AMD Delivers World's First Server GPU With Industry-Leading 32GB Memory for High Performance Compute

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AMD FirePro(TM) S9170 Server GPU Offers Unmatched Onboard Memory to Support Large Dataset Computations

SUNNYVALE, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/08/15 -- AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) today announced the new AMD FirePro™ S9170 server GPU, the world's first and fastest 32GB single-GPU server card for DGEMM heavy double-precision workloads1, with support for OpenCL™ 2.0. Based on the second-generation AMD Graphics Core Next (GCN) GPU architecture, this new addition to the AMD FirePro™ server GPU family is capable of delivering up to 5.24 TFLOPS of peak single precision compute performance while enabling full throughput double precision performance, providing up to 2.62 TFLOPS of peak double precision performance.

Designed with compute-intensive workflows in mind, the AMD FirePro S9170 server GPU is ideal for data center managers who oversee clusters within academic or government bodies, oil and gas industries, or deep neural network compute cluster development.

"AMD is recognized as an HPC industry innovator as the graphics provider with the top spot on the November 2014 Green500 List. Today the best GPU for compute just got better with the introduction of the AMD FirePro S9170 server GPU to complement AMD's impressive array of server graphics offerings for high performance compute environments," said Sean Burke, corporate vice president and general manager, AMD Professional Graphics group. "The AMD FirePro S9170 server GPU can accelerate complex workloads in scientific computing, data analytics, or seismic processing, wielding an industry-leading 32GB of memory. We designed the new offering for supercomputers to achieve massive compute performance while maximizing available power budgets."

"There are some HPC workloads which require as much data as possible to stay resident on the device, and so the 32GB of memory provided by AMD FirePro S9170, the largest available on a single GPU, will enable the acceleration of scientific calculations that were previously impossible," said Simon McIntosh-Smith, head of the Microelectronics Research Group at the University of Bristol. "For example, our new OpenCL version of the SNAP transport code from Los Alamos National Laboratory needs to keep as much data resident on the device as possible, and so the 32GB of memory will let us run problems of a much more interesting size faster than ever before. The large memory, combined with the 320GB/s memory bandwidth and double precision floating point performance, will make the AMD FirePro S9170 server GPU a 'killer' solution device for many HPC applications."

The AMD FirePro S9170 offers unparalleled GPU compute performance and power efficiency with the following benefits:

  • With up to 2.62 TFLOPS of peak double precision performance, the AMD FirePro S9170 is the fastest single-GPU server card available for DGEMM heavy workloads, delivering up to 40% more performance than the competitive solution;
  • Support for 40% better double precision performance, while using 10% less power than the competition2;
  • The AMD FirePro S9170 is the industry's first server GPU with 32GB ultra-fast GDDR5 on-board memory and features a 512-bit memory interface for 320 GB/s of memory bandwidth;
  • Equipped with 32GB of GDDR5 memory, the AMD FirePro S9170 GPU can accelerate memory-intensive applications and process larger and more computationally complex workloads with ease; and
  • The AMD FirePro S9170 GPU features 33% more memory than the competitive GPU, helping to improve overall workload speed and system responsiveness, especially when working with large amounts of data3.

"Based on our company's development and integration of leading-edge high-performance solutions to support design optimization, testing operation, simulation and maintenance of complex systems, SILKAN can attest that the AMD FirePro S9170 server GPU is the most powerful on the market," said François Guérinea, chairman and CEO at SILKAN. "What makes the difference is the amount of memory, and accordingly we have chosen the AMD FirePro S9170 GPU with 32GB of memory as a necessity for a client's major project."

"By combining the new AMD FirePro S9170 server GPU with our G250 Series of 2U eight GPU systems, we are able to deliver HPC servers with up to 256GB of GPU memory," said Alex Liu, product marketing executive of the GIGABYTE Network & Comm. Division. "This unprecedented density of GDDR5 memory will help our customers offer very attractive machines to industries processing large datasets."

"ASUS is pleased to see the AMD FirePro S9170 server GPU complement the AMD FirePro™ S9150 server GPU, the November 2014 Green500 List-winning solution," said Robert Chin, General Manager, ASUS Server Business Unit. "We are seeing customers not only obtain significant results in the HPC arena, but also achieve power efficiency for more green environments. The arrival of the AMD FirePro S9170 server GPU sets a new milestone for the HPC market segment. As a top Green500 List provider and one of the greenest HPC building block providers, we're excited to see the AMD FirePro S9170 GPU featured in our top ASUS ESC product family to enable excellent performance matched with significant savings in total cost of ownership."

