iMac Pro 2017 To Ship With AMD Vega Video Cards
Apple junkies have a lot to look forward to this year. While some are still eagerly waiting for the first-ever premium-tier smartphone, the iPhone X, others are anticipating the coming of the new iMac Pro.
The Cupertino tech giant's highly-anticipated iMac Pro is said to be coming with the AMD Radeon Pro Vega video cards. DigiTimes claims to have discovered from supply chain sources that Apple ordered high-end GPUs from AMD in September.
"The new iMac series adopt GPUs supplied by AMD, with the super workstation-class 27-inch iMac Pro equipped with Radeon Pro Vega 56 GPU and 8 GB HBM2 memory or Radeon Pro Vega 64 and 16 GB HBM2 memory," the report states.
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The high-end configuration should be packaged using 2.5D technology while the standard issue variant will be packed using a flip-chip process. Siliconware Precision Industries are reportedly handling the packaging while King Yuan Electronics has been assigned with testing supports, the sources claim.
The same informants claimed that outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) companies based in Taiwan are slated to carry out the 2.5 D and flip-chip packaging processes towards the end of the year.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has reportedly been tasked by AMD to fabricate the NAVI GPUs through a 7nm process technology. The company is also a figure in advanced packing technologies. They are expected to apply their CoWoS 2.5D process to high-end GPUs or FPGAs for artificially intelligent supercomputer systems.
For consumers, a 2.5 D packaging means more memory bandwidth that comes with small low-powered boards. Ultimately, it should make the iMac Pro's overall performance better.
Since little has been said about the much-awaited iMac Pro, tech enthusiasts can catch the 10th anniversary iPhone special, dubbed the iPhone X, which is slated to arrive next month. Preorders should start on Friday, Oct. 27.
