Creative professionals looking to embrace the flexibility and scalability of cloud-based workflows can now do so more cost-effectively with new AMD based Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) G4ad instances.
Powered by AMD processors, Amazon EC2 G4ad instances allow users to run essential Creative Cloud applications like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects and Adobe Premiere Pro on virtual workstations in the cloud. Adobe users can then stream the display to a desktop machine, laptop or tablet – whether in the studio, at home or on the move.
Available in five different configurations to suit teams of all sizes, Amazon EC2 G4ad instances offer great price performance1 than comparable Amazon EC2 GPU-based instances for graphics-intensive applications. This provides designers, video editors, motion graphics artists, and professionals working in visualization, broadcast effects and game development with the power they need to tackle demanding jobs at an affordable price.
| Size | Great for | vCPU | Memory | GPU | Storage |
| G4ad.xlarge | For GPU-centric applications which require less CPU resource | 4 | 16 GB | 1x 8GB GPU | 150 |
| G4ad.2xlarge | For GPU-centric applications which require less CPU resource | 8 | 32 GB | 1x 8GB GPU | 200 |
| G4ad.4xlarge | Accelerating professional workstation-class workloads that require large amounts of CPU and GPU resources | 16 | 64 GB | 1x 8GB GPU | 600 |
| G4ad.8xlarge | Accelerating professional workstation-class workloads that require large amounts of CPU and GPU resources | 32 | 128 GB | 2x 8GB GPU | 1,200 |
G4ad.16xlarge | Large multi-session deployments that requires ample amounts of CPU and GPU resource | 32 | 128 GB | 2x 8GB GPU | 1,200 |
What are G4ad instances?
Amazon EC2 G4ad instances let creative teams run software securely in the cloud on virtual workstations, with only the encrypted pixels of the desktop display being streamed to an artist's PC or mobile device.
The instances are powered by AMD GPUs and CPUs, bringing the power of the AMD RDNA™ and “Zen 2” architectures to the cloud. The AMD Radeon™ PRO V520 GPUs accelerate video playback, transcoding, color correction and processor-intensive effects – while the second-generation AMD EPYC™ processors provide up to 64 vCPUs per instance – ideal for highly multi-threaded tasks like rendering.
How does Adobe Creative Cloud software benefit from running on G4ad instances?
The combination of AMD Radeon PRO GPUs and AMD EPYC CPUs in Amazon EC2 G4ad instances powers creative workflows of all types in Adobe's Creative Cloud software.
Artists using multiple applications in production will benefit from the G4ad instances' high vCPU counts. Adobe describes a fast eight-core CPU, such as those in G4ad.2xlarge instances, as the “sweet spot” for running both After Effects and Premiere Pro2. Compositors and motion designers looking to adopt After Effects' new multi-frame rendering system may need even larger instances, since render speed typically increase on systems with 16 or more CPU cores.
For video editors, the AMD Radeon Pro V520 GPUs in G4ad instances accelerate playback and transcoding in Premiere Pro, along with processor-intensive operations like color correction, blur effects and the Warp Stabilizer filter. For artists , a powerful GPU makes it possible to navigate larger Photoshop documents smoothly, and speeds up effects like Lens Blur, Perspective Warp, and the Neural Filters.
Adobe Creative Cloud – as seen on the Cloud
Video: Workload description:
- A typical motion graphics workflow where title/text elements have are required for an edit sequence.
- The client notes in the Adobe Premiere Pro edit shows where the titles are to go.
- The designer has already created an initial title sequence in Adobe After Effects.
- The title needs a quick adjustment to a graphic element generated from the original Adobe Photoshop layout file.
- From Adobe After Effects, the Photoshop file is edited and saved, which reads instantly back into After Effects/
- The Adobe After Effects composition then is exported as motion graphics template file with the talent name field made ‘editable.’
- In Adobe Premiere Pro the Motion Graphics template is loaded from the 'Essential Graphics' window. The name of the talent can be adjusted by the editor without going back into After Effects allowing the editor to concentrate on integrated the titles.
How can Adobe professionals benefit from moving to the cloud?
Cloud-based workflows provide a wide range of benefits for artists using Adobe Creative Cloud software, whether working independently or in large teams:
Cloud-based workflows make it easier to work remotely
Virtual workstations free artists from their desks, freeing them to work on the move from a tablet or laptop, boosting productivity. For teams, cloud-based workflows make it possible to work with collaborators around the world, without having to worry whether everyone's hardware and software is compatible.
Cloud-based workflows scale easily as projects expand
Cloud-based workflows make it easier to power up as a project expands, switching to larger instances or deploying new ones at the click of a button. Studios can even store and reuse virtual machine profiles for their regular freelancers, enabling them to begin work again immediately during crunch periods.
Cloud-based workflows can reduce start-up costs
For freelancers and new studios, accessing virtual workstations on demand as a service rather than having to buy hardware up front can reduce start-up costs. For established teams, rental makes costs more predictable, and reduces the financial risk of being unable to complete jobs while waiting for new physical machines to be delivered.
Cloud-based workflows simplify collaboration and data security
With both in-house artists and external collaborators able to access the same virtual machines, teams can work more easily on shared art assets or project files. And for commercially sensitive projects, having only pixels streamed to a user's machine makes it easier to control who can access confidential data.
Offering great price performance than other Amazon GPU-enabled offerings1, AMD-based Amazon EC2 G4ad instances allow creative professionals of all types to embrace these flexible, scalable new workflows. Whether finishing images in Photoshop, editing TV shows in Premiere Pro or creating cutting-edge motion graphics in After Effects, G4ad instances give artists the power they need to take their work into the cloud.
More resources:
- Introducing new Amazon EC2 G4ad instance sizes
- Amazon G4ad pricing:
- Amazon Press Release
- AMD Press Release
- Amazon EC2 G4ad product information
- AMD.com/g4ad
- AMD Radeon Pro V520 Graphics
- AMD and AWS
George Watkins is a Product Marketing Manager for AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.
1 for more information, visit: https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2021/07/introducing-new-amazon-ec2-g4ad-instance-sizes/. 2 for more information, visit: Optimizing your system for Premiere Pro and After Effects (adobe.com)