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AMD's Project Quantum May Hit Markets in Very Limited Numbers

So limited that it may already be a rare collectible

Aug 5, 2015 08:25 GMT  ·  By
Project Quantum, an inaccessible monster
   Project Quantum, an inaccessible monster

During the E3 presentation, AMD has presented a beast: a dual Fiji GPU mini-ITX monster packing 17 TFlops of computational power with 8192 stream processors and 8k-bit memory interface. It was built to run 4K graphics to their full potential.

However, according to an interview with Richard Huddy, AMD's gaming scientist (awesome job position), run by PCR, it seems this extreme machine won't come in handy at all.

Huddy believes that, just like any proof of concept, the most similar to this being concept cars, Project Quantum won't turn into a mass produced device.

However, the gaming scientist explains that this doesn't mean it will be completely unavailable, but given that the Project Quantum is an in-house hand-made device, it will probably be available in extremely limited numbers at very high prices.

"I don’t know whether we have an OEM who is committed to building something like it," Huddy says, and it's only natural to be this way.

Project Quantum is not a device, it's art

Mass-producing dual GPU PCBs with all the advanced liquid cooling solutions would require massive logistics changes in AMD’s supply chain. Not only that, but it would require the manufacturing of a new Fiji-based graphics card besides the already available three models, the R9 Fury X, the R9 Fury, and the Nano, which are already stressing AMD’s supply chain to all its vendors worldwide.

AMD believes that it's very difficult to build PCs more powerful than the Project Quantum, and although it strives to prove that you can cram ultimate computational performance in a 10-inch by 10-inch box to beat Steam Machines, it'll take extreme engineering feats to beat the Project Quantum even with a very powerful quad-GPU desktop PC.

At the end of the interview, Huddy reiterates that "For us it was a concept PC and that’s really important. We went out there and we invested the time and energy in building something to show that – a box as small as this ... could be one of the highest performing PCs on the planet. It’s also because it’s completely liquid cooled, it’s going to be super quiet as well. But it is a concept PC."