"We have been developing a fully-parallel computational tool based on the AMD GPU heterogeneous computing platform and OpenCL," said Omid Mahahadi, co-founder and director, Geomechanica Inc. "This tool accurately captures the complex physics of massive mines plus oil and gas fields rapidly and reliably. Thanks to the impressive 32GB of memory of the new cards, we expect to run computations on massive data structures containing tens of millions of data elements. The combination of rapid double-precision operations with the large memory capacity enables accurate, detailed, and reliable computations. A similar performance using CPUs would likely require much higher capital and maintenance costs. Moving forward, we plan to take advantage of the recent features of the OpenCL 2.0 open API to further enhance the performance of our software."

To address future needs for HPC development, AMD FirePro™ S9170 server GPU supports the latest version of OpenCL™ while ready for the OpenMP and OpenACC developer tools with planned availability in Q3 2015.

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About AMD
AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) designs and integrates technology that powers millions of intelligent devices, including personal computers, tablets, game consoles and cloud servers that define the new era of surround computing. AMD solutions enable people everywhere to realize the full potential of their favorite devices and applications to push the boundaries of what is possible. For more information, visit www.amd.com.

AMD, the AMD Arrow logo and FirePro are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. OpenCL is a trademark of Apple Inc. used by permission by Khronos.

1 AMD FirePro™ S9170 delivers up to 2.62 TFLOPS peak double precision floating point performance. Nvidia's highest performing single-GPU server card in the market as of May 2015 is the Tesla K40 with up to 1.43 TFLOPS peak double precision performance. Nvidia's highest performing dual-GPU server card in the market as of May 2015 is the Tesla K80, with up to 1.87 TFLOPS of peak double precision performance. Visit http://www.nvidia.com/object/tesla-servers.html for Nvidia product specs. FP-132

2 AMD FirePro™ S9170 max power is 275W and delivers up to 2.62 TFLOPS peak double precision floating point performance. Nvidia's highest performing single-GPU server card in the market as of May 2015 is the Tesla K40, max power of 235W, with up to 1.43 TFLOPS peak double precision performance. Nvidia's highest performing dual-GPU server card in the market as of May 2015 is the Tesla K80, max power of 300W, with up to 1.87 TFLOPS of peak double precision performance. FP-134

3 AMD FirePro™ S9170 is equipped with 32 GB GDDR5 memory, while Nvidia's K40 offers 12GB GDDR5, and Nvidia's dual GPU K80 offers 24GB GDDR5 (12GB per GPU). Visit http://www.nvidia.com/object/tesla-servers.html for Nvidia product specs. FP-135

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. ("AMD"), including the features and functionality of AMD FirePro S9170 server GPUs, the compatibility of AMD FirePro S9170 server GPUs with OpenCL™ 2.0 for future use and development of FirePro GPUs for the high performance compute market; the future compatibility of AMD FirePro server GPUs with developer tools OpenMP and OpenACC; which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are commonly identified by words such as "would," "may," "expects," "believes," "plans," "intends," "projects," and other terms with similar meaning. Investors are cautioned that the forward-looking statements in this press release are based on current beliefs, assumptions and expectations, speak only as of the date of this document and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. Risks include that Intel Corporation's dominance of the microprocessor market and its aggressive business practices may limit AMD's ability to compete effectively; that AMD relies on GlobalFoundries Inc. (GF) to manufacture most of its microprocessor and APU products and certain of its GPU and semi-custom products. If GF is not able to satisfy its manufacturing requirements, AMD's business could be adversely impacted; that AMD relies on third parties to manufacture its products, and if they are unable to do so on a timely basis in sufficient quantities and using competitive technologies, AMD's business could be materially adversely affected; failure to achieve expected manufacturing yields for AMD's products could negatively impact its financial results; the success of its business is dependent upon its ability to introduce products on a timely basis with features and performance levels that provide value to its customers while supporting and coinciding with significant industry transitions; if AMD cannot generate sufficient revenue and operating cash flow or obtain external financing, it may face a cash shortfall and be unable to make all of its planned investments in research and development or other strategic investments; that AMD may not be able to successfully implement its business strategy to refocus its business to address markets beyond AMD's core PC market to high-growth adjacent markets; the completion and impact of the 2014 restructuring plan and its transformation initiatives could adversely affect AMD; global economic uncertainty may adversely impact AMD's business and operating results; AMD may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service its debt obligations or meet its working capital requirements; AMD has a substantial amount of indebtedness which could adversely affect its financial position and prevent it from implementing its strategy or fulfilling its contractual obligations; the agreements governing AMD's notes and its amended and restated senior secured asset based line of credit for a principal amount up to $500 million impose restrictions on AMD that may adversely affect AMD's ability to operate its business; the markets in which AMD's products are sold are highly competitive; and the loss of a significant customer may have a material adverse effect on it. Investors are urged to review in detail the risks and uncertainties in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including but not limited to AMD's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 28, 2015.

Source: Advanced Micro Devices

Released July 8, 2015