AMD: Intels Main Competitor

In 1997 AMD introduced the first of a new line of processors, the k6, which was supposed to compte directly with Intels socket 7 CPU. The k6 processor had a definite edge over Intels chip. The k6 core was much more powerful then Intels and it also held a slight advantage in the MHZ departmant. Intel quikly countered the k6 with the PII putting Intel well infront of the CPU market. AMD began to challenge the market again a year later with the releasal of the K6-2 that had 100 mhz frontside bus and contained a new technology that enanched 3d games without having a graphics accelerator. The k6-2 began selling slowly but it quickly caught on in the OEM matkets and really caught on in the gaming worlds because of the 3D/Now techology that provided the extra edge that the gamers needed. Intel had control over the higher end computers but AMD was making a nice little hole in the gaming market until Intel tried to beat them again with the Celeron processor. At first AMD had no problem out doing the L2 cacheless chip but wiht the intoduction of the Celeron 300A, that could easily be overclocked between 400 and 450 mhz, going as high as 550 - 600 mhz with someluck and alot of cooling, AMD was facing a problem. The only thing that allowed AMD to compete with the Celron chip was its 3D/Now technology that still gave it the edge over the cheap and fast Cleron. A price war between AMD and Intel followed while AMD tried to compete with both the Celron and the PII but ing January of 1999 AMD actually outsold Intel. Though it was only one month of being the leader of the market it still gave the company the consumer confidence they needed to compete with Intel.

AMD Confirms Triple-Core Microprocessors in 2008

AMD Expands Multi-Core Portfolio with AMD Phenom X3 Chips:

Advanced Micro Devices on Monday officially confirmed that it would release triple-core central processing units (CPUs) for desktops in Q1 2008. The AMD Phenom X3 chips will help the company to offer a unique solution for personal computers (PCs), however, it is hardly going to be easy for AMD to position the new chips keeping in mind the current condition of the market.
“With our advanced multi-core architecture, AMD is in a unique position to enable a wider range of premium desktop solutions, providing a smarter choice for customers and end users. This innovation is a direct result of our development of the industry’s first true, native quad-core design, coupled with AMD’s manufacturing flexibility, to create multi-core processors in two, three, and four computational core configurations on a single die of silicon,” said Greg White, vice president and general manager, desktop division, AMD.

AMD did not unveil specifications of the new AMD Phenom triple-core microprocessors, but said that the chips will feature shared level three cache, built-in memory controller as well as HyperTransport 3.0 bus, just like the rest desktop CPUs based on the new code-named K10 micro-architecture.

Nevertheless, the company revealed that triple core processors can provide “significant performance advantages over similar dual-core AMD processors” in benchmarks like SYSmark 2007 and 3DMark 2006, as well as “ over similar quad-core AMD processors” in certain gaming and digital content creation scenarios. While the company did not elaborate over the nature of “similarity” between dual-, triple- and quad-core processors, it is highly likely that clock-speeds of triple core CPUs will be higher than those of quad-core products, but a bit lower compared to dual-core offerings from AMD.

AMD also did not disclose whether the company’s triple-core offerings will feature quad-core silicon with one core disabled, or the chipmaker will develop a separate design with only three cores available.

But while AMD’s triple-core microprocessors will be rather unique on the market, even the current Intel’s lineup of dual-core and quad-core microprocessors may pose a threat AMD’s triple-core offering, as the price of quad-core chips begins only at $266, the price of the most advanced dual-core chip from Intel.

AMD Thinks Triple-Core Microprocessors

Advanced Micro Devices may not be in position to release its new dual-processor enthusiast-class platform this year, however, it may be thinking about a different product, according to some unofficial information. Apparently, the company may be mulling about a triple-core microprocessor for desktops.

According to a news-story at Hard Tecs 4U web-site, AMD is working on a processor that would have three processing engines. The company reportedly told its partners about the AMD Phenom X3 chip at a closed meeting, explaining that the chipmaker plans to release such a product because of “market demand”.

