New AMD processors for the next two years

18th November, 2009 by Adina
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Details of AMD’s future platforms and processors were provided at the annual analyst event of the semiconductor firm.

The “Bulldozer” is a major revision for notebooks and desktops that will be more efficient at multithreading code than current designs. It is optimized to be paired with graphics chipsets. It will be accompanied by “Bobcat”, a version of the “Bulldozer” designed for ultraportables. The first version of the “Bulldozer” will be named “Zambezi” and will be an eight-core processor meant for high-end mainstream desktops. Other technical details are not available. According to leaking information, AMD will release its 32nm Bulldozer CPU late 2010 even though Intel’s rival processor will roll out in the fourth quarter 2009.
The “Zambezi” will ship the same year. However, it’s likely that AMD’s first 32nm processors will not use the Bulldozer architecture.

Another platform for notebooks and desktops is “Llano” and will be available in 2011. This is the first design that fully matches the AMD’s Fusion strategy and it will integrate fast graphics into the main processor. Another version of the ultraportable, partly based on “Bobcat”, is “Brazos”, also due in 2011.

The short-term plans focus on notebooks like “Danube”, the first quad-core mobile processor from AMD. In certain models, the battery should provide energy for up to eight hours. “Nile” is the third generation of Athlon Neo-based ultraportable platform and will provide seven hours of runtime. The desktop line for 2010 includes “Leo”, maybe the first AMD platform sporting a six-core desktop processor. The “Magny Cours” chip will be the fastest in the line. It will add eight- and twelve-core Opterons to workstations and servers.

The first six-core processors, non-server, from Intel will not come until the 32-nanometer Westmere-based chips appear in the beginning of 2010. They would be bounded to Xeons in Mac Pros and should be followed by the Core i9 processors. Intel is the first manufacturer to offer very efficient processors, such as the CULV and Atom series and mobile quad-core.


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