AMD targets device market with Embedded G-Series system-on-a-chip

First quad-core x86 SoC aims at thin clients, appliances and other embedded applications

AMD is shifting to focus more on the embedded and device markets with the launch of the Embedded G-Series, a system-on-a-chip (SoC) that combines its APU technology with an array of common I/O interfaces that cuts the cost of building intelligent devices.

With up to four of AMD's next-generation Jaguar CPU cores and GPU equivalent to Radeon 8000 Series graphics, the Embedded G-Series sets the bar for SOC design, according to the firm.

AMD already has a G-Series APU (accelerated processing unit) for the embedded market, but the existing chip has two of the earlier Bobcat cores and has little or no built-in I/O. The new SoC has more than twice the power of that chip and five times the graphics performance of rival Intel's Atom chips, AMD claimed. Like the existing chip, the new Embedded G-Series SoC is aimed at applications such as thin client terminals, storage and network appliances and set-top boxes, but also kiosks, in-vehicle entertainment and industrial process control.

In other words, any application that calls for a high-performance processor to fit into a constrained space, especially with growing interest in the 'internet of things'.

"With a 33 percent smaller footprint, low power consumption and exceptional performance, the new AMD Embedded G-Series SoC sets the bar for content-rich, multimedia and traditional workload processing that is ideal for a broad variety of embedded applications," said AMD's vice president and general manager for Embedded Solutions, Arun Iyengar.

The chip itself is built using a 28nm process and measures just 600mm2, despite its four CPU cores, GPU and on-board I/O controller. The latter supports dual display outputs, PCI Express and Sata interfaces, USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports, plus low pin count (LPC) and serial peripheral interface (SPI).

The entry GX-210HA version of the chip has just two cores and is clocked at 1GHz, but this rises to 2GHz for the quad-core GX-420CA version. All chips support 1600MHz DDR3 memory, save for the entry model that only support 1333MHz. A GX-416RA version is also available without GPU.

AMD said the new Embedded G-Series SoC supports Microsoft's Windows Embedded 8 and Linux out of the gate, with general availability of the chip set for later this quarter.