AMD launches two new ultra low-voltage Ryzen embedded CPUs for mini PC builds

The impulse AMD received from its growing laptop / desktop / server CPU markets has led the red team to attempt an expansion in the mini PC /sector with ultra low-voltage embedded processors like the Ryzen R1000 series, which should provide a decent alternative for Intel’s NUCs. So far things are looking to be working well for AMD’s mini PC solutions, so the company recently decided to add the R1102G and the R1305G 14 nm models based on the original Zen architecture with the lowest TDPs yet.

With a rated TDP of only 6 W, the Ryzen Embedded R1102G CPU comes with 2 cores and 2 threads clocked at 1.2 GHz (2.6 GHz boost). The R1305G model is rated for 8-10 W but comes with 4 threads and slightly higher clocks (1.5 GHz base / 2.8 GHz boost). Even though the TDPs are that low, these two models are designed to offer higher performance per watt especially in industrial environments where power management is critical.

Both models integrate a Vega 3 iGPU with 3 compute units running at 1 GHz, and offer support for up to 32 GB of DDR4-2666 RAM. As for differences, apart from the thread count, the R1102G supports only 4 PCI lanes instead of 8, and allows for single-channel RAM instead of dual-channel.

These two CPUs are now supported by Sapphire’s new 4x4-inch NP-FP5V and BP-FP5V NUC motherboards, which are integrated in mini PC builds assembled by Simply NUC. Since the CPUs have low TDPs, the mini PCs do not require active cooling or any fancy passive cooling fins, so the enclosures are quite small. The new models come with features such as:

• 2 x DP 1.4 + 1 x HDMI 2.0 video outputs
• Dual GbE jacks
• Up to 3 x USB-A 3.1 connectors
• COM port
• M.2 PCIe x4 slot and SATA bay for SSD storage

No word on pricing as of yet, but Simply NUC promises to release the Post Oak and Red Oak mini PC models some time in Q2 2020.