The new triple-core microprocessors will feature its own design and will not be quad-core chips with one core disabled, according to the web-site. Nevertheless, the chips will still include 2MB of shared L3 cache and will take advantage of other K10 micro-architecture features, such as SSE4A instruction set, 128-bit floating point units (FPU) and so on. Obviously, the chips will also have advanced power management capabilities.

According to estimates by X-bit labs, each processing engine of quad-core AMD Opteron/Phenom processors takes about 13% of the die size. Given the whole die size of approximately 285mm² and about 218 chip candidates obtained from every 300mm wafer, X-bit labs believes that it is highly unlikely that AMD had decided to develop a separate tripe-core design with about 247mm² die size and 250 chip candidates obtained from a 300mm wafer unless the yields of the new chips are so low that the company needs a redundant third processing engine to create a dual-core product with sufficient yield.

AMD’s Latest Opteron, Phenom Chips Already Feature DDR3 Memory Suppor

AMD K10 Family Chips Support DDR3 Memory:

AMD’s Latest Opteron, Phenom Chips Already Feature DDR3 Memory SupportThe new tenth-generation microprocessors from AMD promise to increase performance because of micro-architectural improvements and the increased amount of processing engines. However, it appears that the new chips do hide some additional capabilities under the hood. For example, DDR3 support.

Advanced Micro Devices has always been conservative about new memory types support as each type of memory requires a brand new platform family and having several platform families for one processor is something that AMD cannot afford. However, this does not mean that the company’s chips cannot support new types of memory. Apparently, already now AMD’s latest processors feature DDR3 memory controller.

Technical documents that cover AMD’s latest microprocessors, such as quad-core AMD Opteron or AMD Phenom and their derivatives, reveal that the new built-in memory controllers can support both DDR2 and DDR3 memory types, provided that processors are installed into mainboards with DDR3 memory slots and appropriate BIOS.

According to roadmaps that AMD shows to its partners, DDR3 memory support will only be available in microprocessors made using 45nm process technology and on AM3 platforms due out in the second half of 2008. However, given that AMD’s documents for BIOS developers already note both AM3 and DDR3, it is highly likely that even current versions of AMD’s tenth-generation microprocessors can support DDR3 memory in certain conditions.

If AMD’s K10 processors that AMD makes now support DDR3, then the company has some additional flexibility when it comes to transition to a new memory type. For example, the company decided not to align transition to DDR2 with processors made using 65nm process technology. Given AMD usually proceeds relatively slowly with manufacturing process change, it may certainly be a wise idea to switch to DDR3-supporting socket AM3/socket 1207 revision 2 ahead of fabrication technology change, as in this case AMD could plug even current chips to new platforms.

AMD Promises 2.5GHz Quad-Core Microprocessors

Advanced Micro Devices said during the formal unveiling of its quad-core server microprocessors that it would introduce 25% faster versions of the chip in about two months time. The move will allow the world’s second largest chipmaker not only to improve performance for servers, but also to present a competitive solution for desktops.

Randy Allen, corporate vice president of server and workstation division at AMD, said during the quad-core AMD Opteron launch conference that while initially AMD’s chips with four processing engines work only at up to 2.0GHz clock-speed, in December the company will be in position to offer 2.5GHz chips. But 25% speed increase will bring only up to 15% performance improvement, said Mr. Allen.

“AMD today shows the path to better performing design for demanding data center requirements, again. In fact, here is a proof to you of our 2.50GHz [quad-core] processor that is going to be available in December and what it is going to deliver to the market. […] This chart shows incremental performance that is going to be delivered on top of that existing [2.0GHz] product: you can see 15% performance benefit, 15% performance increase that will be delivered [by] our 2.50GHz product,” said Randy Allen.

In addition to clock-speed increase of server processors late this year, the chipmaker also promised to deliver the first AMD Phenom processors for desktops in December, though, remained tight-lipped regarding their working frequencies and other peculiarities.Earlier it was reported that the chipmaker only plans to unveil its AMD Phenom FX-80 processor, which is designed for single-processor configurations, this year, whereas AMD Phenom FX-90 and FX-91 products are set to be released sometime in the first quarter of 2007. The move basically delays the introduction of AMD’s FASN8 platform, which employs two quad-core central processing units and puts AMD’s success in the field of computer enthusiasts under question.

