6 Ways AMD's New Pro Commercial Processors Will Help Partners Double Down On Desktops

AMD Pro For The Enterprise

AMD on Monday released the commercial version of its seventh-generation processors, dubbed Bristol Ridge Pro.

AMD's John Hampton, Director of Commercial Business Development, stressed that the San Jose, Calif.-based company prioritized performance, reliability and enterprise opportunity in its newest commercial-grade products.

"We're excited about what we're seeing for growth on the business side," he said. "This is the first time we've released an AMD Pro product in the desktop space – we've only done it before in the notebook space. We have a very competitive performance."

Following are six key features on AMD's newest Bristol Ridge commercial grade Pro APUs that make them pivotal for the channel.

Seventh-Gen AMD Pro Desktop Lineup

AMD's seventh-generation Pro lineup extends across several devices, including ultra-thin notebooks, notebooks, ultra-small form factors, and desktops.

Each of these series targeted across the four device categories has different models. The desktop processor lineup specifically targets performance with its A12 model, mainstream desktop devices with its A10 and A8 models, and basic task worker desktops with its A6 model. The performance APU model in the desktop series, the A12-9800, has four cores and a maximum clock at 4.2GHz, with Radeon R7 graphics. This model is targeted to compete with Intel's Core i5-6500 model, according to AMD.

Performance

Performance is key in enterprise desktop systems and AMD made sure to prioritize this capability in its seventh-generation Pro processors.

The company said its A-Series Pro APUs for desktop clock at 4.2 GHz – and its Pro A12-9800E processors have 17 percent more system performance than Intel's competing Core i5-6500T model.

"We've purpose built these processors for the fastest growing areas and when you look at the specs of these products, they scale up to 4.2GHz for maximum clocking, making them an industry leader," said Hampton.

Meanwhile, in terms of graphics performance, AMD's A-series Pro A12-9800E model has up to 88 percent more graphics performance than the Core i5-6500T model, according to AMD.

Channel Availability

Hampton stressed that the channel is critical for AMD's sales of its commercial-based platforms that are powered by seventh-generation A-Series Pro processors.

"We will be partnering with the channel at a systems level… you won't see components being sold, but you will see new platforms being sold through the channel," he said. "We have to partner with the channel, it's the lifeblood of the industry. All these products will be available through the channel and partners will be a big part of our strategy."

"Enterprise-Class Solution"

Hampton said the new Pro processors will have enterprise-targeted features – such as reliability and manageability.

For instance, the APU Pro processors will come with 18-month image stability, 24-month product longevity and "commercial grade quality assurance," ensuring higher grade commercial quality.

"We're excited to change the game and offer customers the opportunity to save more – and get more," said Hampton. "The opportunity with AMD is to save money – we have a no-compromise enterprise class solution for less, and richer system configurations for better system performance."

Security

Security is another top priority feature for enterprises who may need to protect valuable data. AMD's A-series Pro contains hardware-based security measures with the AMD Secure Processor, said Hampton. The AMD secure processor is all integrated on the single APU, providing an advantage over competitors, said Hampton.

On the hardware side, the processor offloads and isolates security functions for ultimate protection, provides an individual hardware-based root of trust for secure boot, as well as content protection and application security. In addition, it provides device security compatibility with Windows 10, such as Microsoft Device Guard, Windows Hello, and fingerprint biometric security.

The processor series also utilizes ARM TrustZone security technology for open standards.

"Forward Looking" Features

In addition to its AMD Secure Processor, the AMD A-Series Pro contains several other "forward looking features," said Hampton – such as DDR4 memory support and USB 3.1 Type C support.

The newest commercial grade products will also have manageability features to match Intel's Core vPro processor, with security, virtualization, remote power control and system monitoring capabilities, said Hampton. The APUs will feature the DASH manageability open standard, which enables IT Pros to administer CPU-agnostic PC fleets.

In addition, AMD is introducing the AM4 desktop infrastructure, a stable and upgradeable program for commercial customers.