• Athlon II X4 605e clocked at 2.3GHz with TDP of 45 W and 1ku price of $143
• Athlon II X4 600e clocked at 2.2GHz with TDP of 45 W and 1ku price of $133
• Athlon II X3 435 clocked at 2.9GHz with TDP of 95 W and 1ku price of $87
• Athlon II X3 425 clocked at 2.7GHz with TDP of 95 W and 1ku price of $76
• Athlon II X3 405e clocked at 2.3GHz with TDP of 45 W and 1ku price of $102
• Athlon II X3 400e clocked at 2.2GHz with TDP of 45 W and 1ku price of $97
• Athlon II X2 240e clocked at 2.8GHz with TDP of 45 W and 1ku price of $77
• Athlon II X2 235e clocked at 2.7GHz with TDP of 45 W and 1ku price of $69

Expect many more multi-core thin-and-light notebooks/desktop systems with low-price points and higher performance. Great time to be a consumer I tell ya!

Technorati Tags: AMD Athlon II

The new 2.6 GHz Athlon II X4 620 is priced at $99 dollars for system builders – although pricing might vary by region. AMD claims that a bundle containing the Athlon II X4 620 and the MSI 785GTM motherboard (which uses the latest AMD 785G chipset) should cost around $170 dollars – a steal for anyone looking to put together a quad core system.

Spec wise, the Athlon II X4 620 is clocked at 2.6GHz, built on a 45nm SOI process, comes with 2MB of L2 cache, and has a TDP of 95W. There’s also a 630 model which is clocked at 2.8GHz with otherwise identical specs.

This along with the recent introduction of the Intel Core i5 processors means its a very good time to be a computer enthusiast.. or heck.. a good time in general to be a consumer looking to get a new computer.

[Check it out via PC Magazine]

Technorati Tags: AMD Athlon II X4

The $599 base configuration comes with the following specs:

• Espresso black color
• Windows Vista Home Basic
• AMD Athlon Neo processor MV-40 clocked at 1.6GHz
• 1GB RAM
• 250GB 5400RPM SATA HDD
• ATI Radeon X1250 graphics
• 12.1 inch WXGA display (1280 x 800)
• Webcam
• Wi-Fi card
• 6 cell lithium ion battery

You can also opt for more powerful processor options including a new AMD Athlon Neo X2 Dual Core Processor (Model L335) clocked at 1.6GHz for $25 dollars more or the AMD Turion Neo X2 Dual Core Mobile Processor Model L625 clocked at 1.6GHz for an additional $75 dollars. (Note – if you do opt for the Turion Neo X2, HP requires that you update to Windows Vista Home Premium (which adds $30 dollars to the price) and to an ATI Mobility Radeon HD3410 (which adds $50 dollars to the price) – bringing the overall price to $754.99. Still not bad but something to remember if you want the more powerful Turion processor.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: HP Pavilion dv2z notebook, AMD Athlon Neo processor

Not quite ready to go quad-core yet?

Well, AMD has two new dual core processors for you to consider – the 45nm AMD Athlon II X2 250 processor which brings the 45nm processor to the Athlon processor lineup and the new AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition processor – the first dual core AMD Phenon II processor. The Phenom II lineup is now available in dual, triple, and quad-core variants.

AMD claims that the new Athlon II X2 250 processor has a TDP of 65 watts with power consumption cut by up to 50 percent when doing basic tasks or at idle, and up to 40 percent on heavy workloads.

You can read more about this over at AMD’s website here.

Technorati Tags: AMD, AMD Athlon II X2 250, AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition

It’s finally happened (and it was about time!). The graphics processor has finally reached the gigahertz plateau thanks to the introduction of the new factory over-clocked ATI Radeon HD 4890 GPU from AMD. While many computer enthusiasts have broken the gigahertz barrier with their respective GPUs, this is the first commercially available GPU to hit 1GHz using standard air-cooling techniques. Yes.. no need to break out some fancy schmancy cooling techniques here folks. Couple several of these 1GHz GPUs together and you’ve got yourself one fast graphics powerhouse of a system!  Maybe it’s time for me to revisit PC gaming again!

