14 DAY TRIAL // The Kaveri accelerated processing unit will succeed Richland/Trinity in 2014, but won't have all the advantages one might have expected. Or, rather, one advantage will take a different form.
Previously, leaks alternated between saying that the Kaveri would use GDDR5 memory and DDR3.
GDDR5 is good for GPUs, but AMD decided it would do more harm than good on an APU. At least, this is what certain Chinese sources say.
On the surface, this sounds bad: DDR3 is limited to 64-bit or 128-bit (64×2) bandwidth, unlike GDDR5 which can go to 384 bits and is much faster.
However, AMD's Kaveri will supposedly have a better memory controller which, based on older leaks, thrashed Trinity / Richland despite the memory being run at just 1600 MHz. Bandwidth limitations might still grate, but it's not like there's a need for more than 128 bits.
Besides, high-bandwidth GDDR5 is the realm of high-end add-in graphics cards, and AMD was never going to try to shoot itself in the foot on that front. Jumping to GDDR5 would be an unnecessary change that would have little effect besides increasing cost, while adding a resource that can't be tapped into.