PROJECT ONAccelerated

ProcessingUnit

MADE BY : NEELESH VAISHMADE BY : NEELESH VAISH

COURSE :BSc.ITCOURSE :BSc.IT

INDEX

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1.Introduction Pg ...3

2.Chapter -1 Pg ...4

3.Chapter -2 Pg ...9

4.Chapter -3 Pg ...12

5.Chapter -4 Pg ...16

6.Chapter -5 Pg ...19

7.Bibliography Pg ...20

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A.P.U

Introduction

A.P.U. Stands for Accelerated Processing Unit, which is a new technology that consists of a C.P.U(Central processing unit) and a G.P.U(graphical processing unit) on a single die. It's a new ERA of processor performance.AMD, NVidia ,IBM are the few leading firms that are developing the technology. However AMD was the first who introduced A.P.U's in commercial market. FUSION is the technology developed by AMD and is the only APU provider in the market till now. APUs first broke out in the year 2006. Since then it has been in continuous discussion and has become a hot topic. AMD grabbed the first spot in releasing before its competitors. APU provides some great FEATURES that will be further discussed in full detail in my project , we will also be catching on the ARCHIETECTURE of it as well as some COMPARISONS.

APU is another step taken in HETROGENOUS COMPUTING making it better than ever.

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CHAPTER-1

Detailing APU and its capabilities.....

The main reason that led to the development of APU was to put a G.P.U and a C.P.U on a single chip or die, making the single chip so formed to perform as a processor as well as to do the work of a graphics card. This achievement made it no longer necessary to have a separate graphics card that is needed for visual enhancement and to run applications that require high graphics. AMD's FUSION technology is the first to be made commercially available.

APU is more advanced than any of the other processing devices present and those commercially available. APU combines scalar processing on C.P.U with parallel processing on the G.P.U and high bandwidth access to memory which is at the same time very complex and simple. These processors

use much less power provide us with more accurate and fast calculations are easier to program

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generate less heat are easier to optimize assure high performance and reliability

The APUs also provide a support for great level of graphics and also runs Microsoft's DIRECTX 11. These are also capable of playing videos (1080p FULL HD) at high resolutions without any lag or delay in frame rate.

Most importantly they save the space of an external GPU (because they have it inbuilt) that consumes much more energy and a somewhat delayed response and also can cost from Rs.2000 to Rs. 50,000.APUsare less expensive when compared to a separated costing of a C.P.U and a G.P.U as on whole.

APUs are also compatible with the latest technologies available and will now be mass produced for various platforms. Mobiles will be the primary target of APUs as they will provide a faster, smoother experience as it will improve processing capabilities of mobile phones.

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The APUs have made it easier for the consumer to choose from, as it delivers all in a single package such as -

i. Low power consumptionii. No need for a separate G.P.Uiii. Long of battery lifeiv. Ultraportable and thin due to less space occupiedv. Runs all applications without any loss in performancevi. Comes in mobile, Laptops, Net books, Desktops, etc.vii. Is Mainstreamviii. High quality visual experienceix. "A two in one solution"

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This technology still has more room for development which will come more specifically into picture when the competitors of AMD will launch the APUs with a new variation in the technique. These processors will be the future of computing and will give a tough fight to those processing units without the integrated G.P.Us.

Currently NVidia (the Graphics Card giant) and Intel are the main competitors of AMD and are looking forward to go with the APU technology and are working round the clock for the launch and trying to make their product better than the existing one. Intel has initially used this technology before which had a G.P.U of lesser capability but AMD came with a better and advanced G.P.U embedded on the die.

AMD and Intel wouldn’t go to the trouble of integrating a GPU into their CPU architectures if there weren’t some benefits to doing so, but sometimes the benefit of a new technology seems to be focused more on the company selling the product than the consumer. Fortunately, the benefits of the APU are dramatic and will be noticed by end users.