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: AMD, ATI Radeon HD 4890

Other features of the FirePro 2450 include:

• 512MB on-board graphics memory
• Max digital resolution of 1920 x 1200
• Full support of Windows Vista Aero
• Supports PCI Express 2.0
• Two VHDCI connectors with breakout cables for quad DVI-I/VGA
• Hardware acceleration of DirectX 10.1 and OpenGL 2.1 advanced features
• Unified Driver Architecture
• Consumes a max of 32 watts with avg of 17 watts on 2D business usage

Designed to replace the ATI FireMV workstation graphics card, the ATI FirePro 2450 is available now for a price of $499.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: AMD, ATI FirePro 2450, graphics accelerator

The new Phenom II processors fit in either AMD2+ or AM3 sockets and support either DDR2 or DDR3 memory. The five new models announced today are as follows (check the price list for up to date prices):

• Phenom II X4 910 clocked at 2.6GHz
• Phenom II X4 810 clocked at 2.6GHz – priced at $175
• Phenom II X4 805 clocked at 2.5GHz
• Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition clocked at 2.8GHz – priced at $145
• Phenom II X3 710 clocked at 2.6GHz – priced at $125

Two early reviews out – one from Anandtech and one from ExtremeTech (we expect more reviews to hit the net as the day progresses). Anandtech had this to say about the new 810 processor:

“These new CPUs from AMD are good overclockers, good performers and they don’t have any real drawbacks unlike their predecessors. The most interesting CPU is the Phenom II X3 720; at $145 its only Intel competitors are the Core 2 Duo E7500 and the Core 2 Duo E8400, both of which are dual-core CPUs.“

ExtremeTech had this to say about the 810:

“AMD’s long anticipated move to socket AM3 is finally hear, but it disappoints somewhat with reduced cache sizes, clock rates and entry level performance. The price is right, though.”

With both processor lineups now roughly on par with one another, AMD is attempting to win over customers by simply offering lower prices. It’s a dangerous game to play for the company especially since they are now effectively fab-less. Intel can easily respond by lowering prices yet again – reducing processor prices to a point which will easily hurt AMD – even if they now have a competitive product.

Of course, all of this is great for you and I – the average consumer. It’d be great to have an inexpensive quad core desktop PC in the office.

Technorati Tags: AMD, Phenom II, CPU price war

“Qualcomm has acquired certain graphics and multimedia technology assets, intellectual property and resources that were formerly the basis of AMD’s handheld business. The acquisition enhances Qualcomm’s multimedia capabilities, allowing Qualcomm to strengthen its leadership position in delivering more advanced products that redefine next-generation mobile user experiences.”

According to Steve Mollenkopf, executive VP of Qualcomm and president of Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, “This acquisition of assets from AMD’s handheld business brings us strong multimedia technologies, including graphics cores that we have been licensing for several years”

Under the terms of the agreement, Qualcomm has extended job offers to various design and development teams from AMD’s handheld business. AMD will receive $65 million dollars from AMD as part of this transaction.

So what exactly is AMD handing over to Qualcomm? In a report over at CNET’s News.com, AMD states that they are providing “vector graphics and 3D graphics technologies and IP” to Qualcomm. However, this does not include the Imageon line of graphics processors. The company will retain the rights to Imageon and “honor existing customer commitments” but will not make future updates to the Imageon road map.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: AMD, Qualcomm, handheld graphics

The key driving points with the Phenom II?

• Larger L2 cache
• Larger L3 cache – bumped up to 6MB
• Higher core frequencies – the 940 Black Edition is available as high as 3 GHz
• No socket changes here – still utilize AM2+ motherboards

Where Phenom II will truly compete is in the area of price. The 3GHz Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition will have a price of $275. The Phenom II X4 920 at 2.8GHz will be available for $235. This translates to inexpensive quad core systems with comparable performance to more expensive Core 2 Quad systems and low end Core i7 systems.

