Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) executives recently unveiled the company's latest AI PC architecture, featuring a new neural processing unit (NPU) integrated into the AMD Ryzen AI chips.
At the Computex trade show in Taiwan last month, AMD announced its Ryzen AI processor (code-named Strix Point) along with other cutting-edge technologies and elaborated on the designs in a recent Los Angeles press event.
AMD highlighted that NPUs are essential for AI PCs, driven by the rapid growth and specialization of AI workloads that necessitate a new computing architecture. As AI models expand in size and variety, they are becoming increasingly vital to operating systems.
Vamsi Boppana, Senior Vice President of the AI group at AMD, emphasized the performance advantages of NPUs, stating they can execute neural network calculations at 35 times the performance per watt compared to standard CPUs and can outperform integrated graphics processing units (iGPUs) by eight times.
Jack Huynh, Senior Vice President of computing and graphics at AMD, remarked on the company's significant advancements in the AI era, tracing its journey from the Zen architecture in 2017 to the introduction of the first NPU for PCs in 2023.
“AMD has a long and extensive history of firsts,” Huynh noted, underscoring the importance of AI PCs for ensuring data privacy.
AMD's Ryzen AI series features the world's first x86 processor with an integrated NPU, with over 100 AI-powered experiences launched in collaboration with major computer manufacturers like Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo. Asus plans to debut its AMD-based AI PC laptops at Best Buy later this month.
The latest Ryzen AI chips boast 16 RDNA 3.5 GPU compute units and 12 Zen CPU cores capable of 24 simultaneous threads, along with an NPU delivering 50 TOPS powered by the AMD XDNA 2 architecture. AMD has also partnered with over 150 software vendors, set to release applications for various areas such as collaborative work, creative editing, gaming, personal AI assistance, and enterprise productivity in 2024.
AMD refers to its NPU architecture as based on the XDNA foundation, comprising several AI Engine tiles linked to memory tiles, a departure from traditional multi-core processors. The flexible design of XDNA 2 includes programmable interconnections and superior performance to previous generations, achieving five times the compute capacity of the AMD Ryzen 7040 Series.
AMD claims its NPU performance reaches 50 TOPS, equivalent to peak float16 TFLOPS, surpassing competitors like Apple M4 ANE, Intel’s upcoming "Lunar Lake" NPU, and Qualcomm's Snapdragon Elite X (estimated at 45 TOPS). HP recently announced it can achieve 55 TOPS on its AI PCs, thanks to collaboration with AMD.
The unified AI software stack from AMD supports open-source platforms, marking the company as a leader across multiple AI PC generations. Asus reports that users can save four hours on AI processing with its AMD-based desktop.
Additionally, AMD CTO Mark Papermaster unveiled the Zen 5 architecture, which will be integrated into the upcoming Granite Ridge desktop processors. The improvements include increased efficiency in instruction processing and data bandwidth, which is critical for enhancing AI capabilities.
Overall, Zen 5 is projected to offer a 16% increase in average instructions per clock cycle across various applications, alongside significant enhancements in single-core machine learning and processing performance.
AMD's roadmap reveals the upcoming 3rd Gen Ryzen AI, code-named Strix Point, with 5th Gen AMD Epyc processors expected in late 2024, leveraging 4nm and 3nm technologies.
Sebastien Nussbaum, Corporate Vice President of Computing and Graphics at AMD, emphasized the transformative potential of AI processing in the 2020s, highlighting the rapid increase in available AI models and usage.
With Microsoft’s Copilot leading the way in AI-assisted operating system functions, Nussbaum anticipates more natural language interactions and seamless, AI-driven user experiences.
David McAfee, Corporate Vice President for Graphics and Client Channel at AMD, provided insights into the Ryzen 9000 series processors, set to launch on July 31. Each variant showcases varying core counts and power specifications, with significant performance improvements over competitors.
McAfee emphasized the pivotal role of AI in reshaping industries, predicting that AMD Ryzen AI processors will outperform Intel and Qualcomm in gaming applications. The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, for instance, is expected to deliver remarkable performance advancements in popular games and AI processing.
Overall, AMD's advancements position it at the forefront of the AI PC revolution, promising enhanced privacy, reduced latency, and transformative user experiences in the era of AI-driven computing.
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