AMD considers mainstream mobile APU to adopt chiplet design

Historically, AMD has navigated a delicate equilibrium between innovation and power efficiency in its laptop chips. Given the power constraints, the design of mobile APUs presents greater challenges than their desktop counterparts. Over recent years, AMD’s strategic approach has borne fruit, witnessing a notable surge in its market share.

The chiplet design has played a pivotal role in the Ryzen series of desktop processors. However, when it comes to the mobile platform, AMD remains circumspect about this methodology. As reported by VideoCardz, AMD is contemplating the integration of the chiplet design into mainstream mobile APUs. The hesitation primarily stems from concerns about energy efficiency.

AMD perceives potential energy inefficiencies associated with the chiplet design, positing that due to power constraints, it may not be universally apt for all mobile chips. Thus far, after considering a myriad of factors, findings suggest that monolithic designs offer better cost-effectiveness and energy advantages for laptops. For instance, ultrathin laptops typically employ chips ranging from 15W to 30W, and in this domain, AMD continues to lean on a monolithic design paradigm. Even if AMD opts to integrate more chipset-designed APUs into mobile platforms, it would not be ubiquitously rolled out across all market segments.

While AMD’s reservations are well-founded, chiplet designs do have their merits. This is evident as their rival, Intel, has embraced a segmented modular architecture in Meteor Lake, comprising distinct computational, GPU, SOC, and IO modules, interconnected through the Foveros 3D packaging technique. A distinctive facet of Intel’s approach is the flexibility to interchange or augment modules, facilitating customizations based on specific requirements or system upgrades.