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AMD Llano quad-core APUs and Zambezi octa-core CPUs get priced, the former listed inside an HP dv6
Don't mistake the relative quietness from AMD on the APU front for inactivity. Ever since announcing the first shipment of its Llano Accelerated Processing Unit in April, the company's been working behind the scenes to ramp up availability to OEMs, and somewhere along the supply chain a gracious soul has been found who's leaked the bulk pricing for those chips. The new quad-core A Series processors start off at $110 for an A6-3450 and max out at $170 for an A8-3550P, but there's also mention of octa-core FX processors, which will weigh in at $320 a piece and reputedly compete with Intel's 3.4GHz Core i7-2600K. The latter are built around AMD's Bulldozer modules (wherein one module counts for two cores) and look to be the manifestation of the company's Zambezi CPUs, which could come without an integrated graphics processor as is available on the Llano and the rest of AMD's Fusion line. Just to whet appetites further, we've also come across an HP dv6 on an obscure German retail site, offering a 1.6GHz A6-3410MX APU, 6GB of RAM, and a most reasonable €590 price. There's obviously no promised delivery date, but this should be the first of many such appearances in the coming days as we build up towards Computex 2011. Something tells us AMD won't be holding back when the Taipei electronics show gets started. [Thanks, Shashwat and Vygantas]
AMD announces new, more energy efficient Embedded G-Series APUs
AMD has just rolled out two new additions to its line of Embedded G-Series APUs, combining Fusion-based processing with reduced power consumption. Both the T40E and T40R rock the same 64-bit x86 Bobcat CPU cores and DirectX 11-capable GPUs we've already seen in previous G-Series incarnations, but AMD says the pair can operate using thirty-nine percent less power than its cousins. The single core T40R boasts a thermal design power (TDP) rating of just 5.5 watts, while the dual core T40E offers a TDP of 6.4 watts. The two applications are designed for compact fanless systems, including kiosks and mobile industrial devices, though Axiomtek is apparently planning on incorporating the new APUs in a new Pico-ITX consumer PC, as well. Full PR after the break.
MSI CR650 review
It was a long time coming, but when it finally arrived, AMD's highly anticipated Fusion APU ripped through the laptop market like a bull on steroids. Just this month, the chipmaker announced that the platform made up nearly half its notebook shipments, and no doubt contributed heavily to its $1.61 billion in Q1 revenues. In the past four months, we've seen its superior integrated graphics working on a slew of smaller machines, but it seems Fusion wanted more. Back in January, Toshiba announced that it would bring the E-240 APU to a 15.6-inch budget notebook, and just a few weeks later MSI followed suit with its own announcement, saying it planned to put a Zacate E-350 APU, incorporating Radeon HD 6310 graphics, in its CR650. We've spent some time with Lenovo's ThinkPad X120e and HP's Pavilion dm1z, both sporting 11.6-inch screens and E-350 APUs, but we've yet to experience the force of Fusion on a larger device. Naturally, when the opportunity presented itself, we jumped on the chance to find out how a big rig like the CR650 would stack up against its dainty predecessors. Will Fusion's wonder chip offer the same performance in a $500, 15.6-inch laptop? Or will it fail to bring its beastly force to a big budget machine? Hop on past the break to find out. %Gallery-122608%
AMD collects half a billion in Q1 profit, Fusion APUs now account for half of its laptop shipments
AMD's net income for the past quarter was $510 million, generated from $1.61 billion in total revenues. That should make happy reading for a company that's been raising similar gross revenues previously but finding itself losing cash -- though the more intriguing figures are a little deeper in its latest disclosure. CFO and interim CEO Thomas Seifert has noted that AMD "tripled" its Fusion APU shipments relative to last quarter -- meaning that at least 3.9 million units have made their way out to OEM partners in Q1 -- which now account for "roughly half" of the company's notebook shipments. In less upbeat news, average selling prices in both the microprocessor and graphics divisions were down sequentially, with AMD having to react to pressure from its traditional foes Intel and NVIDIA. You might surmise that with the mainstream Llano APU out and shipping to computer makers, AMD might have a happier second quarter, but the company's guidance is for revenues to be flat or slightly down. A final note of pride is reserved for the Radeon HD 6490M and HD 6750M GPUs, which figured prominently in Apple's latest MacBook Pro refresh and mark a bit of a coup for AMD, who's now responsible for all of Apple's discrete graphics across the MacBook Pro and iMac computing lines. Click the links below for even more intel on Advanced Micro Devices.