With that said, here’s a rundown of early reviews and their verdicts:

ExtremeTech reviews the Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition and has this to say:

“If you’re looking to build a fairly cost effective quad core system, AMD’s latest Phenom II will get you there. Just don’t expect performance miracles.“

The TechReport reviews the new Phenom II’s and has this to say:

“In the Phenom II, AMD has produced a chip that comes strikingly close to duplicating the performance of Intel’s mid-range Core 2 Quad processors, the Q9300 and Q9400”

Bit-Tech reviews both the AMD Phenom II X4 940 and 920 processors and says:

“While not the best performer we’ve ever seen, AMD has finally got a solid competitor it can sell on an inexpensive platform – this should readdress the balance quite nicely in the market.”

TweakTown looks at the Phenom II and the new Dragon platform and says:

“While not quite up to the task of taking on the Core 2 Extreme in raw performance, its associated price tag makes it a fairly attractive option for the performance it offers”

Tom’s Hardware looks at the Phenom II X4 processor and says this:

“When it comes to system efficiency and energy consumption, if you put a Phenom II X4 940 system head-to-head against a Core 2 Quad Q6600, an AMD system delivers measurably better “performance per watt” figures.”

Anandtech takes a look at both the Phenom II X4 940 and 920 here with this to say:

“If you’ve been waiting for an AMD to be excited about for the past couple of years, today is your day. Competition is back.”

Bjorn3D looks at the Phenom II X4 940 and the verdict is…

“Even though we are positive about the Dragon platform we cannot stop to be a bit disappointed again that AMD cannot put out something that rivals the best from Intel.”

LegitReviews looks at the AMD Phenom II X4 940 processor and has this to say:

“The AMD Phenom II processor series processor may not be the performance winner in all the benchmarks, but it might not need to be competitive in this day and age when the price tag matters most.”

OverclockersClub looks at the higher end 940 processor with this to say at the end:

“For the price, the Phenom II is a killer processor.”

Technorati Tags: AMD Phenom II X4 reviews

According to Chris Cloran, corporate vice president, client division, AMD:

“In introducing the AMD ultrathin notebook platform, AMD enables balanced PC performance, including the option of advanced graphics and video for true HD entertainment, all in an affordable, ultrathin notebook, bringing consumers uncompromised mobility.”

AMD claims the Athlon Neo processor platform will enable:

• Smooth 1080p HD playback
• Realistic 3D graphics with the optional ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 Premium graphics
• HDMI and DVI outputs

Features of the Athlon Neo processor include:

• Processor package measuring 27 x 27 mm and a low profile of 2.5 mm
• AMD PowerNow! Technology – dynamically switches performance states (processor core voltage and operating frequency) based on processor performance requirements
• AMD Digital Media XPress with support for SSE, SSE2, SSE3 and MMX instructions
• 64 bit processor
• Compatible with Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Home Edition, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Linux, and Windows Vista

The Athlon Neo processor will be available initially in a 1.6GHz model (Model number MV-40) manufactured on a 65nm process and featuring a 512MB L2 cache.

Should we expect to find the Athlon Neo processor in future netbook systems? That’s always a possibility but keep in mind that the Neo has a larger footprint (Neo’s 27 x 27 mm vs. the Atom’s 22 x 22 mm footprint) and thermal envelope (Neo’s 15 watt thermal envelope vs. the Atom’s 2.5 watt thermal envelope) than the Intel Atom processor making it a more ideal processor for larger platforms like the 12 inch ultra-portable notebook.

From a performance perspective, PC Magazine claims the Athlon Neo should deliver 2.5 times the performance of a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor and the Intel GMA 950 graphics platform. 