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Obviously, improved performance is one advantage. The graphics placed on current APUs are not meant to be competitive with high-end or even mid-range discrete graphics cards, but they are better than previous integrated graphics processors. Intel HD Graphics 3000, the fastest graphics option available on the company’s newest processor, is two to three times quicker than the previous Intel HD Graphics solution, which was on the processor die but not integrated into the architecture. This also makes it possible to include new features, like Intel’s Quick Sync video trans coding technology.

Another advantage brought by APUs is improved power efficiency. Integrated the GPU into the architecture makes it possible to share resources and achieve the same results with less silicon. This means an APU can replicate the performance of a system equipped with a low-end discrete graphics card while using far less power. Early benchmarks of Intel Sandy Bridge and AMD Fusion laptops make this advantage obvious; systems equipped with these processors have better battery life than similar

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system saddled with a CPU and a separate discrete or integrated graphics processor.

CHAPTER-2

AMD(THE MAJOR ROLE).....

AMD is so far the company which has provided the best level APU's. My project revolves around it and considers AMD at the top excluding the other because of the contribution put by AMD in developing the technology while other's lack way behind or are in the developing stage. On the other hand AMD has started commercial production of it. The technology developed and used by AMD is named as FUSION.

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The First APU......FROM AMD....

Its FUSION.........

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What u get.........

For the hardware developer, ODM or PC manufacturer,it’s time to start thinking about how to incorporate these

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new APUs into product lines in order to enhance theconsumer experience. Software developers should lookto this new power to help their software run even better.All developers are encouraged to upgrade their skills andlearn about OpenCL and DirectCompute, and to examinecurrent software projects to see how they can beimproved in a world where systems have dramaticallymore power. Because pretty soon, they will.

CHAPTER-3

Architecture of A.P.U.....

This is the die of one of the AMD A.P.U’s available in the market that has a C.P.U and G.P.U built on in.

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Figure illustrates the arrangement of these first APUs. Thekey aspect to note is that all the major system elements –x86 cores, vector (SIMD) engines, and a Unified VideoDecoder (UVD) for HD decoding tasks – attach directly tothe same high speed bus, and thus to the main systemmemory. This design concept eliminates one of thefundamental constraints that limits the performanceof traditional integrated graphics controllers (IGPs).

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The APU’s scalar x86 cores and SIMD enginesshare a common path to system memory, The firstgeneration implementations divide that memory intoregions managed by the operating system running onthe x86 cores and other regions managed by softwarerunning on the SIMD engines. It provides high speedblock transfer engines that move data between the x86and SIMD memory partitions. Unlike transfers betweenan external frame buffer and system memory, thesetransfers never hit the system’s external bus. Cleversoftware developers can overlap the loading andunloading of blocks in the SIMD memory with executioninvolving data in other blocks. Insight 64 anticipates thatfuture APU architectures will evolve towards a moreseamless memory management model that allows evenhigher levels of balanced performance scaling.

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The figure demonstrates about the total system performance that can be further enhanced through the addition of a discrete GPU. The commonarchitectures of the APU and GPU allow for a multi-GPUconfiguration where the system can scale to harness allavailable resources for exceptional graphics and enabletruly breathtaking overall performance.

For over four decades, architects have pursued twocompeting concepts to enhance system computational

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performance. One group argues that designs thatemphasize a single machine instruction operating ona single data item (“SISD”) work with the broadest arrayof application and lead to the most cost-effectivesolutions. The other group counters that vector designsthat emphasize single instructions operating on multipledata items (“SIMD”) deliver relatively higher performancefor computationally intensive applications that need toprocess large arrays of highly structured data, a modelthat applies to many modern computing tasks.

After all those years of debate, it has now become clearthat both sides were correct; it is not a question of “either/or,” but rather of “both/and.” Some numerically intensiveproblems lend themselves to parallel algorithms, andothers don’t. When a machine optimized for parallelcomputation encounters a problem that cannot becomputed in a parallel manner, the machine operatesas an inefficient scalar processor, and most of its parallelcomputing resources sit idle. Conversely, a processoroptimized for scalar calculations cannot exploit theparallelism in many algorithms, and thus is limited byits scalar processing speed.