AMD Phenom FX-80 quad-core processor is projected to operate at 2.20GHz – 2.40GHz clock-speed, have 2MB of L2 cache (1MB per core), 2MB shared L3 cache, dual-channel PC2-8500 (DDR2 1066MHz) memory controller and AM2+ form-factor with HyperTransport 3.0 bus support. The AMD Phenom FX-90 and FX-91 models are expected to operate in 2.20GHz – 2.60GHz clock-speed ranges and support dual-processor configurations.

AMD Reportedly Tests Microprocessors Produced by TSMC

A recent note to clients from JP Morgan, a leading financial services firm, claims that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is sampling 45nm processors designed by Advanced Micro Devices. Apparently, the contract semiconductor maker has signed an agreement of AMD to produce AMD’s chips that belong to Fusion project.

A news-story at DigiTimes web-site cites JP Morgan as indicating that AMD “is now field testing the bulk-silicon based central processing units”, though, the story does not indicate which of them. In addition, it is rumoured that “the foundry may have signed a foundry contract with AMD for the production of Fusion CPUs on 45nm”.

Even though no details are clear, but TSMC’s role in AMD’s Fusion project may not involve manufacturing of general-purpose processing cores, but only making graphics processing cores. It is well-known that the first generations of AMD Fusion processors may feature multi-chip-module design, which was already confirmed by AMD.

“A large error that has been made regarding Fusion is that people are thinking that this type of architecture will only be a single chip package architecture, meaning both the GPU and GPU are to be integrated on the same die. With Fusion we’ll be able to offer single chip and multi-chip products, which will also make it possible to have parallel GPUs in the same architecture,” said Giuseppe Amato, technical sales and marketing manager for AMD, in a recent interview.
Years ago AMD already outlined plans to integrate PCI Express bus controller into its chips and even licensed appropriate physical interfaces from Rambus, therefore, a multi-chip-module that consists of a CPU and GPU is fully possible and is also relatively easy to make: AMD only have to balance power consumption and thermal design power of its chips that form the solution.
Given the timeframes for the first AMD Fusion introduction, the first incarnation of the project may feature a K10 processing engine with built-in PCI Express interface made at AMD as well as Radeon HD 2000 (R600) graphics core produced by TSMC using 45nm technology. If the reports regarding TSMC making central processors for AMD are correct, the first Fusion may feature a custom-design CPU made in Taiwan.

AMD Readies Yet Another Current-Gen High-End Desktop Chip

In an attempt to offer a product that would better compete against Intel’s recently released lineup of slightly improved dual-core central processing units (CPUs), Advanced Micro Devices is rumoured to unveil a new version of its dual-core AMD Athlon 64 X2 offerings.

The new AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ will operate at 3.20GHz, will contain 2MB of level-two cache (1MB per core), built-in DDR2 memory controller and will be compatible with socket AM2 platforms. Thermal design power of the chip is unclear, but it may be as high as 125W, as the chip is still produced using 90nm silicon-on-insulator process technology.

The new product will cost $224 in 1000-unit quantities, reports TechConnect Magazine, but it is not completely clear, when it is set to be introduced. Nevertheless, it is very likely that the chip will be available in massive quantities well ahead of the back-to-school season.

AMD’s top-of-the-range Athlon 64 X2 is expected to be the last speed-bin for the desktop-class microprocessors based on the current micro-architecture and will have to compete against Intel Core 2 Duo lineup for several months. It remains to be seen whether the chip can really outperform, or perform inline with its rivals.

AMD Phenom

During the most recent teleconference with analysts Advanced Micro Devices confirmed the earlier rumours that the roll-out of its new micro-architecture-based enthusiast-class processors will mostly occur next year and not a lot of highly-anticipated chips will be available in 2007. While the company mainly talks about revenue ramp of its products, such claims also usually describe unit volume ramp.

