APU breaks the limit between CPU and GPU 1 + 1> 2?

What is APU

The full name of APU is "Accelerated processing Units". The Chinese name is "Acceleration processor". The innovation of APU is to break the boundaries between CPU and GPU, and ultimately unify CPU and GPU from technology, production and application, in terms of structure, "obtain what is needed", "pay-as-you-go" on applications, and "merge into one" on products. But the performance of the two-in-one processors is simply 1 + 1 = 2 or 1 + 1> 2?

Features of APU

If the current server CPU + GPU format is the result of 1 + 1 = 2, can the APU level reach 1 + 1> 2? To answer this question, we should first look at what is different from APU.

APU features

Feature 1: CPU Performance Improvement

First, APU runs the multi-core processor and dedicated core on a single chip to improve the communication performance between the CPU and GPU. At the same time, the GPU can also communicate directly with the memory, increasing the bandwidth by three times. The perfect combination of CPU in complex sequential computing and GPU in large-scale parallel computing, the hardware scheduling logic and the software layer perfectly balance the CPU and GPU load so that APU performance relative to the current multi-core CPU significant improvement.

Feature 2: Display Effect second kill integrated graphics card comparable to dedicated display

The E Series of the first release of APU is equipped with the AMD Radeon HD6310 display core that supports DX11, and the c series is also equipped with the display core that also supports DX11. The triple increase in bandwidth between GPU and memory and the accelerated computing by mainstream software vendors has brought a great leap in APU data operations and 3D rendering. Currently, the mainstream integrated graphics cards used in the laptop market are vulnerable to attacks.

Feature 3: Ultra-low power consumption, minimum 9 W, maximum 18 W

The introduction of APU changes AMD's CPU performance in the public, leaving the impression of high power consumption. The simplified model achieves a minimum experience of 9 W (C series) Up to 18 W (E series. This greatly improves the endurance of the laptop, and indirectly supports the National Energy Conservation and emission reduction policy.

Disadvantages of APU

What APU is currently frustrated with is that its CPU and GPU performance are not balanced, and the CPU performance is better than that of the GPU, which is like a carriage by carriage, only two horses run as fast as they can. If any one of them is slow, the horse will run away. This is also a problem facing APU. Another point is that the current APU is only used in the mobile commerce field, and there is not enough capacity on the server to meet enterprise-level requirements.

Summary

According to the above understanding, APU's highly integrated approach has indeed improved its performance, but for servers, the application method of APU is still not significantly different from the traditional GPU + CPU method, but APU has begun to show its unique advantages. Compared with the traditional integrated graphics card, APU's GPU performance is more balanced and powerful. In the case of a large number of GPU acceleration needs, APU is more satisfactory than the integrated graphics card with low graphics performance.

APU is AMD's long-term grasp and planning of technologies and products, and is the most important product line for AMD's future development. For PC development, APU is a unique product of AMD's own advantages. For server development, many advantages of APU also meet the performance requirements of the current server, as for whether 1 + 1 is greater than 2, we can calculate it as 1.5.