AMD ships 32nm quad-core Llano APU, expects systems 'later this quarter'
Whoa, Nelly! AMD, a company that has struggled to nail its ship dates in years past, has just pulled the ultimate 180. If you'll recall, we heard last month that its quad-core Llano APU was on track for a Q3 2011 release, but now, we've word straight from the equine's mouth that the action will be going down far sooner. In fact, AMD's Singapore plant just celebrated the first shipment of the company's 32nm Llano A-series APUs, complete with discrete-level graphics and a promise to change the way we think about netbook / nettop / ultraportable performance. Of course, just because these chips are headed out to OEM partners doesn't mean that they'll be gracing the pages of your favorite PC maker tomorrow; Chief Financial Officer and Interim CEO Thomas Seifert notes that AMD is looking forward to seeing Llano-based machines during this quarter, but given that Q2 just got going, we may be waiting awhile still. Nothing like a little Zacate to tide you over in the meantime, right?
MSI slips AMD's Fusion into 13-inch X370 ultraportable, hopes you'll notice
Tired of Intel's Core i5 taking a beating on your X-Slim X360's battery life? Join the crowd. For those less concerned with playing Crysis 2 and more concerned with a solid overall machine, MSI's new X370 looks to strike a lovely balance. The 13.4-inch ultraportable gets a 1366 x 768 resolution display, AMD's hot-off-of-the-presses Zacate E-350 APU, Radeon HD 6310 graphics, HDMI / VGA outputs, a pair of USB 2.0 ports, an internal card reader, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, gigabit Ethernet, a 1.3 megapixel camera and (nearly) as much DDR3 memory as you can stuff into it. You'll also get a 320/500/640GB hard drive, a 4- or 8-cell battery and a chassis that weighs 3.08 pounds with the smaller of the two cells. Naturally, Windows 7 (64-bit) is the OS of choice, but the company's stopping short of providing a hard price or release date -- here's hoping it falls somewhere between "cheap" and "price mistake."
MSI ships Fusion-based CR650 laptop, Wind Top AE2050 all-in-one PC
AMD's Zacate E-350 APU (better known to casual observers as a member of the Fusion platform) has been shocking critics since its long-awaiting introduction earlier in the year, finally giving people a real alternative to Intel's historically sluggish Atom lineup. In the event that you've been waiting for Fusion-based options from MSI, a couple of previously introduced machines are now making their way out to the shipping docks. First up, it's the 15.6-inch CR650, complete with a dual-core E-350 APU (which includes a Radeon HD 6310 discrete-class graphics chip), an HDMI port, 720p webcam and a downright luscious $499.99 starting price. For those looking for something a wee bit less portable, or for those looking to significantly increase their load, the Fusion-backed Wind Top AE2050 ($679.99) is also shipping to Earthlings in North America. Hit the links below to learn more on each.
AMD's quad-core Llano APUs pegged for Q3 2011 release, Computex unveiling
X-bit labs has a (pretty massive) scoop of AMD info to share with us this week, as it has put together the above chart detailing what it expects the company's APU roadmap will look like for the remainder of the year. Published a couple of days ago, this data has now been partially corroborated by the snoops over at DigiTimes, who confirm a couple of the model names and agree that AMD is planning an initial Q3 rollout of five Llano chips, to be followed by even more processors coming in Q4 of 2011. Llano represents AMD's play for the performance crown, coming as it does with dual- or quad-core processing units, DirectX 11-capable Radeon HD 6000-series graphics, and a dual-channel DDR3 memory controller, all bundled up inside the same warm and toasty package. More E-series APUs for power-conscious users are also said to be on the cards, and AMD itself should be making these plans official at Computex in Taipei come early June. It's a bit of a wait, but we've got a feeling it'll be worth it.
