Skip to main content

AMD will reveal Polaris updates, A-Series chips, and more during Computex 2016

AMD Graphics Card
Image used with permission by copyright holder
AMD confirmed on Thursday that it plans to hold a live press conference and webcast during Computex 2016 in Taipei, Taiwan. Previous rumors had the company holding a special launch event the weekend prior to the show in Macau, the “Las Vegas” of China, and that could still happen with certain members of the press under an embargo. But the company won’t publicly reveal its new products until 10 p.m. EST on June 1.

According to AMD President and CEO Lisa Su is slated to kick things off during the event along with Jim Anderson, senior vice president and general manager of AMD’s Computing and Graphics Business Group, and Raja Koduri, senior vice president and chief architect of AMD’s Radeon Technologies Group. The presentations will be streamed live to AMD’s Computex page and its Investor Relations home page.

As previously reported, AMD is expected to showcase its Radeon R9 400 series of cards based on its Polaris 10 and Polaris 11 graphics processors. The latter chip will be targeted at the notebook market while the former will set its sights on the high-end gaming notebook and mainstream desktop markets. Polaris 10 is expected to be AMD’s flagship graphics chip until the company debuts Vega sometime in 2017.

Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming
Check your inbox!

AMD’s Polaris architecture is based on 14 nanometer FinFET process technology. This platform supports AMD’s fourth-generation Graphics Core Next platform, 4K H.265 encode and decode, DisplayPort 1.3, HDMI 2.0a, and DDR4 memory. The Polaris 10 chip was actually recently seen cranking out 60 frames per second at a 1,440p resolution in Hitman, based on Windows 10’s DirectX 12 graphics API.

However, what’s a cause for concern is AMD’s use of the “Polaris updates” description in its announcement, leading us to wonder if the company plans to launch products during the event, or simply provide an update on the progression of Polaris-based products. Given that Nvidia is gearing up to release its well-reviewed GeForce GTX 1080 card by the end of the month, AMD needs to provide a competing solution rather quick.

In addition to revealing its Polaris “updates,” AMD said that the event will see the launch of its seventh-generation AMD A-Series processors. The company teased these new “Bristol Ridge” chips, which are engineered for Windows 10 and support DirectX 12 gaming on the go, last month. AMD said they will be provided in dual-core and quad-core solutions that use the “Excavator” core architecture.

During a recent briefing, AMD told the press that 15-watt designs of the new A-Series APUs will go head to head with Intel’s 15-watt Core mobile chips in many laptops made by OEMs, or original equipment manufacturers. The company also said that these new seventh-generation chips will finally allow AMD to power high-end laptops, which are typically driven by Intel processors.

One product that will sport a new A-Series “FX” chip will be HP’s refreshed Envy x360 convertible laptop. This notebook/tablet hybrid will sport a 15.6-inch IPS screen with Full HD and UHD options. They’ll also come in two flavors: dual-core or four-core APU solutions. The current models sold on the market use sixth-generation Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors.

That all said, June 1 is right around the corner. If you won’t be able to catch the live-stream at the scheduled time (it’s late for those of us on the East Coast), the company will replay the broadcast a few hours after the show ends, and store the video on both sites for the next year so fans don’t miss all the AMD goodness flowing from Computex 2016.

Editors' Recommendations

Kevin Parrish
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kevin started taking PCs apart in the 90s when Quake was on the way and his PC lacked the required components. Since then…
Scores of people are downgrading back to Windows 10
The screen of the Galaxy Book4 Ultra.

Microsoft continues to struggle with the adoption of Windows 11 among its users. Recent data from Statcounter reveals a notable decline in the operating system’s market share, specifically compared with Windows 10.

After reaching an all-time high of 28.16% in February 2024, Windows 11 has experienced a drop, falling below the 26% mark.

Read more
The ASUS ROG Ally handheld gaming PC has a nice discount today
Starfield running on the Asus ROG Ally.

If you love the power of gaming PCs and the portability of the Nintendo Switch, you should think about getting a handheld gaming PC like the Asus ROG Ally. If you're interested, it's currently on sale from Walmart with an $87 discount that pulls its price down to $400 from $487. It's a pretty popular device so we expect this offer to attract a lot of attention, which means it's probably not going to last long. If you want to get this handheld gaming PC for this cheap, you should proceed with the transaction immediately.

Why you should buy the Asus ROG Ally handheld gaming PC
It's the version of the Asus ROG Ally with the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme that's listed in our roundup of the best handheld gaming PCs, but the Asus ROG Ally Z1 is still a worthwhile purchase because it gives you a gaming PC that you can bring with you wherever you go. Unlike a gaming laptop that's still pretty bulky with its large screen and keyboard, the Asus ROG Ally takes on the form of a portable gaming console like the Nintendo Switch, but with Windows 11 pre-installed as a familiar operating system to navigate and launch the best PC games.

Read more
The HP Victus gaming PC with RTX 3060 has a $550 discount
The HP Victus 15L gaming PC in white.

Gamers don't need to spend more than $1,000 if they want to buy a new gaming PC because there are affordable options like the HP Victus 15L gaming desktop. From its original price of $1,400, you can get it for just $850 as HP has applied a $550 discount on this machine. However, you shouldn't delay your purchase because there's no assurance that the gaming PC will still be 39% off tomorrow. If you want to make sure that you get it for less than $1,000, you're going to have to complete the transaction for it within the day.

Why you should buy the HP Victus 15L gaming desktop
You shouldn't expect the HP Victus 15L gaming desktop to match the performance of the top-of-the-line models of the best gaming PCs, but it's surprisingly powerful for its cost. Inside it are the 13th-generation Intel Core i7 processor and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card, with 16GB of RAM that our guide on how much RAM do you need says is the best place to start for gaming. It's enough to play today's best PC games without any issues, and it may even be capable of running the upcoming PC games of the next few years if you're willing to dial down the settings for the more demanding titles.

Read more