Ryzen Pro: AMD takes on Intel on the corporate desktop, with one key omission

AMD Launches Ryzen PRO CPUs: Enhanced Security, Longer Warranty, Better Quality
http://www.anandtech.com/show/11591/amd-launches-ryzen-pro-cpus-enhanced-security-longer-warranty-better-quality

https://www.amd.com/en/ryzen-pro

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AyyyMD is really trying to take the entire market from intel. didnt think they would touch that market this soon.

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I'm looking in to this and the added 'security' feature per-say. What extra instructions do they do? Optimization for AES? I'm genuinely curious

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im not sure. most of the security features are already built into the consumer parts but the new pro chips will have a 3 year warranty along with a 2 year availability. so a corporate environment could spec out a system and know they can build it for atleast 2 years.

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The SME encrypts data when it is written to DRAM and decrypts it when it is read. The AES-128 key is generated by a NIST SP 800-90-compliant hardware RNG and then managed by the AMD-SP hardware (thus, in a secure environment only). Although a dedicated engine performs the encryption/decryption, the process still takes time and thus adds latency to memory accesses. AMD claims that the actual performance impact is not significant, but we will have to test it ourselves before making any conclusions of our own. AMD’s Zen microarchitecture supports full and partial memory encryption for cases when performance is a concern. The one downside to this is that both partial and full encryption modes will require OSes and software to be modified in order to work properly.

yeah but the comsumer ryzen chips already have that

Quote from the article

...AMD listed features such as memory encryption, Secure Boot, and a firmware-integrated TPM as Ryzen Pro features. This is peculiar, though, because the regular Ryzen chips support Secure Boot and a firmware TPM. They also purport to support memory encryption, and at least some motherboard firmwares for Ryzen chips have settings for turning on this memory encryption.

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I like how the one Pro 1700X result on Passmark's site has it above the regular 1800X.

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One reason why I wouldn't have expected them to launch these already is the current lack of Ryzen-based APUs.

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I read it in another article but... The Pro Chips have the same memory encryption the Epyc parts have. The same module is on the consumer parts, but it's not enabled. Just mentioning this since in the Epyc thread there was a sudden euphoria that memory encryption is on the consumer parts...

I would also imagine that they might make ECC mandatory for the Mainboard manufacturers for the Pro market.

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Actually makes sense with market segmentation.

Crisis mangement meeting at Intel:

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I'll be recommending we purchase these devices instead of Intel. I think I can make a strong case due to the intel vulnerability that came out a few weeks ago.

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APU's are trash dude and the market is already flooded with them. If someone needed an apu, maybe a business, they have options. Otherwise a home user could get an apu setup, or could barely apend any money on a used system from intel they got at a garage sale, or have a gaming box for almost nothing.

Point is the apu argument is kinda dead at this point. If they put them out it would be a waste of money. I hope they don't.

Eh first off they are coming, been known for a long time. And secondly they have their uses in systems that don't actually need any graphics power (yes, imagine there are users that don't game all day). Having to put in a graphics card just to be able to connect a monitor would be a) stupid and b) a waste of money.

They can also be used in low-budget gaming systems for people that only play i.e. MOBAs or any other low-graphic games.

They're also useful in certain cenarios when editing video or images.

They're also useful in the enterprise server space.

There's a reason AMD is using them.

PS: Intels CPUs with integrated graphics unit are nothing else then an APU. It's just that it's more of a marketing term for AMD.

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Yeah but they could literally just put the chip on the motherboard like with the old phenom machines. If you ship motherboards with 250's and 260's strapped to them you have basically everything you need right there packaged. You could even make smaler and smaller motherboards if you took more and more of the expansion slots out and just integrated features.

I know from my past jobs that if a school is going to mass buy parts to use as boxes they want everything to just fit. Nothing more than wifi ethernet a souncard and whatever gpu is available. It doesn't matter to them. Thats the kind of market this stuff is being aimed at. Parts that are cheap en masse and boxes that all fit one format. And, if the box is small enough, you can have even more deskspace.

The only machines that really hit those marks well are the machines from Endless and the phones that you can dock. I know that a local amway trashed most of its higher offices for the mountable phones because it would keep the employees in the loop 100%. And, I know that Endless machines and similar are being piped into schools up north because they don't need to spend stupid money for what is mostly an AD login web box.

If amd can hit that same space thats only making their market stronger and making them a real threat again. You're right, not everyone needs a 480. And sure, buying a gpu to go with a corp box is a bit much so why not wait for apu's? Well, thats what I'm hoping they do. And if they nail it you could have a workstation double the size of an ouya maybe. Thats what sells to a corp.

Did you know that AMD is going to use the infinity fabric to further their HSA efforts?

I mean that would be nice and all but HSA doesn't exactly make sense anymore if theres going to be real cpu power from them from now on. I feel like HSA sprouted up because they didn't have any firepower. Now don't get me wrong, its a cool tech and all, but it won't really matter as much as it used to unless it really makes a difference for budget builds.

eh yeah and then people that dont need it still need to pay for it... much rather have them in the cpu because the amount of cpu variants is typically higher then the chipset models.

There's also no chipsets with integrated graphics anymore since nvidia stopped making chipsets.

Well my idea there was that you have all your connectivity already on the board like the endless OS machines. No PCIe slots at all. You have all your expansion right there and available via preselected board mounts. If you're doing stock trading it might e a little different, but I'm thinking more along the lengths of an intel NUC but ryzen and you can build it yourself. Again, the idea of a 6 core workstation doule the size of an ouya makes a lot of businesses wet.

Think about the compute performance of a machine utilizing the gpu and the apu in tandem, Think beyond games and graphics.