Desktop and Notebook Roadmaps
The chart is very clear cut with two segments. The two main products of
yesteryear was AMD 790FX/790GX for the enthusiast with discrete graphics card
and mainstream based on AMD 785G chipset. In this year, The "LEO" platform would
include Thuban CPUs. It will power processors with 6 CPU cores and chipset of
choice would be RD890 + SB850. We expect it to be named as 890FX and there
should be a 890GX which replaces 790GX. The difference is the south bridge which
will support SATA3. We asked AMD when is USB 3 support coming, AMD has no dates
for it.
For the Mainstream, we should be seeing an upgraded 785G known as RS880. It
would be named as 880G and it will be paired with SB810. It will support
integrated DX10.1 graphics which is similar to the 785G but probably with a
higher GPU CLK.
The 32nm transition will be in 2011 where all there is just add on support of
new cores and next generation graphics card for the discrete. As for the Lynx
platform, it will support DX11 integrated graphics.
As for the AMD notebook platform. The current notebooks out there uses the
RS780M chipset with DX10 support. The desktop replacements and thin & light
would use the RS880M instead. These notebooks are on sale and is value for
money. At the press event, we saw the Lenovo notebook and was impressed by it's
design, cost and performance.
In 2010, we will see notebooks supporting up to 4 cores and DX10.1 or DX11
discrete graphics. As for ultrathin, it would be quite similar to the Danube. We
see 2011 as the year where it catches up with desktop and move to 32nm and it
will all be DX11 graphics.
As for GPUs, ATi Mobility Radeon is the number 1 choice by notebook makers.
The graphics capabilities will be again improved with the Radeon 5000 series.
For the high end, there is Ati FirePro. For the mid range there are the
Radeon HD 5600 5800 5900 series which supports ATi Eyefinity and ATI stream.
AMD is also making it easy for end users to choose their PC by introducing
AMD Vision and Vision Pro. For example, by just checking the logo on the
notebook you would know if it has the capabilities for your business needs.
In 2010, we would see AMD delivering 4 PC platforms by 1H 2010. For
notebooks, it will be DX11 support, battery life improvement, OpenCL and
DirectCOmpute 11. AMD will also launch 12 core Amd Opteron processor and
6000/4000 series platforms. It will also begin to sample "Bulldozer","BobCat"
and 32nm AMD Fusion based products to it's partners.
It definitely looks like an exciting year ahead. Stay tuned to OCWORKBENCH
for more Reviews of these products when they become available in 2010.
