AMD has long been a competitor to Intel, but for years, the company failed to compete effectively. However, with the release of its Ryzen computer processors, AMD is slowly becoming a household name as it looks to increase its market share greatly. One way the company is aiming to do this is by releasing computers with an Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) instead of a regular processor and graphic card design.
Explanation of APU and the benefits
What is an APU
The AMD Accelerated Processing Unit (APU), earlier called Fusion, is designed to act as a Central Processing Unit (CPU) and Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) on a single die.
You see, most computers come packed with a Central Processing Unit (CPU) and a Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) that are separated from each other on the motherboard.
However, that is not the case with the APU design since the processor and the GPU are situated on a single die. Now, adding everything on a single die is mostly due to cost-cutting measures and making more room for other important components.
Additionally, systems with APUs inside tend to require less power than the competition, which is great for laptops and video game consoles such as the Xbox line of devices starting from the Xbox One.
Benefits of an APU
Building a computer can take time and effort, especially if you have no idea what you want exactly since there are so many options to choose from. By using an APU, many of the options are eliminated, which makes building your own rig much easier.
Another great aspect of APUs is efficiency. Because the processor and the GPU are on the same die, they can share resources. Not only that but as stated above, users should see a decrease in power consumption.
And then there are the cost-saving measures. APUs generally cheaper, so for those who wish to save some cash, going this route might be their best bet at this time.
At this moment, it is not yet possible to build a computer that is more powerful than the regular design. Additionally, you can’t buy one either unless you consider the upcoming next-generation consoles, which are computers but not in the traditional sense.
Not great for gaming
Certainly, a laptop or desktop computer with an APU inside will likely deliver better performance than the integrated GPU on a regular computer. However, it will not surpass an independent GPU; high-level gaming is just a no.
Overall, we expect to see more APU computer systems in the coming years as they are gaining popularity. These systems are already popular in the mobile landscape thanks to Qualcomm and its Snapdragon chipsets.
