AMD 4x4? K8L? Octal Core? Tech talk...

[TRDCorolla1]

Welcome the new AMD X2's:

Athlon 64 X2 5400+ and the 5600+

In a statement, AMD officials said the two new dual core processors would offer better graphics performance, while reducing power costs. The two chips will also support Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system, which requires a much more powerful processor in order for users to access all its features.

The 5400+ and the 5600+ each offer speeds of 2.8GHz, an AM2 socket and an 89-watt thermal design. With the 5400+, AMD is offering 512MB per core of L2 cache memory, while the 5600+ offers 1MB per core of L2 cache memory.

By the time you read this, AMD will already be working with IBM on a 45-nm manufacturing standard. That's good news.

Forgot the price. The 5400+ is roughly priced at $485, and the 5600+ is at around $505. Again, you're paying for the difference in cache.

 

[alvino]

Intel has been working on 45nm for a while and they just started working on 32nm recently.

 

[MikeReiner]

I think it would be nice to have a thread to discuss about the latest and greatest stuff in the computer industry. Seems like hot topics now are concerning the Intel Core Duo's. Let's see what AMD can muster out. Now first off, 4x4 technology is basically slapping two dual core CPU's together on a motherboard right? So it is not true quad core. But it does pave the way for octal core power, hehe. Yeah, you heard right. Octal core coming soon. But first, quad cores. The K8L is a brand new CPU built from the ground up and provides true quad core support. Release date of the new K8L CPUs are mid 2007 and by that time, multithread software should be far more available, hopefully .

By this time Intel will most likely have their own quad core systems ready. One advantage AMD will continue to have over Intel is their Direct Connect technology and it's onboard memory controller. Intel does not have these features yet and so memory bandwidth will become a serious concern on Intel platforms as we all move to quad core and higher. Multi core will be the way to go. Oh, did I mention in 2008 DDR3 and PCI-e Gen II will be coming out? Don't upgrade just yet.

Why not upgrade? it's the end of 2006, it's a whole freaking year.

People always say "Don't upgrade, wait! the prices will drop and new technology will come out!" so you wait, new tech comes out, and then lo-and-behold "Don't upgrade, wait! the new (such and such cpu or gpu) will be out in a few months!"

where does it end!?!?

I put an end to my waiting in may of of this year, got a 3200+ amd with a geforce 7600GT.. sure, nearly 6 months later you could get the same parts much cheaper.. but honestly, it wouldn't be worth the wait.

Unless something drastic is due out in 3 months or prices are about to drop a lot, I think waiting is just self-torture to the PC gamer who just wants to play a game.

[/rant]
lol

32nm... sheesh.. quad core, oct core, Blahhhh!

5400+ and 5600+.. are all these newer lines of AMD CPUs gonna be on the AM2 socket, or is the AM2 gonna die fast like the 754 did?

 

[alvino]

I'm just waiting for Socket 939 dual-cores to go down in price, if they'll have any left. AMD is starting to EOL all Socket 939 processors to get the market shifted over to AM2.

 

[r_moore04]

Keep in mind that Vista only supports 1 cpu socket. So it doesn't support 4x4 or whatever multi socket AMD is trying to pull off.

then whats the point in having multiple core cpus, and i would of thought that microsoft would of made support for it being that vista is new/not out yet.

 

[alvino]

Probably the server editions of Vista will support it, but normal desktop versions won't. No consumer will actually have a multi-processor desktop anyways.

 

[TRDCorolla1]

Who cares about multi core!!!!! That's what AMD says. They're headed in a whole new direction:

AMD outlines plans for future processors
http://techreport.com/onearticle.x/11438

For those too lazy to click on that link, here's a summary.

AMD has a new plan for processors over the coming years. Intel may be counting on cramming 'tens to hundreds' of cores in future CPUs , but AMD thinks the core race is just a repeat of the MHz race that took place a few years ago. Instead, AMD is counting on Accelerated Processing Units, chips that mix and match general purpose CPU cores with dedicated application processors for graphics and other tasks.

In the meantime, AMD is cooking up some new desktop and mobile processors that it hopes will give Intel a run for its money.

 

[ownage]

good read, btw, TRD, you have a custom title in case you didnt notice

 

[TRDCorolla1]

AMD has some great stuff in the works I can't wait to see that take off and 2008 looks like a promising year too with all their scheduled plans. At first when I read what "Fusion" was, I had a slight doubt.

Then they claim, "Enthusiasts needn't worry, though: AMD says it doesn't plan to integrate high-end GPUs and CPUs into massive silicon fireballs, because both production costs and power envelopes for such chips would be too high." So that's a sigh of relief.


AMD maps out path to HT 3, DDR 3, DirectX 10:
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/12/15/amd_desktop_roadmap/

AMD yesterday spilled the beans on its processor plans for the next two years, at a stroke confirming much of the info that has leaked out of the company and onto the web this year. On the desktop, the future is HyperTransport 3 and DDR 3. Chipsets will not shift to DirectX 10 until late 2007.

The key transition point, however, will come mid-2007. AMD has already said that's when its quad-core desktop CPUs will debut alongside new dual-care chips that, like the quadies, used HyperTransport 3 and incorporate Level 3 cache shared between the cores - 2MB of it, according to past leaks.


These two processor families - quad-core and dual-core - are believed to be codenamed 'Agena' and 'Kuma', respectively. The names 'Altair' and 'Antares' have also been mentioned in connection with these chips.

Both will support DDR 2, but DDR 3 support won't arrive - officially, at any rate - until mid-2008, when AMD introduces new single-, dual- and quad-core parts. Even then, there will be plenty of DDR 2 systems around, the roadmap suggests.

Single-core versions of Agena and Kuma - believed to be codenamed 'Spica' - will debut in Q4 2007, according to AMD's public roadmap.

Mid-2007 will see AMD's CrossFire chipset family migrate to HyperTransport 3 and PCI Express 2, followed some six months later or so by its integrated chipset line, which will also gain DirectX 10 support. ®

On to AMD's Brisbane core that was just released:

When Intel launched its Core 2 line of processors we saw AMD's performance and power advantages vanish into thin air but the comparison, at least on the power side, wasn't totally fair. Intel had been shipping desktop processors on its 65nm process for months prior to the launch of Core 2, while AMD's Athlon 64 X2s were still built on a 90nm process.

AMD just introduced and announced shipment of its first 65nm cores: codenamed Brisbane. Availability is another story entirely, as it's looking like we won't see any real quantities of these things until Q1 2007. Right now AMD's Brisbane chips are strictly OEM only and AMD wasn't able to give us an indication of when to expect retail/channel availability. Of course we wouldn't be talking about this today if we didn't have a chip, which we do, but for all intents and purposes you can consider this a preview of what to expect in the new year from AMD's first 65nm chips.

As you can expect, AMD is pricing the 65nm chips in line with its 90nm offerings to encourage the transition. Die size and TDP have both gone down to 126 mm^2 and 65W across the line. As AMD improves its 65nm SOI process you can expect to see even lower wattage parts, but for now all of the 65nm chips are rated at 65W TDP.

Transistor count remains unchanged at 154M as there is no new functionality or cache introduced with the move to 65nm. Once again, we will have to wait until around the middle of 2007 before we'll see any major changes to AMD's architecture.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2889&p=1