Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)

AMD announces 6 and 12-core CPUs

Mehan Jayasuriya — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:32:41 -0400

The quad-core race might only be heating up now, but that isn't stopping AMD from stepping its game up in the war for more core. We've reported before that 6 and 12-core chips from AMD were a distinct possibility and it looks like we were right on the money: AMD has officially added 6 and 12-core parts to their roadmap. Both the 6-core "Sao Paulo" and the 12-core "Magny-Cours" will be based on an all-new platform called "Maranello," not Barcelona. According to AMD, 12-core CPUs will be easier to manufacture, so they've decided to cancel the 8-core Barcelona and skip over that generation all together. According to the roadmap, 6-core AMD chips should be available next year, with 12-core models following in 2010.

For more on the forthcoming CPUs:
- see this New York Times article

Toshiba launches new Satellite Pro laptops

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 06:59:57 -0400

Toshiba's Satellite laptops have long enjoyed a reputation as some of the best in the biz, so it's welcome news that the company is re-launching their business-oriented Satellite Pro line. Both new Pro laptops--the A200 and A210--sport 15.4 inch displays, 120GB hard drives, dual-layer DVD burners and pre-installed Windows XP Professional. How do they differ? Well, while the A200 packs a 2.0Ghz Intel T7250 Core 2 Duo, Santa Rosa chipset with X3100 integrated graphics and 1GB of RAM, the AMD-friendly A210 comes with a 2.0Ghz Turion 64 X2, ATI X1200 graphics and 2GB of RAM. No word yet on ship dates for these two, though the the A200 will retail for a reasonable $999 whenever it lands, with the A210 clocking in at $100 less.

For more on Toshiba's latest laptops:
- see this article from Laptoping

AMD expands 45 watt lineup

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 06:59:58 -0400

Hot on the heels of its "Black Edition" Athlon chips, AMD has decided to expand its 45 watt offerings, releasing six new chips that span the Athlon X2, Athlon and Sempron lines. There's the 2.3Ghz Athlon X2 BE-2400, which retails for $104 when purchased in batches of 1000, the 2.4Ghz Athlon LE-1620 for $53, the 2.2Ghz Athlon LE-1600 for $47, the 2.2Ghz Sempron LE-1250 for $53, the 2.1Ghz Sempron LE-1200 for $48 and the lowly 1.9Ghz Sempron LE-1100 for $37. AMD has yet to reveal which OEMs will be using these chips, though its probably safe to assume that they'll be showing up in energy-conscious desktops and media centers.

For more on the new 45 watt chips:
- see this ExtremeTech article

AMD preps Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Black Edition

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 06:59:57 -0400

Just last month, AMD unveiled their first "Black Edition" Athlon--the top of the line Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Black Edition. Now, the company is back with yet another chip noir, though this time, they're aiming for the lower-end market. Meet the Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Black Edition: a 2.6Ghz, dual-core, 65nm chip that boasts 1MB of L2 cache. Additionally, the X2 5000+ BE will support AMD's existing 580x series of chipsets, as well as the forthcoming 700-series spec. The chips should be available nowish at a price point of $136 apiece for orders of 1,000.

For more on the new chip:
- see this InformationWeek story

AMD reveals more details on tri-core chip

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 06:59:59 -0400

Yesterday, we reported that AMD was looking to the currently non-existent three-core CPU market as both a potential point of differentiation from the competition and a way to offload any quad-core chips that happen to roll off of the assembly line with only three cores in tact. Well, it looks like the company has decided to make things official, with a Phenom-branded, three-core CPU slated for the first quarter of next year. While the clock speed of the chip is currently unknown, AMD has revealed the CPU's basic architecture and it looks like the part will sport 2MB of shared L3 cache and will support socket AM2+ motherboards. AMD expects this to be "the world's first PC processor to integrate three computational cores on a single die of silicon" and notes that the new chip is "a response to demand for increased performance delivered by multi-core processors when running state-of-the-art applications." Uh huh.

For more on the tri-core chip:
- see this press release
- and this Ars Technica article

AMD prepping tri-core processors

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 06:59:59 -0400

Like a three-legged table, a three-wheeled car or that perennial YouTube favorite, the courageous three-legged dog, tri-core processors are something that don't make a whole lot of sense on the surface. However, unlike three-legged tables, three-wheeled cars and three-legged dogs, tri-core processors make a lot more sense once you take a closer look. Take any quad-core CPU manufacturing process--including AMD's 65nm "Barcelona" Quad-Core Opteron--and you'll find that there's a pretty high failure rate involved in producing the parts, especially when you're trying to squeeze all four of those cores onto one processor die. That leaves companies like AMD with a whole lot of tri-core chips in hand--so why not market them to those folks who want a little more processing power than a dual-core chip but not quite as much power as a quad-core CPU offers? That's exactly what AMD plans to do with its upcoming lineup of three-core CPUs, though the Inquirer thinks that the move is much more than a salvage job. Rather, it's suggested that a three-core chip would serve as yet another way for AMD to differentiate itself from its biggest competitor. "Intel would have a far harder time making a tri-core part until Nehalem next September...This will allow AMD to come out with a lot of mid-range SKUs, having a complete 1-4 core range servicing every market."

