Atari Delays their VCS Console to Deliver a Ryzen Upgrade
Atari Delays their VCS Console to Deliver a Ryzen Upgrade
A lot has changed since 2017, and Atari knows that. Releasing the Ataribox with a Bristol Ridge APU would leave it far behind AMD’s product roadmap, prompting the company to make changes to their system, upgrading their CPU solution to something a little more modern.Â
Now, the Atari VCS is set to launch in late 2019 and ship with a Ryzen series CPU, offering two Zen processing cores and increased performance, efficiency and with a lower TDP. With this hardware change, the Atari VCS will be cooler, faster and more efficient.Â
Other benefits from this hardware change are the processor’s integrated Ethernet, 4K video decoding capabilities, modern HDCP support and support for DRM video from the likes of Netflix and US providers like HBO.Â
  The Atari VCS will now be powered by a 14nm AMD processor featuring high-performance Radeon Vega graphics architecture and two “Zen†CPU cores. This new processor replaces the model from the “Bristol Ridge†family that had been in the plan since originally selected for the Atari VCS back in 2017.
AMD’s all-new Ryzen embedded chip will be faster, cooler, and more efficient, allowing the VCS to benefit from a simpler and more effective power architecture and thermal solution. The new processor includes built-in Ethernet, Native 4K video with modern HDCP, and a secure frame buffer that fully-supports DRM video (Netflix, HBO, etc.).
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At this time the full specifications of Atari’s VCS console are unknown, though the company no doubt has plans to reveal more information about the system closer to its late 2019 launch window.Â
You can join the discussion on the Atari VCS on the OC3D Forums.Â