[Check out the press release]

Technorati Tags: AMD Athlon Neo processor, ultra-portable notebooks

One audience that can potentially see the impact of the new Fusion branding will be the gamer community as AMD has released a new program called the “AMD Fusion for Gaming Utility beta” that will supposedly allow gamers to experience better performance on AMD-based systems. The program is actually ideal for non-hardcore gamers who’ll want additional speedups at the click of a button (really.. a button). For a more in-depth look at this utility, check out Anandtech’s review of it here – you’ll be surprised as to what else the utility does – especially on Windows Vista platforms.

The real question now is – will this work for AMD? Clearly the company has lost it’s processor leadership to Intel and now work must be done to get customers to realize that the solution is not necessarily in a single product but in a whole solution – processor, graphics chipset, third party vendor etc.

Yet, one can’t help but feel that AMD is simply masking their problems at this time. The company’s desktop processors are lagging Intel’s processors. Their recent Phenom processor launch was a dud which required a little fixing to say the least. The company’s mobile ambitions are somewhat lagging as Intel’s Centrino 2 platform continues to win out. It’s non-existent in the emerging netbook market. It has to deal with NVIDIA on the graphics front (though they are arguably in better shape there given NVIDIA’s recent woes). AND.. it doesn’t even have a large chipset business to support it’s processors.

So.. what do you do when your products aren’t necessarily stellar? You re-brand yourself!

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: AMD, Fusion

AMD’s DTV staff of around 530 people are also invited to join Broadcom as part of this deal. The deal should close during the fourth quarter of this year.

According to Dirk Meyer, President and CEO of AMD, the company is “executing a strategic plan to transform the company, becoming leaner and more focused while seeking to create a business model to deliver sustainable profitability.

[Check it out via NYTimes]

Technorati Tags: AMD, Broadcom, Digital TV

So that’s nice and dandy but is this all marketing fluff or is there something to what ATI is saying when it comes to multi-processor graphics cards? Luckily, there are a number of first hand reviews on the net so let’s see what they’re saying online.

First off, we have the folks at ExtremeTech:

ATI takes the performance crown by a good margin with the 4870 X2, but we expect future products to solve the common multi-GPU problems.

Over at Guru3D:

Money aside, what a true pleasure it has been testing the 4870 X2 cards. Personally I play my games at 2560×1600, I’m one of those lucky bastards to own a 30″ Dell screen, and playing games like Call of duty 4 or Mass Effect with framerates over 80 FPS in that resolution with the highest Image Quality settings available .. that’s just amazingly impressive .. well even that might be a slight understatement. Astounding is likely the right word for this product.

At the TechReport:

However, if you want the absolute ultimate graphics subsystem, you’ll find it in a pair of Radeon HD 4870 X2 cards, which unspooled a fluid ribbon of track in front of us in GRID at over 100 FPS at 2560×1600 resolution.

HotHardware has this to say:

In the end though, the Radeon HD 4870 X2 simply rocks.

Good ol Anandtech says:

The Radeon HD 4870 X2 is good, it continues to be the world’s fastest single card solution, provided that you’re running a game with CrossFire support.

Yes, those are certainly good reviews for the new Radeon.. but if you read the reviews yourself, you’ll notice a common theme – these cards are expensive! Heck – they’re more expensive than some low end PCs out on the market. Now if money is no object, then it appears the HD 4870 X2 is certainly the fastest card out there – also assuming you run the right games.

However, if money is something of a concern, you might be interested in the other new ATI product announced today – the ATI Radeon HD 4850 X2 graphics card. The 4850 will be priced under $400 dollars (which is still darn expensive in my eyes) and offer 2GB of DDR3 memory and two GPUs clocked at 625MHz.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: ATI, AMD, Radeon HD 4870 X2, Radeon HD 4850 X2

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Blizzard, AMD, ATI Radeon

Sorry AMD but future animations developed by DreamWorks Animation will be rendered using large rendering farms consisting of Intel processors instead of AMD ones. DreamWorks decided to drop AMD processors in favor of Intel ones citing better performance as well as a more “promising roadmap.” The animation studio cited the upcoming Intel Nehalem processor and Larabee graphics chip as reasons why the studio was proceeding with the ol’ switcheroo.