For more on AMD's triple threat:
- see this article from the Inquirer

Sun shows off 16-core Barcelona server

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 06:59:59 -0400

Well, what did we tell you? Right on schedule, Sun has revealed a server running on 16 Opteron Cores (that's four Quad-Core Opteron "Barcelona" chips, mind you) that's built on a compact 2U chassis. The four-socket server also packs dual TCP-offloading-enabled gigabit NIC cards, redundant power supplies, support for RAID up to level 6 and 32 DIMM slots for up to a whopping 256 GBs of RAM. How did they cram all of that into a 2U case? Half of the memory and CPUs are stacked on top of the other half--making for a striking internal design. "So far, no other Server vendor has attempted to squeeze this many goodies in to a 2U chassis," ZDnet's George Ou said.

Apparently, Sun expects that innovative server designs such as these will help the company gain traction in the x86 server market. At the AMD launch event, Sun CEO Jonathan Swartz announced the company's intention to "take over 4th place in the x86 Server Market"--not too shabby for a company that's only been at it for two years.

For more on the new servers:
- see this ZDnet article

AMD launches Quad-Core Opteron

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 06:59:59 -0400

When a new baby is brought into the world, one of the first things that it receives is a name and "Quad-Core Opteron" is the moniker that AMD's quad-core platform (formerly known by the code-name "Barcelona") was christened with upon its arrival today. AMD is calling the Quad-Core Opteron "the world's most advanced x86 processor ever designed and manufactured and the first native x86 quad-core microprocessor." As you'll recall, the "native" distinction comes from the fact that the Opteron manages to fit all four cores on a single processor die--in contrast to competing quad-core chips from Intel. AMD is currently selling nine different versions of the chip, all of which are manufactured using a 65nm process, boast 512KB of level two cache per core and 2MB of shared cache. The top-of-the-line Opteron 8350 clocks in at 2.0Ghz and pricing for the chips ranges from $209 to $1,019 for quantities over 1,000.

While we've seen Intel maintaining a performance lead during the past few months, AMD's Quad-Core Opteron still has quite a few things going for it. Most notable is the chip's energy efficiency, thanks to a number of proprietary, power-saving technologies: Dual Dynamic Power Management, CoolCore, and Independent Dynamic Core Technology. CoolCore is particularly interesting; it allows individual components in the processor to be turned off when not in use. AMD says that the Quad-Core Opterons have shipped to OEM server manufacturers--expect announcements from Sun, IBM, HP and Dell later this week.

For more on the launch of the Quad-Core Opterons:
- see this press release
- and this Ars Technica article

Intel, AMD fight over OLPC XO

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 06:59:53 -0400

It wasn't that long ago that Intel viewed the OLPC's XO as competing with its own Classmate PC. As we all know, however, time heals all wounds and Intel eventually decided to bury the hatchet with the OLPC team, contributing funds and joining the project's board. As philanthropically motivated as Intel's move may have been, it looks like the company is looking to get a little something in return; namely, it wants to see an Intel chip in the XO. "Intel, like a lot of other people, is more than welcome to try to design great silicon for this project and this mission, and we've been working with them to help them do exactly that," Walter Bender, OLPC's president, was quoted as saying.

While current versions of the XO run an AMD Geode LX-700, some have criticized the machine for its aging x86 architecture. Intel could certainly provide a more powerful chip but AMD doesn't seem too worried--the company cites the Geode's performance per watt and its ability to run without a fan as two factors that make it ideal for the XO. Furthermore, AMD claims that "the whole device would need to be redesigned" in order to accommodate a new chip. That makes it seem like the AMD Geode is safe for now, all bets are off when it comes to the next-generation of the XO.

For more on the brewing battle:
- see this Ars Technica article

ALSO NOTED: Cisco, Microsoft align for virtualization; Palm Centro coming to Sprint in October;

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 06:59:51 -0400

> Is AMD's 65nm process broken? Article

> 63 percent of malware originates on U.S. soil. Article

> Palm Centro coming to Sprint in October? Article

> Camino 1.5.1 released. Article

> Cisco, Microsoft align for virtualization. Article

> FCC sets $10 billion reserve for 700Mhz auction. Article

> IBM working on next-gen flash storage. Article

> Toshiba shows off new Satellite U300 laptops. Article

> A new startup has a 64-core processor...that's shipping now. Article

And Finally... Japan hopes to "replace the Internet" by 2020. Article