What can an AI PC do?
On March 21st, AMD provided its answer at the "AI PC Innovation Summit." With the participation of OEMs and ISV partners, AMD showcased practical cases of AI PC empowering various application scenarios such as office work, creative endeavors, gaming, large-scale modeling, education, healthcare, and 3D rendering. They also highlighted the advantages of the Ryzen 8040 series and other products in terms of AI performance and user experience, bringing an upgraded AI PC experience.
During the event, Dr. Lisa Su, Chairman and CEO of AMD, mentioned that millions of Ryzen AI PCs have already been shipped. AMD has achieved large-scale application of NPU-driven Windows 11 workstation effects, leading the way. In 2024, they will further support over 150 ISVs, including many leading software providers in China, to develop for Ryzen AI. At the summit, Baichuan Intelligence, Youdao, Game+, Shengshu, and Shizhi AI all showcased AI applications on AMD Ryzen PCs.
AMD announced that OEM manufacturers including ASUS, Colorful, Xuanpai, HP, Honor, Lenovo, Mechrevo, Hasee, One Netbook, MSI, Razer, ROG, and ThinkPad have launched the AMD Ryzen AI PC systems in China with the Ryzen 8040 series processors. The Ryzen 8040 series features the "Zen 4," AMD RDNA 3, and AMD XDNA architectures, providing up to 16 TOPS of NPU computing power and up to 39 TOPS of overall computing power. According to AMD's data, compared to the previous generation 7040 series, the Ryzen 8040 series delivers a 60% improvement in AI performance. Additionally, the Ryzen 9 8945HS offers 1.4 times higher productivity compared to the Ryzen 9 5900H, and the graphics performance has increased by 2.2 times.
In addition, there is the Ryzen 8000G series desktop processor, which also uses the "Zen 4" architecture and is equipped with the Radeon 700M integrated graphics card. Even without a discrete graphics card, it can still provide a certain level of gaming experience.
Some AMD Ryzen 8000G processors also support AMD Ryzen AI technology. This is the first time that AMD has integrated an NPU chip into a desktop processor. Its computing power can reach up to 39 TOPS, providing a superior experience for AI applications and workloads.
Wang Qishang, Senior Vice President and Chief Engineer of GPU Technology at AMD, mentioned in the "AMD AI Technology Development Report" that the GPU with RDNA3 architecture not only brings a 50% increase in energy efficiency, 80% improvement in ray tracing performance, and 40% improvement in gaming performance, but also has exponential performance improvements in AI applications.
In addition, XDNA adopts a spatial partition architecture that is more suitable for multitask processing. It can efficiently execute parallel workloads for diverse AI application scenarios, such as simultaneous deep prediction, gaze correction, super-resolution, and scene detection tasks.
AMD has also brought the Ryzen AI software stack and other tools and feature support to accelerate the development of an open end-to-end software ecosystem. At the same time, in order to build and support the next generation of AI in China, AMD has launched the global AMD AI PC Developer Contest, which is open to Chinese developers.
AMD is also expanding the global AMD ROCm platform and AI PC University Program to universities in China. The AMD AI PC Developer Support Program aims to establish an ISV alliance in China, focusing on training, tool support, and developer funding.
[Spoiler Alert] for the next generation of AMD Ryzen "Strix Point"
Dr. Lisa Su revealed the AMD Ryzen AI roadmap at the AI PC Innovation Summit, mentioning that not only is the Ryzen 8040 series shipping, but AMD will also launch a fully upgraded next-generation Ryzen processor, "Strix Point," in 2024. The CPU of "Strix Point" will use the Zen5 architecture, paired with an RDNA3+ architecture GPU and an XDNA2 architecture NPU. The XDNA2 architecture is designed to triple the AI TOP performance of NPU computation and generation.
