AMD has unveiled a new embedded discrete graphics processor with double the 3D graphics-crunching power as its E2400 GPU. The entry-level Radeon E6460 GPU "sets a new bar" for features and performance among its kind and AMD supposedly plans to push the chip for many generations to come, with five years of planned supply availability.
Although the E6460 can't compete with the power of the company's flagship E6760 (it has a third of the shaders and half the memory interface), it's plenty sufficient for everyday multimedia tasks. AMD says the part is ideal for casino gaming machines, digital signage, kiosks, point-of-sale systems and other entertainment and infotainment devices.
It features the third-gen unified video decoder (UVD3) with support for H.264, VC-1, MPEG-2/4, DivX/Xvid, Dual HD, Blu-ray and stereo 3D, as well as DirectX11 graphics. It can also drive up to four displays via Eyefinity – that's two less than the E6760 – and it supports AMD's Accelerated Parallel Processing (APP) for entry-level GPGPU applications.
"The AMD Radeon E6460 GPU provides the high value, small footprint, and long supply demanded by embedded customers," said Richard Jaenicke. "With a footprint-compatible subset of the high-performance AMD E6760 GPU, the new AMD Radeon E6460 GPU enables broadly scalable graphics and multimedia performance in a single board design."
In less official news, a "leaked" roadmap published by DonanimHaber suggests that AMD will launch fresh desktop components by the third quarter of 2012 (this is separate from the mobile-oriented leak earlier today). As early as the second quarter of next year, the company will replace its existing A-Series Llano APUs with a chip codenamed "Trinity."
Trinity parts will contain the next-generation x86-64 "Piledriver" architecture along with the upcoming Radeon HD 7000 series graphics. Piledriver-based chips will also flood the company's FX desktop series, displacing the long-awaited "Bulldozer" architecture, which is expected to emerge inside FX processors codenamed "Zambezi" sometime this year.