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Leaked AMD roadmap reveals next-gen Fusion tablet chips
Until recently, AMD has kept pretty mum on its tablet plans, with it only officially entering the fray last month. It's clear that the first batch of Z-Series chips, codenamed Desna, are are not terribly different from the rest Fusion line but, according to a leaked roadmap, that will all change with its successor -- Hondo. Supposedly the next gen of tablet APUs will ditch a number of features that aren't essential to its burgeoning form factor, including VGA output, PCIe support, and couple of USB pathways. It will also add an "active standby" mode for maintaining connectivity while reducing power draw and cut TDP by about a third. Hondo is expect to enter production in Q2 of next year, and be succeeded by Samara which will feature a new graphics core. Check out the source link for a few more slides.
AMD confirms tablet-friendly Z-series APU, next-gen Trinity APU for bigger devices
AMD likes to take its time before stepping inside the ring, but it's turned up at Computex with its gown off and mouthguard in. Its much-leaked Z-series Fusion APU (aka "Desna") for tablet devices is now official and could well steal some of ARM's thunder. Whereas ARM chips will get along with the next version of Windows, AMD's Z-series is already tuned into the here-and-now. Its integrated dual 1Ghz Bobcat chips and Radeon HD 6250 graphics should allow the full Windows 7 experience on a tablet, from USB peripheral compatibility right down to XBOX 360 Media Extender functionality. What's more, it drinks less than 6W of power so is significantly leaner than the 9W Ontario APU powering Acer's Iconia W500 Windows 7 tablet. Additionally, AMD claims MSI has already made that leap with its new WindPad 110w (though we can't be sure if the pre-release device we just handled was carrying a Z-series chip). Meanwhile, AMD left any traces of shyness far behind as it went on to confirm plans for a range of A-series and E-series chips with which it hopes to tackle Intel's dominance in the laptop and desktop spheres -- right up to the level of the Core i7. This includes the leaked high-end quad-core A8 and, more surprisingly, a new Trinity APU. Looking way into the future, AMD intends Trinity to be a successor to the mid-range A-series Llano, which isn't even out yet but is expected imminently. Unfortunately we have no concrete specs for the Trinity -- AMD thought it was sufficient to wave the thing around at the press conference and declare it "2012's best APU". Depending on how you look at it, that's either fighting talk or plain posturing.
Leaked AMD roadmap reveals Desna APU, bona fide tablet strategy
What's a chip maker to do after successfully hawking five million of its Fusion APUs? Why, expand the line, of course! A leaked slide deck from within the lairs of AMD is showing off quite a bit of the company's upcoming roadmap, and while a good deal of it has already been made public in one way or another, there's one term that's causing all sorts of buzz -- and for good reason. Desna is the name to know, a Z-Series APU that's aimed squarely at the tablet form factor. To date, only a handful of chips have managed to slide into slates, and while we always reckoned that a version of Fusion could really give those ARM-based alternatives a run for their money, it wasn't clear if AMD actually had one that would handle the power and heat requirements. Based on these sheets -- dated this month, for what it's worth -- the Z-Series chip will offer Flash compatibility, DirectX 11 support and IE9 / HTML5 acceleration, and that's just for starters. Head on down to the links below for the full skinny, but make sure you grab a cup of joe and unplug the line first. You'll need a few, to say the least.