Lisa Su, Dr., said, "Artificial intelligence is driving a revolution and rapidly reshaping every aspect of the technology industry. From data centers to AI PCs and edge computing, we are excited about the opportunities in this new era of computing. PCs serve as tools for users to interact with AI on a daily basis through truly personalized experiences. Our Ryzen AI's industry-leading capabilities and extensive ecosystem partnerships will bring seamless AI experiences from the cloud to PCs."
From AMD YES to AI PC YES!
In 2023, large models and AIGC have enabled clearer and more intuitive applications of AI in various industries and among millions of consumers. AI has not only experienced rapid development but also integrated with end-user devices, providing users with new experiences in industries, entertainment, learning, and gaming.
For example, with the deployment of large models in mid-range devices, the potential of voice assistants is unlocked. They can provide personalized, customized, and valuable suggestions and replies to users. Moreover, when large models are integrated with software applications, some user-friendly features can free users from repetitive and cumbersome tasks, allowing them to focus on more valuable and meaningful needs. This may involve generating more ideas or enjoying quality time.
As for AIGC, it has become a favored "new assistant" for creative individuals. With its real-time image generation capabilities, although it may not always meet all demands at once, its efficiency can enhance user inspiration through rapid iteration and improvement.
Entering 2024, more and more AI applications and solutions are being implemented, continuously unleashing the potential of AI. If we look at the big picture, AI-powered PCs are a crucial part of it.
On one hand, AI-powered PCs serve as productivity tools, covering various aspects from innovative AI application design to final implementation. Both developers and end-users can benefit from them. On the other hand, AI-powered PCs, as one of the most widely used end-user devices, play a key role in expanding the AI ecosystem. They, to some extent, determine the influence and vitality of the entire ecosystem.
Therefore, upstream chip manufacturers such as AMD, Intel, Qualcomm, as well as ecosystem partners like OEMs and ISVs, are all accelerating the enhancement of AI experience on PCs. They have unanimously set 2024 as the critical year for AI-powered PCs.
For AI-powered PCs, 2024 is a "new starting point," but for AI applications within PCs, it may be a year of continuity and progress. AI has already been implemented on PCs several years ago, with mature applications in certain office and visual creative scenarios. Examples include background blurring and substitution in video conferences, video and audio noise reduction, AI image and video editing, and more.
However, in the past, these functions relied more on CPU or GPU execution. In today's multitasking environment, PC performance has been under greater pressure, and energy efficiency has not been satisfactory. Therefore, starting from last year, NPUs have become a critical new member of the platform. They exhibit excellent performance when executing specific AI workloads and alleviate the burdens on CPUs and GPUs through more flexible computing architectures, improving user experience in terms of smoothness and efficiency.
From the end of 2023 until now, not only has the AI application experience on the PC side been upgraded, but also more new scenarios have emerged, especially in combination with large models and AIGC functionalities, enabling a "qualitative" change in intelligent PC experience.
At the AI PC Innovation Summit held by AMD, we not only saw familiar AI PC functionalities being showcased, but more importantly, we witnessed the continuous emergence of new applications.
For example, AI PC can support more domestic and international large models, with the parameter scale constantly increasing. In gaming scenarios, processors equipped with NPUs can achieve AI-assisted training and capture AI-powered gaming highlights through collaboration with software developers. A demo shown during the event featured how NPU resources can assist players in accomplishing "difficult operations" in the game "Eternity".
Furthermore, there are AIGC applications focused on content creators, enabling easier creation of high-quality visual content in areas such as images, videos, 3D, and music. There are also industry solutions covering multiple fields such as education, healthcare, and culture, demonstrating the greater value of AI on the PC side.
Although AI PC has brought strong driving force to the development of the PC industry, the competition will intensify in this "new battleground". The industry chain will still need to face a series of challenges, including the adaptation of software and hardware to new architectures and the innovation of product design under new interaction modes.
However, regardless of the challenges, AI PC will undoubtedly become the "new generation of intelligent productivity" for enterprises and consumers. Whether AMD can continue to deliver as expected in this upcoming competition, the AI PC Innovation Summit only gave us a glimpse. We can look forward to the...
