AMD's FPGA strategy: New features in, old models out

Programmable Logic AMD's FPGA strategy: New features in, old models out

2024-01-23 From Michael Eckstein | Translated by AI 3 min Reading Time

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AMD announces the industry's first FPGAs and adaptive SoCs conforming to the new DisplayPort 2.1 audio/video standard for 8K ultra-high-definition video. At the same time, the company is cleaning up its portfolio by removing its complex PLD and low-end FPGA components.

AMD has implemented the new VESA standard DisplayPort 2.1 into its graphics cards, FPGAs, and adaptive SoCs.(Image: AMD) — AMD has implemented the new VESA standard DisplayPort 2.1 into its graphics cards, FPGAs, and adaptive SoCs.
(Image: AMD)

The new owner of Xilinx, AMD, has updated the graphics interfaces in its UltraScale+ (Field Programmable Gate Arrays, FPGAs) and Versal (adaptive System-on-a-Chip, SoC) product families: According to the company, they are the industry's first FPGA and adaptive SoC components to support the VESA standard DisplayPort (DP) 2.1.

The new DisplayPort 2.1 subsystem is supposed to enable components to receive, process, and transmit video data in Ultra-High-Definition (UHD) resolution of 8K (7680 x 4320 pixels). With this, the US corporation is addressing manufacturers of professional AV and broadcast equipment. They could now easily integrate and upgrade devices such as cameras, professional monitors, LED video walls, projectors, KVMs, and the broadcast infrastructure to process 8K UHD video.

New UHD video standard 8K: Four times the resolution of 4K

8K has established itself as the latest UHD video standard. Compared to 4K, it has four times the resolution, and compared to Full HD, it has sixteen times the resolution. According to AMD, it is breaking through in a wide range of professional AV, broadcast media, and consumer electronics applications.

However, 8K UHD video requires interfaces with enormous bandwidth and powerful computing units to process the video data in order to smoothly drive such a high pixel density. Therefore, DP 2.1 is specified with almost 80 Gbps—three times that of DP 1.4. This should be sufficient for high screen resolutions, large color depths, and high refresh rates.

Demonstration at the end of January at the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2024

According to their own statements, users can experience a high-quality 8K experience on high-end workstations and gaming PCs in combination with the company's own Radeon graphics cards with UltraScale+ FPGAs and Versal SoCs. Speaking of Radeon: According to AMD, they were also the first company in the industry to introduce support for DP 2.1 on graphics cards. Specifically, these are the Radeon PRO W7900 models, AMD Radeon PRO W7800 and Radeon RX 7900.

AMD will introduce the DisplayPort 2.1 IP subsystem with the first public demonstration of this technology at the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2024, which opens on January 30 in Barcelona.

Product discontinuations: These PLDs and low-end FPGAs are being phased out

Due to declining demand, AMD has issued a product discontinuation notice to distributors. Among others, the affected product families are XC9500XL, CoolRunner XPLA 3, CoolRunner II, Spartan II and the five Spartan 3 CPLDs, which were acquired as part of the Xilinx takeover in 2022. The Spartan-3 family was launched in 2011. The components are less complex than the high-end FPGAs and are often used for interface designs.

The 3ADSP product families Commercial/Industrial "XC" and Automotive "XA" are also among the discontinued series. The Spartan 6 and 7 product lines are so far unaffected. AMD is currently focusing on the Artix chips in the low-end range, and the Zynq series in the higher performance range.

Stocks are being sold off

In its announcement, AMD points out that last-time-buy orders (LTB) will be accepted until June 29, 2024, with delivery dependent on availability. Anyone who wants to ensure they still receive components should therefore order well before the deadline.

An order that is still open on or after April 30, 2024, is considered non-cancellable and non-returnable (NCNR), and the final delivery must occur on or before December 28, 2024. Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) for replacement devices due to quality issues will be accepted until June 27, 2025. (me)

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