But wait, there’s more! In addition to adopting Intel processors, DreamWorks will be receiving software help from Intel. The chip giant will re-architect and optimize DreamWork’s proprietary animation tools to better operate on Intel multi-core processors. Yup – typical Intel Developer Relations strategy. Lend a helping hand in software development in return for some Intel processor adoption. There’s nothing better for Intel than to have a company say their software runs best on the Intel platform.

While this might not seem like much of a setback for AMD, it does indicate that DreamWorks is 1) interested in more processing power and 2) interested in increasing overall efficiencies. If the studio utilizes roughly 5,000 cores for its rendering farms, then one can deduce that they have somewhere between 1250 to 2500 servers depending on whether they are using dual core or quad core systems (or older dual or quad processor setups). Since we know Intel is focusing on packing more cores on a single die, it’s reasonable to deduce that DreamWorks is looking to pack more power per server as well as save on power consumption by either reducing the number of server boxes or maintaining the same number with more cores.

Hey – if this makes Shrek look even more realistic, then cool!

[Check it out]

[Check out the press release]

Technorati Tags: DreamWorks Animation, AMD, Intel

Thinking about going for a PC upgrade? Curious to know about how these new AMD Phenom X3 triple core CPUs perform? I sure was thus I was interested to see this ExtremeTech review of the AMD Phenom 8750 triple core CPU. It’s essentially a quad core CPU with one of the cores disabled (it’s a way for AMD to still sell quad core processors that don’t quite make the grade by disabling one of the cores).

So why the interest? Well these new Phenoms are in the same price range as an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 processor and thus make for an interesting case – are three cores better than two cores? Of course if you’re familiar with computing, the answer is “usually yes.. ,but it depends.” As with all multi-processor systems, the more processors or cores you have, the smoother your OS performance will be. Does it translate to faster performance for applications? Within an application – not always – it all depends on how the application is designed. However, if you’re a person who runs lots of applications simultaneously, then you’ll definitely appreciate more cores.

So with that said, here’s the verdict:

AMD has a midrange gaming powerhouse in this Triple-Core Phenom. Perhaps AMD is on to something with the odd core count.

Triple cores are better than two cores – but of course. Are four cores better than three cores? Yeah.. that’ll be the case too if you’re a person who runs in a multi-application, heavily multi-threaded environment.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: AMD Phenom 8750 Triple Core CPU, ExtremeTech Review

If there’s one problem with today’s notebook systems, it’s the generally under-whelming performance of their graphics subsystems. Graphics vendors usually strike a balance between performance and power consumption – with power consumption often winning due to the sheer fact that you’ve got yourself a mobile device. Well, AMD is looking to change all of that with the introduction of the new ATI XGP Technology. XGP stands for eXternal Graphics Platform and that pretty much says it all. The ATI XGP is designed to be an external graphics solution that connects to your notebook system using an external PCI Express 2.0 connector. The initial launch of the ATI XGP features the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3800 Series Graphics solution and delivers features such as:

• ATI Avivo HD technology for smooth HD playback via full hardware acceleration
• Integrated Digital Outputs enable viewing standard and high definition content
• Support for ATI CrossFireX technology multi-GPU capabilities
• Independently powered and cooled external graphics solution
• Enthusiast class graphics performance for notebooks
• ATI XGP with a single ATI Radeon graphics processor and a notebook PC can drive up to 4 displays
• Dedicated USB 2.0 connector enables attachments of TV tuners, Blu-ray devices, etc

So how does this all work exactly? Well when you’re home or in the office, just connect the ATI XGP to your specially designed notebook with PCI Express 2.0 connector and experience high end graphics performance great for multimedia playback and high end gaming. When you need to go on the road, disconnect the XGP from your notebook and work with the integrated graphics on the notebook – allowing you to perform basic activities as well as efficient power management.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: ATI XGP, PCI Express 2.0

The new Turion X2 Ulta Dual-Core Mobile processor features enhancements such as AMD’s Independent Dynamic Core Technology, a new mobile-optimized memory controller, and power-optimized HyperTransport 3.0.

