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AMD's Zacate to be first Fusion APU chip?

by Tarinder Sandhu on 26 July 2010, 12:13

Tags: AMD (NYSE:AMD)

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qazcq

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The summer months usually signify a hiatus from the constant technology launches that pervade the autumn calendar. Chip company AMD has understandably quiet of late, therefore, and is busy focussing attention on Fusion parts (APUs) that are due to launch in Q4 2010.

Confirming AMD's release schedule is a processor roadmap dated July 10. The folks over at Ati Forum have managed to snag themselves said roadmap, detailed below.


Click to enlarge

It appears that AMD isn't going to release a faster six-core part. Rather, as per earlier conjecture, a cheaper model, Phenom II X6 1045T, is likely to hit retail shelves in Q3 2010. Ongoing process refinement tends to be a harbinger for faster-clocked models of current chips and that seems to be the case for the rest of the range.

The most interesting part of the leaked roadmap is at the bottom. Arriving late in Q4 2010 and dubbed 'Zacate', AMD's Fusion part aimed at the notebook market gets a retail name. There will be two models, according to the 'map, differentiated with respect to cores and TDPs. Both the single- and dual-core models, shipping with TDPs of 18W and 25W, respectively, will feature DX11 graphics and will be presented in a laptop-friendly BGA form factor. What's a little unclear is whether Zacate refers to the 32nm Llano or 40nm Ontario implementation of AMD's upcoming mobile APUs. If we were betting we'd call it in favour of Ontario.

The TDPs indicate that the all-in-one chips will provide the backbone for AMD's mainstream notebook offerings for 2011, so we'll have to wait a while longer before the netbook market is properly serviced by lower-power APUs.

HEXUS Forums :: 3 Comments

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Posted by deleted - Mon 26 Jul 2010 13:54
It's Ontario, Llano was pushed back by a couple of months and Ontario brought forward by 3-6 months according to Dirk Meyer in the last quarterly report.

We might see some Ontario stuff before Christmas but it will be a close call.
Posted by deleted - Mon 26 Jul 2010 17:17
Looks like they'll still come off worse vs Intel on the power/battery metrics.

Intel have a good range of Core iX chips available with dual cores, turbo etc on an 18W envelope right now, AMD are only going to manage a single core by the end of the year. The 540UM for example is only ~$250 wholesale.
Posted by deleted - Mon 26 Jul 2010 17:40
Kinda missing the point a bit kingpotnoodle, that is Ontario (Zacate) will likely have better graphics than even Sandy Bridge, and certainly way ahead of anything intel currently offers or anything you've seen in a netbook or lower end notebook. All that in a single 18w to 25w package.