Though competition from Intel (INTC) - Get Report is intensifying, the head of AMD's (AMD) - Get Report largest reporting segment insists new and upcoming products leave his company well-positioned to add to its 2017 CPU share gains.

Ahead of a public webinar going over AMD's CPU efforts, I had a chance to talk with Jim Anderson, the General Manager of the chipmaker's Computing and Graphics (C&G) group. C&G covers AMD's desktop and notebook CPU lines, as well as its GPU business, with the group accounting for 57% of AMD's revenue last year.

Shares roses slightly on Tuesday pre-market trading.

After struggling for much of 2015 and 2016, the group turned a corner in 2017, as revenue rose 53% to $3.03 billion. AMD's Ryzen PC CPU lines and (to a lesser extent) high-end Vega-architecture GPUs played a big role by allowing the company to compete in high-end segments that Intel and Nvidia (NVDA) - Get Report have mostly had to themselves.

AMD also experienced strong demand for its mid-range Polaris-architecture GPUs from Apple (AAPL) - Get Report , as well as cryptocurrency miners. Analysts polled by FactSet see C&G's revenue rising 23% on average in 2018 to $3.75 billion.

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Here are four key areas related to AMD's present and future CPU and GPU efforts that I discussed with Anderson:

1. 12-nanometer Ryzen chips

As AMD has rolled out Ryzen desktop and notebook CPUs that often let it claim a price/performance edge at launch time, arch-rival Intel has been launching 8th-generation Core CPUs that deliver big performance gains (above 25% in some benchmarks) over their 7th-gen predecessors. A limited number of 8th-gen desktop and notebook CPUs launched in the second half of 2017, and more are expected shortly.

AMD is countering by launching second-gen Ryzen desktop CPUs that -- unlike the first-gen products, which use a 14-nanometer process -- rely on a 12-nanometer manufacturing process. Analysts estimate the CPU clock speed increases enabled by the 12nm process will by itself deliver performance gains of around 10%. However, Anderson was eager to point out that the chips will also benefit from new algorithms (called Precision Boost 2) that allow clock speeds to be boosted to much higher levels for workloads that aren't making heavy use of multithreading.

That could be particularly helpful for gaming tasks, which at times were a weak spot for Ryzen benchmarks last year (moreso for 1080p gaming than gaming at higher resolutions). Anderson declined to give specific numbers about the performance gains delivered by 12nm Ryzen chips, noting that benchmarks will be shared at press events set for late March and early April. However, he asserted the products will be very competitive. "We will maintain very good price/performance...leadership versus the competition," he said.

2. Notebook products

AMD launched its first Ryzen Mobile notebook processor lines in Q4 2017, and has followed it up by launching cheaper Ryzen Mobile parts in Q1. Benchmarks often showed the chips posting a moderate CPU performance edge relative to comparable Intel chips, but -- thanks to their built-in Vega GPUs -- a much larger GPU performance edge. Intel often claimed a moderate edge in battery life.

Though a limited number of Ryzen Mobile notebooks launched last year, Anderson says a much broader rollout will happen in 2018, with 40-plus systems launching. This includes business notebooks that will be relying on AMD's Ryzen Pro Mobile processor line, which launches in Q2.

Historically, the enterprise has been a weak spot for AMD's PC CPU business, with many Global 2000-type firms standardizing on Intel CPUs and their related security and management tools. But Anderson insists strong OEM support will give AMD a lift, and declared its current engagement level with PC makers for commercial systems to be the best it has ever been. "We've never had this sort of lineup of premium notebook systems," he added.



AMD's Ryzen CPU launches have significantly expanded its addressable market.

3. Threadripper CPUs

The summer launch of AMD's Ryzen Threadripper CPUs for workstation and enthusiast desktop users was a 2017 highlight for the company. Threadripper, which houses two chips inside of a large chip package, more than held its own in benchmarks against comparably-priced Intel Core i9 CPUs.

According to Anderson, AMD's top-of-the-line Threadripper 1950X CPU -- it features 16 cores, and can be found for a little under $900 online -- has been its most popular Threadripper part. When asked about what kinds of workloads AMD is seeing Threadripper widely used for, he noted that in addition to workstation tasks such as content creation and CAD modeling, game-streaming is proving a popular use: Threadripper's massive core counts make it easy for some cores to be dedicated to playing an advanced title, while still leaving others free for streaming.

Also mentioned: At online retailers catering to enthusiast PC users, such as Newegg and Mindfactory.de, Threadripper has claimed a 40% to 50% market share relative to Core i9. 12nm Threadripper CPUs are due out in the second half of 2018.

4. Next-gen products

Though AMD will soon launch 12nm desktop Ryzen CPUs, no 12nm notebook chips are currently on its roadmap. When asked about future Ryzen Mobile launches, Anderson said AMD "will definitely refresh those products," but declined to say what manufacturing process the refresh will rely on.



AMD's 2018 Ryzen roadmap.

Likewise, Anderson was tight-lipped about when GPUs based on AMD's next-gen Navi architecture will arrive (some have taken AMD's roadmap slides to signal a 2019 launch). He simply declared that Navi will be "a very strong product," and that AMD is pleased with its progress. Meanwhile, the first gaming GPUs based on Nvidia's Volta architecture are expected later this year (one recent rumor pointed to a spring launch).

With AMD and Intel having teamed to launch products for thin-and-light gaming notebooks that put an Intel CPU and AMD GPU inside the same package, I asked if the companies have additional collaborations planned, given that Intel has announced plans to enter the high-end GPU market. "We're pleased with our collaboration with Intel," Anderson replied, while adding AMD has nothing new to announce for now.