AMD Project Quantum powered by Intel
Okay, so the title sounds a bit ironic, but with Dual-GPU Fiji based GPUs in a small PC, you are going to need quite a bit of processing power. So props to AMD for having the balls to make this choice. BTW I also know there will be an AMD version available, so the choice is yours.
Project Quantum shouts brute performance, their CEO Su stated it's a "16 teraflop gaming system", let me correct her that actually should be 17 teraflops.
Project Quantum isn't powered by an AMD CPU, but as it now seems, an Intel Devil's Canyon Core i7-4790K. Project Quantum was shown to be running an Intel Core i7-4790K "Devil's Canyon" CPU based on an ASRock mini-ITX motherboard. The i7-4790K was the processor used and the memory was half-height Crucial Ballistix. The SSD used AMD-branded (ODM is OCZ) and then comes with unified liquid cooling solution custom-tailored for AMD, by Asetek.
BTW I had never realized how incredibly small this unit is, check it out.
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It could be that AMD's CPU's run just a tad too hot, or require too much power for such a small device. The TDP of the 4790K is 88W and the FX 9590's TDP is 220W. It could just be their trying to keep things cool, and even under water maybe they couldn't keep things cool enough with their own CPU's?
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We know that since their video. It shows intel MB. I think 1st generation will use intel's CPU.
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Doh. Heat and wattage aside, current FX Vishera CPUs would simply bottleneck it.
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True. Come AMD Zen though it will obviously be changed to either a full FX processor, or an APU. The reason why they may go APU is because of load balancing between the GPU and APU, but more information on this will come about later.
So next year, it will most likely be 14 nm Zen APU + 14 nm Fury replacement.
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I would hope that i7 is just in there for proof of concept, but regardless, it's kind of an odd move (if not a little embarrassing).
As to the device itself, I'm curious what the market would be for something like Quantum. With a dual-Fiji and some high end CPU (presumably Zen), it will easily cost double, triple or even more than the latest console (whatever it is). It will no doubt cost more than an equivalent powered home-built PC (small form or large) and it's using a fair amount of proprietary parts.
It seems to be a PC/console hybrid and I'm not really sure what the benefit is other than it's kind of small. It's clearly a badass little device but I'm not sure that's a compelling enough reason to buy. Am I missing something?