AMD has been talking up its Fusion CPU/GPU hybrid for so long now [1], it's hard to believe that we still haven't seen the thing in the flesh. Delays aside, it does appear that the chip is still on the way, with AMD VP Patrick Moorhead dishing out a few new details to PC World in a recent interview. Looks like the chip has undergone a few design changes since we last received word of it--Fusion will now be based on the Phenom architecture that's available in current AMD CPUs. Initially, Fusion chips will be much smaller than the current Phenom core, will draw less power and will be optimized for use in notebooks. According to Moorhead, the first Fusion chips to ship will be dual-core mobile CPUs, which are set to arrive in late 2009. These will be followed by quad-core mobile CPUs and eventually, desktop parts. Late 2009 might seem far away now but given all of the recent delays at AMD [2], don't be surprised if this one manages to slide into 2010.
For more on Fusion:
- see this PC World article [3]