If you want discrete graphics, you can also pair the new processor/chipset with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3000 Series GPU. The series includes the previously announced Mobility Radeon 3400 and 3600 Series as well as the new ATI Mobility Radeon 3800 Series graphics. The 3800 features:

• Support for PCI Express 2.0
• DirectX 10.1
• Integrated digital output support for HDMI, DVI, and DisplayPort
• Native support for up to 4 monitors

New notebook designs featuring the new processor/chipset from AMD will be coming out from the likes of Acer, ASUS, Clevo, Fujitsu, HP, MSI, NEC, and Toshiba.

[check it out]

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For now, however, Intel continues to dominate in CPU performance in both high end and mainstream CPUs.

Now there is a silver lining for AMD in this.. the AMD Phenom processor is approximately 60 dollars cheaper than the comparable Intel part. Those of you looking to save a nickel and dime here and there will appreciate the lower processor cost.. but the truth is – it’s really not that much of a difference. At roughly $299, the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 isn’t exactly a wallet buster either.

All this bodes well for the consumer of course. Just like dual core processors are standard nowadays on many modern day desktop systems, one should expect quad core systems in the near future as standard system specs.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: AMD Phenom X4 9850, Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300, ExtremeTech, Review, Benchmarks

Four of the seven new processors belong to the 50-series CPUs which fixes the Translation Lookaside Buffer (TLB) erratum found in the original batch of AMD Phenom processors. The 50-series quad core processors include:

• Phenom X4 9500 running at 2.2 GHz
• Phenom X4 9550 running at 2.2 GHz. ($195 per unit in lots of 1000)
• Phenom X4 9750 running at 2.4 GHz ($215 per unit in lots of 1000)
• Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition which is unlocked at clocked at 2.5GHz ($235 per unit)

The new low power quad core Phenom is the X4 9100 which is clocked at 1.8GHz and consumes only 65 watts in active mode. No word on pricing as of yet.

The two other new processors make up the new triple core Phenom lineup which are designated as “X3″ processors.

• X3 8300 running at 2.1GHz
• X3 8600 running at 2.3GHz

The new Phenom processors launched today belong to the AMD “Cartwheel” platform which pairs a Phenom processor with a 780G chipset and a graphics card from ATI.  Prices for a desktop Cartwheel platform PC will be between $600 to $800 depending on configurations. The new Phenom X4 processors will also fit in current AM2 and AM2+ processor sockets which means a nice processor upgrade is a possibility for current motherboard owners.

So what does the computing world think of these new processors?

Anandtech finds:

Now this is more like the AMD we’re used to seeing. It’s not quite the performance dominating AMD of years past, but it’s a competitive AMD.

The Tech Report had this to say:

The best thing I can say about the Phenom X4 9750 and 9850 is this: AMD is back in the game. The banishment of the TLB erratum to the history books is, of course, a welcome development, and the higher clock frequencies now available are a small but important step in the right direction.

HotHardware found:

Although the Phenom X4 9850 doesn’t propel AMD to the head of the pack in terms of performance, it is a significant step forward for the company.  AMD can now put the TLB issue behind them and focus on ramping clock speeds and their impending transition to a 45nm manufacturing process

Legit Reviews had this to say:

AMD fixes the Phenom X4 processor with the release of the 50-series, but launches the Phenom X3 processor series with B2 steppings that have the same issuses as the old Phenoms. Strange huh?

Finally, we have X-bit Labs:

… we can’t help stressing the fact that AMD is moving in the right direction trying to improve their Phenom X4 family at any rate. Namely, they have really rapidly fixed the notorious TLB bus that harmed the image of all processors on K10 micro-architecture a lot. Moreover, they have also increased the processors clock speeds, which is a definite advantage.

Technorati Tags: AMD, Phenom, X3, X4