Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) is pushing hard in 2017 to win market share from the current graphic card industry leader, Nvidia Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA). And Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) just helped it out in a big way.
The company is rolling out new GPUs based on its powerful Vega architecture, looking to break Nvidia’s dominance in the PC market.
Despite Nvidia announcing Mac drivers for its own new series of graphics cards, Apple chose AMD Radeon cards to provide the graphics firepower for its new iMac computers.
And the high-profile new iMac Pro will sport the all-new AMD Radeon Pro Vega graphics card when it launches in December.
Apple Equips iMac Lineup With AMD Radeon
Apple’s commitment to its Mac computer business — and especially to its creative professional users — has been under question. So when the company unveiled all-new iMac configurations early this week, all eyes were on the components.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) provided its latest 7th generation Core processors for iMac, as the critical reception for AMD’s Ryzen CPUs were unable to budge Intel there. However, Apple chose AMD Radeon GPUs to power its 4K and 5K Retina iMac.
In the previous generation, the entry-level model and base 4K iMacs made do with Intel integrated graphics. Now only that base model still uses Intel, and virtually all iMacs have AMD Radeon graphics cards.
Apple is pushing the iMac to be a more capable desktop PC, able to edit 3D graphics, and for the first time, take advantage of virtual reality software. Choosing Advanced Micro Devices across the board to meet that goal sends a message.
iMac Pro Gets the Latest AMD Radeon Pro Vega
The real prize for AMD — at least in terms of bragging rights — was landing the new iMac Pro.
This is the most powerful computer Apple has ever offered. It’s in the spotlight not just because of its hefty $4,999 starting price, but also because it’s the computer Apple promised its professional users it would release.
An iMac with the horsepower to do whatever they need, from running multiple 5K external monitors to compiling 4K video and editing VR content. There is a lot at stake here, including Apple’s reputation among creative professionals.
Nvidia made overtures to that crowd a few months ago, announcing Mac drivers for its new Titan Xp — at the time of its release, considered to be the world’s most powerful graphics card.
Apple could have gone the Nvidia route. Instead it chose a new AMD graphics card, the Radeon Pro Vega. The base iMac Pro is equipped with a Radeon Pro Vega 56 graphics processor with 8GB of HBM2 memory; that can be upgraded to a Radeon Pro Vega 64 with 16GB. And Apple is making a big deal about that card. The marketing for the iMac Pro says:
“When we considered how much we wanted this iMac to be capable of, it was clear that only one graphics chip would do — but that chip didn’t exist yet. So iMac Pro is debuting a new one. The Radeon Pro Vega is over three times faster than any previous iMac GPU, packing the power of a double-wide graphics card into a single chip. All of which translates to higher frame rates for VR, real-time 3D rendering, more lifelike special effects, and gameplay at max settings. It’s one huge reason iMac Pro is power incarnate.”
The Potential Apple Halo Effect
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. has a history of supplying graphics cards for Apple PCs. They’re in the new 15-inch MacBook Pro as well. But at a time when both Apple and AMD are pushing to prove that they are the best, Apple’s choice to broaden its use of AMD Radeon graphics cards and to actively promote their use in its computers could have a halo effect that helps boost AMD sales.
Especially with the iMac Pro. When Apple announces one of its most important new PCs in years, skips Nvidia despite its popularity (and the potential to appear to be “shaking up” its approach by doing so), and puts a spotlight on the power of the new AMD Radeon Pro Vega graphics card at the heart of that new machine?
That’s a high-profile vote of confidence that could help AMD to make meaningful gains against its rival.