“We’ll be shipping the Phenom variance of the new product in Q4 but frankly, that’s going to be late enough in Q4 that while there’ll be some contribution to the bottom line, it won’t be substantial,” said Dirk Meyer, AMD’s chief operating officer and president.

Earlier it was reported that the chipmaker only plans to unveil its AMD Phenom FX-80 processor, which is designed for single-processor configurations, in November or December this year, whereas AMD Phenom FX-90 and FX-91 products are set to be released sometime in the first quarter of 2008, sources close to AMD indicated. The move delays the introduction of AMD’s FASN8 platform, which employs two microprocessors and also reduces the number of AMD Phenom FX models to be sold this year.

It is rumoured that four new-generation AMD processors will be available this year: AMD Phenom FX with four processing engines, two quad-core AMD Phenom X4 CPUs and one dual-core AMD Phenom X2.

AMD…

AMD was first established on May 1, 1969 and started as a company working out of one of the co-founders living rooms. AMDS's main goal was simple, they wanted to create a successful semiconductor company. By September AMD had raised enough money to open their first permanent home, at 901 Thompson Place in Sunnyrak. By the end of AMD's fifth yaer, there was around fifteen hundred employees making over two hundred different products, in their first five years AMD made nearly $26.5 million in anual sales. AMD's sales steadily grew throughout the years until 1986 when the tides of change swept the industry and Japanese semiconductor makers began to dominate the market. AMD, along with the rest of the industry, began searching for new ways to compete with the market. The solution, AMD began building its submicron capability with the Submicron Development Center. AMD's new ability to compete in the market led to the development of their microprocessors compatible with IBM computers. AMD increased drastically through 1995 - 1999 due mainly to their increasingly competetive product offering. With the development of the AMD - K6 processor AMD was able to become a serious competitor to Intel in the microprocessor market.

Intel® Itanium® Processor 9000 sequence

Dual-Core Itanium®-based servers deliver the scalable performance, reliability, and headroom for your most compute-intensive workloads, including direct replacement for RISC and mainframe platforms. Because Itanium processors are available in commercial off-the-shelf hardware from a rich ecosystem of system and solution providers, they can quickly meet mission-critical needs.

Itanium-based servers are incredibly scalable, allowing configuration in systems of as many as 512 processors and a full petabyte (1024TB) of RAM. Together with full support for both 32-bit and 64-bit applications, that capacity provides unmatched flexibility in tailoring systems to your enterprise needs.

Intel® Xeon® Processor 3000 Sequence

The Quad-Core and Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® processor 3000 sequence-based platforms unleash the computing power of the Quad or Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors. The new 45 nm Quad and Dual-Core processors feature enhanced Intel® Core™ microarchitecture that provides your business with exceptional performance and power efficiency at a very affordable cost.

These servers are ideal for small business owners looking for ways to grow business, manage operation more effectively and efficiently, and protect and secure one of their most important assets - information.

Intel® Xeon® Processor 5000 Sequence

The breakthrough performance, energy efficiency, and reliability of Intel® Xeon® processor-based server systems make them the ideal choice for all of your data demanding or standard enterprise infrastructure applications.

Intel® processor-based servers enable businesses worldwide to do more and spend less—with outstanding price/performance and broad 64-bit choice across OEMs, operating systems, and applications. Supported by a single stable mainstream 2P server platform supporting a range of CPU options for IT flexibility, investment protection and easy migration from dual core to quad-core technology.

Reliable, efficient, proven performance. Why would you depend on anything else? Intel® Xeon® processor-based servers deliver it all. Put Intel® server technology to work in your datacenter.

Intel® Xeon® Processor 7000 Sequence

The Quad-Core Intel® Xeon® processor 7300 series, based on the Intel® Core™ microarchitecture, offers leading scalable performance and best-in-class virtualization for server consolidation.

Experience up to 2x greater scalable performance¹ 2.5x greater virtualization performance², and 3x performance per watt³ than the industry-leading Dual-Core Intel Xeon processor in the same power envelope. These quad-core-based servers enable you to be more productive and reduce data center space, power and administration/operation costs by consolidating your data center onto fewer servers.

