AMD announced the availability of a faster, more feature-rich embedded-oriented graphics processor unit (GPU) fabricated with 40-nanometer technology. The AMD Radeon E6760 GPU offers OpenCL compatibility, 576 GFLOPs of peak floating point performance, support for six independent displays, and five-year lifecycle support, says AMD.

The AMD Radeon E6760 GPU (pictured) enables "an immersive experience with desktop-level 3D graphics and multimedia features," says AMD. The GPU's 3D graphics engine and programmable shader architecture supports Microsoft DirectX 11, and offers a "third generation" video decoder that enables dual HD decode of H.264, VC-1, MPEG4, and MPEG2 video , says the company.

Compared to earlier AMD GPUs that have been used in the embedded market, such as the E4690 — offered for example in the Ibase SI-28 Signature Book 2 signage computer — the E6760 is faster and enables a greater range of features, says AMD.

The 40nm-fabricated E6760 is clocked at 600MHz, and features 576 GFLOPs of peak single-precision floating point performance, compared to 384 GFLOPs for the E4690, claims the chipmaker. The new GPU is also said to deliver a 5300+ score in 3DMark VantageP benchmarks (see chart below).

AMD Radeon E6760 (red) compared with earlier E4690 on 3DMark benchmarks (higher is better)
Source: AMD

OpenCL opens up parallel programming

One of the key enhancements offered by the E6760 is its support for the OpenCL 1.1 parallel programming standard. OpenCL 1.1 was released by the Khronos Group, and recently adopted by Imagination Technologies for its new Powervr Series6 architecture. OpenGL 4.1 is also said to be supported.

OpenCL offers an "efficient, close-to-the-metal programming interface" enabling "the foundation layer of a parallel computing ecosystem of platform-independent tools, middleware and applications," says the Khronos Group. Available in the E6760 in its "Embedded Profile" version, OpenCL 1.1 will play an important role in applications including ultrasound, radar, and video surveillance, says AMD. Other applications noted elsewhere for the E6760 include gaming, arcade, medical imaging devices, and digital signage devices.

Six simultaneous displays

Digital signage applications should particularly benefit from the other key feature enhancement aside from OpenCL: the integration of AMD Eyefinity multi-display technology. Eyefinity is said to enable support for up to six display outputs from E6760-based devices.

Eyefinity combinations are said to include up to two display outputs from analog RGB, single/dual-link DVI, single/dual-link LVDS, and HDMI 1.4a, as well as up to four outputs from DisplayPort 1.1a and 1.2. HDMI 1.4a supports stereoscopic video while DisplayPort 1.2 enables higher link speeds and supports daisy-chaining, notes AMD.

The E6760 comes with five years of planned supply availability, says AMD. Other features are said to include an integrated frame buffer, high reliability, and a small thermal footprint.

The GPU is touted for its energy efficiency and "power management functions for resource constrained devices." However, an AMD spec sheet comparing the E6760 with the earlier E4690 shows the TDP has moved up to 35 Watts from the E4690's 25 Watts.

Everywhere else on the chart, however, the E6760 blows the E4690 away (see datasheet link farther below.) For example, it offers six SIMD engines instead of four, and supports 480 shaders, up from 320, says AMD.

The E6760 offers a PCI Express 2.0 interface to an accompanying CPU. AMD, of course, would prefer you use an AMD CPU, and recommends a suitable pairing with its upcoming, 32nm Llano A-Series APUs (accelerated processing units). The latest offering in AMD's Fusion line of processors, the Llano models will offer their own on-chip graphics. Graphics power can be boosted, however, by the E6760, which also provides the Llano with additional parallel computing power, says the chipmaker.

Stated Richard Jaenicke, director of Embedded Client Business for AMD, "Embedded system designers faced with power and density constraints now have a solution that delivers the advanced 3D graphics and multimedia features they require in this performance-driven market."

Availability

The AMD Radeon E6760 GPU is available now with support for Linux (x86), Windows XP, XP Embedded, Vista, 7, and 7 Embedded, says AMD, which did not list price. More information may be found in this E6760 PDF datasheet.

AMD will be showing the E6760 at its booth (#1432) this week at the Embedded Systems Conference (ESC) Silicon Valley in San Jose, California.

In other recent AMD news, the company last week dismissed rumors that it was entering a licensing deal with ARM, says our sister publication eWEEK.

This article was originally published on LinuxDevices.com and has been donated to the open source community by QuinStreet Inc. Please visit LinuxToday.com for up-to-date news and articles about Linux and open source.