AMD compares upcoming Llano Fusion APU with Intel Core i7, puts the heat on Sandy Bridge (video)
So far, AMD's new Fusion chips have been all about the low-end, whether you're talking in terms of price, performance or power consumption, but the company has a vision for its future that has these new Accelerated Processing Units dominating every segment of the market. In order to do that, AMD will need to overcome Intel's latest generation of mainstream processors, the Core 2011 family we're more familiar with under the Sandy Bridge codename. Before you rush past the break and watch AMD's own comparison between said Intel hardware and the forthcoming quad-core Llano APU, be aware that processor performance can rarely be generalized from a single test alone and the one we're witnessing is specifically geared to highlight the Fusion chip's strengths. All that said, the workload demonstrated by AMD -- a 3D game, HD video playback (plus post-processing on the Llano rig), Excel calculations, and some 3D modeling, all running simultaneously -- is handled most impressively by the A8-3510MX APU, which even manages to use less power than Intel's 2GHz Core i7-2630QM. See the video after the break. [Thanks, Vygantas]
Zotac's Fusion-based Zbox AD03 Blu-ray HTPC gets reviewed, smiled upon
While AMD's Zacate E-350 APU has managed to find its way into a number of laptops, it's not exactly simple to find a desktop based on Fusion right now. Thankfully, Zotac was champing at the bit to be one of the first, and its Zbox AD03 / AD03 Plus has just hit the test bench over at Hot Hardware. All told, the results were fairly predictable, with the Fusion APU running laps around the prior Atom-based version. Of course, "laps" is a relative term, and while it hasn't single-handedly redefined the SFF PC sector, it has provided a real alternative to Intel's stable of underwhelming nettop chips. Across the board, the Zacate E-350 managed to hold its own, with the only real issue being "lackluster Flash video acceleration." We're told that updated drivers are expected to remedy that, however, so there's really little to gripe about from a numbers standpoint. As for value proposition? The AD03 Plus (ringing up at $529.99) seems like a worse deal with its skimpy 2GB of RAM and (comparatively sluggish) 250GB HDD, while the barebones AD03 (which lists for $439.99) could be turned into quite the powerhouse with 4GB of memory and a speedy SSD. Head on down to the source link to get your nerd on, but only if you're interested in scratching that DIY itch that's been so bothersome of late.
AMD can't even get through Valentine's Day without knocking Intel
Oh AMD, is no corporate-mandated, decidedly commercialist holiday sacred to you? While we were all snuggling with our snookums and/or cooing to our cohorts the marketing team at Advanced Micro Devices was shipping out something a little bit nasty -- and not in the "go get the fuzzy handcuffs" kind of nasty. The company sent out a mug of chocolates that, on the front, says "I ♥ APU," referencing the Fusion platform that's recently powered the HP Pavilion dm1z and Lenovo Thinkpad x120e to solid reviews. Sadly, that wasn't enough, as the note started like this: I heard that Sandy B. broke your heart and wanted to let you know that I'm here for you. Oh, and I have a cousin from Llano, Texas I'd like to introduce you to soon--I think you two will really hit it off! XOXO, AMD Fusion APU Cute, AMD. And here we thought maybe you and Intel had finally made up.
AMD has a 5W Fusion APU to put in your future tablet of choice
The same Singapore event that brought us our first look at AMD's humongous Radeon HD 6990 has also served as the stage for the company's first showing of a new, even lower-powered Fusion APU. The regular dual-core Ontario (C-50) variant requires a 9W power budget to operate, but AMD's managed to shrink that down to 5W in a chip designed specifically to be used in tablets. Clock speed remains at 1GHz and the core count hasn't bee touched, but the memory controller has been dumbed down and peripheral ports have been reduced to one of each type. This streamlined C-50 has already found a home in Acer's 10.1-inch Windows 7 tablet and should prove decently popular among manufacturers looking for an x86 alternative to the coming tidal wave of ARM-based devices.
