14 DAY TRIAL // AMD may have, so far, unleashed APUs only for the entry-level market, but it won't be too long before mainstream chips show up, at which point the company actually expects them to start challenging regular CPUs. Zacate and Ontario processors aren't all that magnificent in terms of raw processing (though still more than decent), but their graphics chips definitely put Intel's integrated solutions to shame.
Laptops powered by such accelerated processing units (APUs) can handle all multimedia playback and even various games (online or not).
Granted, the outfit doesn't plan on trying to get APUs to oust discrete graphics and high-end chips from more advanced gaming or professional systems.
Still, the ability to process both parallel and serialized data should let APUs snatch some of the low-end and (perhaps) mainstream CPUs market share.
"I do not think that APUs will challenge discrete GPUs on anything, but on the lowest-end systems,” said Neal Robison, senior director of content and application support.
“When you look at adding a discrete GPU that enhances performance of the graphics side, it makes a huge amount of sense as it scales [performance] on a wide amount of applications because of the rich visual experience that everybody expects now when they are actually using their computing device."
One relevant fact is that many of today's applications benefit from parallel processing, something that GPUs are quite adept at.
Soon enough, the Sunnyvale, California-based company will unleash the Llano, for the mainstream, and should keep delivering newer and better chips throughout the year and beyond.
"I think APUs will definitely challenge standalone CPUs. I believe that the future of consumer as well as commercial computing environments are characterized by the ability to present a compelling visual experience. Taking a GPU core and a CPU core and using them together on one chip will definitely challenge standalone CPUs."