New AMD Code-Names Surface: AMD’s Volcanic Islands and Pirate Islands

From X-bit Labs: An update of HWiNFO diagnostic software for personal computers has uncovered code-names of many future products from Advanced Micro Devices. The new names point to forthcoming graphics processors for desktops and notebooks as well as upcoming accelerated processing units. The new products are due in the next two or three years.

The recent update of HWiNFO adds support for Volcanic Islands as well as Crystal series graphics processing units. The VI family will include Maui high-end GPU, Iceland performance graphics chip as well as Tonga mainstream graphics adapter. The Crystal family of mobile GPUs is currently expected to feature Topaz (mobile version of Iceland) chip as well as Amethyst (mobile version of Tonga) graphics solution. Previously it was reported that VI family also includes code-named Hawaii product.

AMD Volcanic Islands and Crystals graphics processing units are projected to be released in 2014. The chips promise to become the pinnacle of heterogeneous - CPU+GPU - system architecture. VI/Crystals GPUs, when accompanied by appropriate microprocessors and operating systems, will support GPU compute context switch [GPU computes every single piece of application that it can] as well as GPU graphics pre-emption. Perhaps, accelerated processing units featuring VI GPUs with Excavator x86 cores will be able to do wonders by automatically using the most efficient execution unit (e.g., stream processors or x86 cores) for a particular task, which has potential to redefine the high-performance computing market (HPC), keeping in mind efficiency of stream processors in multi-threaded HPC apps. The VI/Crystals GPUs are projected to be made at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. using 20nm process technology, which is going online in February, 2014.

The software update also adds support for Pirate Islands graphics processing units, including Bermuda, Fiji and Treasure. At present, there are no known mobile GPUs that rely on Pirate Islands architecture. Nothing particular is known about the PI family, which will become available in 2015. Given the naming and the timing, expect Caribbean code-names and chips made using 16nm/14nm-XM FinFET process technology as well as further improvements when it comes to CPU+GPU collaboration.

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