CHAPTER-4

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How Software's can help....

The recent emergence of two important developmenttools – OpenCL and DirectCompute – enables developers(especially those who have already mastered the art ofwriting software for single-threaded scalar environments)to more easily create highly dynamic multi-threadeddata-parallel software applications.

Over the past years AMD, Microsoft, Intel, Nvidia, etc. have produced world class software's that help in hardware acceleration and give it a boost as compared to the stock version.

The tools needed to accelerate applications via GPUcomputing have only been around for a few years,but already a few innovative ISVs have used thistechnology to enhance their applications. A few ofthe more interesting examples include:

»»Adobe’s ubiquitous Flash Player now uses GPUhardware to decode video streams. This innovationhelps improve the quality of the video playback onenabled GPUs, reducing the processing load on theCPU, and thus uses less power, extending systembattery life. The release candidate of Flash Player 10.1is available for download as of this publication date.

»»ArcSoft has added a GPU-enabled SimHD™ plug-into its TotalMedia Theatre package. The new plug-in

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enhances video quality by intelligently up-scalingstandard DVD video from 480 vertical lines to 720.

»»Cyberlink has enhanced its line of media softwareapplications to use GPU acceleration wheneverpossible. Its Power Director 8 package takes advantageof enabled GPU resources to speed up video editing,video encoding and video effects rendering. ItsMediaShow line uses enabled GPU hardware toaccelerate video format conversion (transcoding) andencoding, as well as to implement an automated “facetagging” feature that sorts the user’s photo collectionbased on the faces in the photos. Its PowerDVD offeringtakes advantage of GPU resources to enhance Blu-Rayplayback; the company demonstrated a future versionof PowerDVD for Blu-Ray 3D playback at the 2010 CESshow. Cyberlink started its GPU-acceleration efforts in2008, and used the proprietary tools then availablefrom AMD and Nvidia to develop its software. Now it isconverting its software to use DirectCompute in order toincrease the range of supported platforms and get tomarket with new features more quickly.

»» One Silicon Valley startup uses GPU resources to cleanup video files, compensating for noise, pixilation, graininess,poor focus, low contrast, and shaky images due to shakingcameras. The package works just like the fictional ones youmight see in a film where the hero zooms in on a satelliteimage and reads the villain’s license plate, but this package

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relies on GPU hardware, rather than Hollywood gimmicks.

»»

Another startup has demonstrated facial recognitionsoftware that finds individual faces in photos or videosand matches them to faces in its database. This obviouslyrequires a tremendous amount of computationalhorsepower, but with GPU assistance, it can accomplishthis task virtually in real time. It’s not hard to imagine thatGPU computing could be employed by civil protectionorganizations to help make the world a safer place.

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CHAPTER-5

Conclusion....

The AMD Fusion family of Accelerated Processing Unitsis scheduled to arrive in 2011. The expectation is that theircompatibility with Windows 7 and DirectX 11 will ensurethat they will provide an outstanding experience for thosewho purchase PCs based on these processors. Theirenhanced processing power and power efficiency willenable sharp and clear videos, realistic and responsivegames, and notebooks that can run longer betweenbattery charges.

More importantly, compared to today’s mainstreamofferings, APU-based platforms will possess prodigiousamounts of computational horsepower. This processing

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power will allow developers to tackle problems that liebeyond the capabilities of today’s mainstream systems,and will enable innovative developers to step up andupdate existing applications or invent new ones thattake advantage of GPU acceleration.

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Bibliography

Information has been taken from the AMD site and some other links listed below.....

1. http://sites.amd.com/us/fusion/apu/Pages/apu.aspx

2. http://www.insidehw.com/Editorials/Interviews/AMD-Llano-The-First-Accelerated-Processing- Unit/Page-2.html

3. http://techreport.com/discussions/11438

4. http://www.amd.com/us/products/Pages/products.aspx

5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia

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