80-watt Intel Xeon processors set new standards in energy efficiency. The E7340, E7330, E7320 processors provide 15 percent up to 47 percent decreases in power.? For ultradense deployments the 50-watt Intel Xeon processor L7345 provides 47 percent up to 67 percent decrease in power§ from Intel® dual-core 95- and 150-watt processors.

Intel® G35 Express Chipset

The Intel G35 Express Chipset continues the Intel chipset legacy and extends it to new levels with purpose-built capabilities designed specifically to address the key needs of the home user. With advancements in graphics, video, and system responsiveness, the Intel G35 Express Chipset allows your PC to be the center of home computing, communication, and entertainment.

Desktop PC platforms based on the Intel G35 Express Chipset, combined with either the Intel Core 2 Duo or Intel Core 2 Quad processor, and with support for next-generation 45nm Intel® Core™2 processor family, deliver innovative capabilities and usages for digital home consumers and new levels of 3D and media performance while enabling lower power and quieter systems.

Intel® Q35 and Q33 Express Chipsets

The Intel Q35 and Q33 Express Chipsets will deliver support for Intel's upcoming 45nm processors. Intel is also bringing higher performance in combination with greater energy efficiency and supplying critical building blocks for continued Energy Star* support. The Intel Q35 Express Chipset is continuously advancing capabilities of the Intel® Core™2 processor with vPro™ technology by providing leading security and manageability.

Desktop PC platforms based on the Intel Q35 and Q33 Express Chipsets, combined with either the Intel Core 2 Duo or Intel Core 2 Quad processor, and with support for next-generation 45nm Intel® Core™2 processor family, deliver innovative capabilities and usages for digital home consumers and new levels of 3D and media performance while enabling lower power and quieter systems.

Hafnium-based Intel® 45nm Process Technology

Two words: relentless innovation. Using dramatically new materials including hafnium-basedAnd what is hafnium? Hafnium (Hf) is a chemical element on the periodic table. It’s silver-gray in color, highly ductile, corrosion resistant, and is chemically most similar to zirconium. Intel engineers discovered that introducing hafnium into silicon chips helps reduce electrical leakage enabling smaller, more energy-efficient and performance-packed processors. circuitry, new Intel® 45nm high-k metal gate silicon technology helps to dramatically increase processor energy efficiency and performance for an unprecedented computing experience.

With this breakthrough transistor technology, Intel is manufacturing serious advantage into every hafnium-based Intel 45nm high-k chip.

These revolutionary new processors empower a more enjoyable computing experience for your gaming, multimedia and multitasking, at work, at home, and at play.

Innovation That Breaks the Performance Barrier

Intel® 45nm high-k metal gate silicon technology is the next-generation Intel® Core™ microarchitecture. With roughly twice the density of Intel® 65nm technology, Intel's 45nm packs about double the number of transistors into the same silicon space. That's more than 400 million transistors for dual-core processors and more than 800 million for quad-core. Intel's 45nm technology enables great performance leaps, up to 50-percent larger L2 cache, and new levels of breakthrough energy efficiency.

Delivering the world's first 45nm processor to the world

The first processors based on the new Intel 45nm high-k silicon technology deliver many new architectural advancements impacting hardware and software performance. Intel has also moved to 100 percent lead-free materials in our 45nm technology and is making the additional move to halogen-free products in 2008 in order to meet our environmental performance goals. Included in the first 45nm launch are new members of the Intel® Core™2 processor and Intel® Xeon® processor families.

Processor Wars

INTEL XEON PROCESSOR :

A refresh of the current Xeon, intel will launch Harpertown with clock speeds all the way up to 3.16GHz, and will also ship two low voltage parts (2.3GHz and 2.6GHz). There is speculation that intel may be able to reach3.4GHz with the new 45nm process shrink. Harpertown will top off at 3.2GHz at launch. Intel has also increased the Front Side Bus with the new Stoakley platform. The FSB now tops out at 1600MHz.]

The L2 cache has been increased as well, with 6 MB for each core pushing the total L2 cache to 12MB. Coming just a few days after the launch OF AMD’S new Barcelona processor, this launch will heat up the competition in the server market.