-memory. There are differences in the built -in graphics (see. table), as well as the possibilities of acceleration. The unlocked factor receive only versions with the suffix "K" at the end of the name. Trinity official prices vary from 1600 to 4200 rubles.
The logic of the Trinity
You can distinguish Trinity from Llano without deepening into the "nanometric" details. "The new processor is a new socket". This motto in an American company was clearly spied on Intel and, it seems, firmly decided to follow it. Maternkers with Socket FM1 for Trinity are not suitable, you need to buy fresh models with Socket FM2 , outwardly the absence of one leg: 904 versus 905 pieces. The developers do not reveal the deep meaning of the replacement, getting off with general phrases such as “too many changes, with old technologies is not compatible”.
The strangeness of the situation is emphasized by the presented sets of logic. The new chipset is one – A85X. Two more, younger, inherited from Llano: on A55 And A75 put another socket and put on sale. The positioning has not changed much. A55 – choice for budget systems. There are only six SATA 2, 14 USB 2 ports.0 and support of RAID zero, first and tenth levels. A75 SATA interfaces are already a third generation, and four USB ports are in version 3.0. Novelty – A85X – added two more SATA Rev. 3, the ability to build a fifth-level RAID massifs, as well as install a bunch of several video cards in Crossfirex mode.
Purely theoretically new AMD APU look very interesting. The company corrected many shortcomings of the past line – got rid of the ancient K10 architecture, installing the fresh pileDriver, and also optimized the use of the area by transferring the graphic core to the compact scheme of VliW4. In words, all this sounds very cool, but we will not draw hasty conclusions: on the next page you will find a detailed Top test test A10-5800K , as well as an overview of the motherboard based on the A85X chipset.
Table 1
AMD Trinity lineup
The number of nuclei
A4-5300
2 pcs.
A6-5400K
2 pcs.
A8-5500
4 pcs.
A8-5600K
4 pcs.
A10-5700
4 pcs.
A10-5800K
4 pcs.
CPU frequency
A4-5300
3.4-3.6 GHz
A6-5400K
3.6-3.8 GHz
A8-5500
3.2-3.7 GHz
A8-5600K
3.6-3.9 GHz
A10-5700
3.4-4.0 GHz
A10-5800K
3.8-4.2 GHz
L2-Cash
A4-5300
1 Mb
A6-5400K
1 Mb
A8-5500
4 Mb
A8-5600K
4 Mb
A10-5700
4 Mb
A10-5800K
4 Mb
TDP
A4-5300
65 watts
A6-5400K
65 watts
A8-5500
65 watts
A8-5600K
100 watts
A10-5700
65 watts
A10-5800K
100 watts
GPU
A4-5300
HD 7480D
A6-5400K
HD 7540D
A8-5500
HD 7560D
A8-5600K
HD 7560D
A10-5700
HD 7660D
A10-5800K
HD 7660D
The number of ALU
A4-5300
128
A6-5400K
192
A8-5500
256
A8-5600K
256
A10-5700
384
A10-5800K
384
GPU frequency
A4-5300
724 MHz
A6-5400K
760 MHz
A8-5500
760 MHz
A8-5600K
760 MHz
A10-5700
760 MHz
A10-5800K
800 MHz
The price of November 2012
A4-5300
1600 rubles
A6-5400K
2200 rubles
A8-5500
3400 rubles
A8-5600K
3400 rubles
A10-5700
4000 rubles
A10-5800K
4200 rubles