MSI CR650 scores an AMD E-350 Zacate APU
There's no question that AMD's new Fusion Zacate platform is pretty killer when it comes to ultraportables or notbooks (as we like to call 'em), but there's no reason the affordable, solid-performing APU couldn't power a budget 15.6-inch system, right? Well, that's certainly the way a few laptop manufacturers see it. Following in the footsteps of Toshiba's Satellite C655D, MSI's decided to cram its 15.6-inch CR650 with AMD's latest Fusion APU. Equipped with a Zacate E-350 CPU with Radeon HD 6310 graphics on the same die (the same chip in the HP dm1 we just reviewed), there's no doubt the rig can handle full HD and light games without a hiccup. We're not exactly drooling over the design, but it does have the basics, including a DVD drive, six-cell battery, HD webcam, and speakers that claim superior SRS sound. It will also be configurable with 250, 320, or 500GB hard drive and DDR3 RAM. There's no word on the price just yet, but our guess it should ring up at under $600 when it finally hits shelves.
Toshiba NB550D with AMD Ontario denied entry to the US
So, this sort of sucks. Remember the AMD Fusion Toshiba NB550D with its Harman Kardon speakers? Well, according to Toshiba it won't be landing in the US anytime soon. According to Liliputing, Tosh has no plans to release the Ontario-powered 10-inch laptop on this side of the pond. Yep, it seems that Toshiba US would prefer to keep Intel's Atom powering its 10-inch NB520 and NB505 netbooks and save AMD's higher end Zacate E-Series for larger systems like its 15.6-inch Satellite C655D. Of course, there's always the Acer Aspire One 522 for those seeking AMD's Bobcat core and ATI Radeon 6250 graphics in a 10-inch chassis, but there's just something about those HK speaker grills that have us wishin' Toshiba would change its mind about this one.
AMD ships 1.3 million Fusion APUs, 35 million DirectX 11 GPUs, says it has 'momentum'
Hey, this interim CEO thing doesn't seem to be too hard at all. Thomas Seifert, the temporary solution to the problem created by Dirk Meyer's departure from AMD's top spot, has had a pretty comfy ride reporting the company's latest quarterly results. The pecuniary numbers themselves ($1.65b revenue, $375m net income) were tame and unexciting, but Seifert got to make a pair of juicy milestone announcements. Firstly, on the mobile and ever-so-efficient front, he noted that 1.3 million Fusion APUs (Accelerated Processing Units) have been shipped to partners since AMD started deliveries in November, and secondly, in terms of discrete graphics chips, he disclosed that the Radeon HD 5000 and HD 6000 series DirectX 11 GPUs have surpassed the 35 million units shipped mark. To give you some perspective on what that means, sales of Nintendo's bestselling Wii console are hovering somewhere around the same figure. So yes, AMD, your wagon has momentum, but shouldn't it have a driver too?
AMD announces Fusion-based Embedded G-Series platform
We've just seen what AMD's Fusion platform can do for a laptop, and it looks like we'll soon also be seeing it in a lot more devices -- AMD has just announced its new Fusion-based Embedded G-Series platform, which can be used for things like set-top boxes, in-car computers, small form factor PCs, and more. That platform include the low-power x86 "Bobcat" core we've seen all along and a "world-class" DirectX 11-capable GPU, which AMD says adds up to a level of advanced computing that simply isn't available in the embedded market today. Among the first products based on the platform to be announced are a pair of Mini-ATX boards from Fujitsu and three SFF systems from Kontron, which will be joined by a range of other products from various manufacturers that are expected to launch in the "coming weeks." Head on past the break for the complete press release, plus a video of a G-Series-based car computer that AMD was demoing at CES.
Fujitsu launches 11.6-inch Lifebook PH50/C, complete with AMD Fusion APU
Now that AMD's Fusion is finally real, we're all sorts of excited to see what kind of numbers the E-350 Zacate APU puts up in honest-to-goodness machines like Fujitsu's latest. The minty fresh Lifebook PH50/C is just one of the many new lappies unveiled this week by the company, but this particular 11.6-incher has managed to grab our heartstrings and not let go. Boasting a cute, albeit familiar design, the PH50/C is equipped with a 1.6GHz E-350 APU, Radeon HD 6310 graphics, 2GB of memory, a 500GB hard drive, Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) and a 5,800mAh battery good for up to seven hours of life in ideal conditions. For those more interested in Intel's Sandy Bridge, the like-minded PH74/C gets powered by a Core i3-2310M, and given that it's a Japanese machine designed for Japanese owners, an in-built WiMAX module is thrown in for good measure. We're also getting the impression that both of these can be ordered up with Intel's Wireless Display technology, and considering that Buffalo just introduced a new WiDi adapter for this very market, we'd say things have lined up quite nicely. Pricing remains up in the air, but they should be out in Q1 for under $800 or so.
