AMD moves the Carrizo architecture to business class

Sep 30, 2015 13:51 GMT  ·  By

AMD has launched the new range of 6th-generation "Pro" APUs that come based on the new Carrizo APUs that debuted this summer. Designed for commercial and business applications, the new APUs do bear an architectural resemblance with the consumer line.

Although based on the same Carrizo architecture, the new mobile Pro APUs offer extra standard security features and reliability assurance. To confirm this, AMD has got an AMD Secure Processor that includes TrustZone technology in each 6th-gen Pro APU, so it can easily isolate security applications such as anti-virus and digital wallets into a "secure world" outside of the APU's computational cores.

Impressively, AMD has coupled with HP, ExactTrak, and Qualcomm to help enhance the security features brought by each of the new APUs by providing the latest SnapdragonTM X5 LTE modem to enhance 4G connectivity, that means Category 4 speeds (up to 150 Mbps down) in the latest HP EliteBook 705 G3 Series that will feature the new Carrizo Pro APUs.

AMD's new APU offer is meant to buff the Carrizo with more security options

As the new device is catering to business and commercial applications, a proper OEM is needed, so AMD brings a 36-month extended OEM warranty, 18-month image stability, and a 24-month product longevity commitment. Additionally, AMD also brings a Pro Control Center utility, so it may provide with "intuitive system configuration" and management solutions in order to help small business output the best computing performance for their field.

Specs-wise, the new APUs are pretty much identical to the earlier-launched Carrizo, so much that the top-end model, the PRO A12-8800B, is basically the same with the consumer Carrizo model FX-8800P. This evidently means that it is built on the same 28nm manufacturing process and has the already known Excavator x86 CPU cores together with integrated Radeon GCN cores.

The AMD PRO A-Series mobile processors are available today through online resellers and are currently offered on HP EliteBook 705 G3 Series PCs, including HP EliteBook 725, 745 and 755 series.   

Model CPU Cores Max CPU Frequency (GHz) GPU Cores Max GPU Frequency (MHz) L2 Cache Memory TDP
PRO A12-8800B 4 3.4 8 800 2MB DDR3-2133 12-35W
PRO A10-8700B 4 3.2 6 800 2MB DDR3-2133 12-35W
PRO A8-8600B 4 3.0 6 720 2MB DDR3-2133 12-35W
PRO A6-8500B 2 3.0 4 800 1MB DDR3-1600 12-35W