Advanced Computing in the Age of AI | Wednesday, April 24, 2024

AWS Embraces AMD For Faster Graphics 

Last week Amazon Web Services (AWS) streaming service, AppStream 2.0, introduced a new GPU instance called Graphics Design intended to accelerate graphics. The new instance is based on AMD’s FirePro S7150x2 Server GPUs equipped with AMD Multiuser GPU technology. The AWS move is a win for AMD which has been on a roll of late with the launch of its EPYC chip line perhaps being the high point at least in HPC terms.

In making the announcement, AWS said the new instance type allows users to run graphics applications at a fraction of the cost of using graphics workstations, and can reduce the cost of streaming graphics applications with AppStream 2.0 by up to 50%. Achieving fast graphics performance in the cloud has long been challenging while boosting performance locally with high-end workstations is expensive.

“Graphics Design instances are ideal for delivering applications that rely on hardware acceleration of DirectX, OpenGL, or OpenCL, such as Adobe Premiere Pro, Autodesk Revit, and Siemens NX. With this launch, AppStream 2.0 now offers three graphics instance types – Graphics Design, Graphics Desktop, and Graphics Pro – optimized to support a broad selection of graphics workloads,” said AWS.

Read the full story at sister web site HPCwire.

About the author: George Leopold

George Leopold has written about science and technology for more than 30 years, focusing on electronics and aerospace technology. He previously served as executive editor of Electronic Engineering Times. Leopold is the author of "Calculated Risk: The Supersonic Life and Times of Gus Grissom" (Purdue University Press, 2016).

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