AMD's E-350 Zacate APU finds a home in Zotac's Zbox AD03 Blu-ray HTPC
AMD's Fusion APU has had its coming out party here at CES, and already companies are champing at the bit to offer updated systems with the E-350 embedded within. Zotac's offering up a revised version of its Zbox HTPC this week, with the AD03 boasting an all-too-familiar exterior, a slot-loading Blu-ray drive and the aforesaid 1.6GHz E-350 APU. There's also an AMD Radeon HD 6310 GPU, a pair of DDR3-1066 RAM slots, room for a 2.5" SATA 6Gbps hard drive, a USB 3.0 port, two USB 2.0 sockets, an optical audio port, HDMI / DVI outputs (a VGA adapter is included as well), Gigabit Ethernet, support for Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD Master Audio bitstreaming, 802.11n WiFi, a 6-in-1 card reader and a bundled copy of Cyberlink's PowerDVD software. The "Plus" version of the system actually ships with 2GB of DDR3 memory and a 250GB 5400RPM hard drive, whereas the standard version leaves it up to you to fill those voids. Mum's the word on pricing, but we suspect it'll be loosed on the universe soon. %Gallery-113263%
Sony shows off 11.6-inch VAIO laptop with AMD Zacate goodness inside (hands-on)
AMD's Fusion processors might finally be well and truly official, but all the hardware that will wrap around them hasn't yet filtered through into public knowledge. One such machine is the above, as yet unnamed, VAIO laptop from Sony. It's an 11.6-inch machine driven by an E-350 Zacate chip (meaning a dual-core APU running at 1.6GHz) and the particular unit we handled also came with 4GB of RAM, 500GB of HDD storage, 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth and that utterly delectable pink lid. Construction felt solid enough, with little to no flex in the keyboard and a sturdy display hinge. This HDMI-equipped laptop also feels pretty light in the hand and is easy enough to hold and to adore with just one hand. The one thing that shocked and disappointed us was that once we unplugged it from the mains, the VAIO offered us a measly three hours and six minutes of autonomous runtime. Before you rush to accusing AMD of over-promising with its Fusion chips, do note that it was running an Internet Explorer-based graphical benchmark, which obviously isn't your typical usage scenario, as well as Sony's excessively frugal 3500mAh battery. This thing with a beefier power cell could be a pretty gorgeous lightweight mobile computer, in our opinion, let's see if Sony decides to give us such an option when it makes it official some time soon. The AMD rep informed us that this and all the other Zacate laptops should be making their way to market in the next six weeks. Update: Sony's gotten in touch to say that the demo unit we handled wasn't at a production level, and promises a typical battery performance of six hours per charge. %Gallery-112579%
MSI Wind U270 netbook emerges with 1.6GHz AMD Zacate processor
We weren't actually expecting to see any Zacate-based machines until CES 2011 kicked off in earnest, but it looks as if MSI is hoping to snag a little wind from the sails of its competitors. In a small Taipei-based event, the outfit quietly snuck out a machine that we can only assume will become official in the coming days -- the Wind U270 netbook is an 11.6-incher with a 1.6GHz Zacate processor, 4GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive and no optical drive to speak of. Other specs include a VGA output, two USB 2.0 ports, a single USB 3.0 socket, a Kensington lock port, 4-in-1 card reader, Ethernet jack and an overly glossy 1366 x 768 resolution panel. Courtesy of Netbook News' hands-on, we've spotted a traditional chiclet keyboard, a split mouse button (huzzah!) and a trackpad that may very well not exist if it were any smaller. MSI wasn't about to spill any details on a ship date or price, but feel free to get yourself acquainted with the aesthetic in the video just past the break.
