Desktop variants of AMD “Richland” APUs in the socket FM2 package, will arrive this June. Three of the first models to be released to the market, the A10-6800K, the A10-6700, and the A4-4400, could already be in stock with certain retailers, and were pictured. The A10-6800K (AD680KWOA44HL) features four x86-64 cores based on the “Piledriver” micro-architecture, 4.10 GHz core clock speed, 4.40 GHz maximum Turbo Core frequency, and Radeon HD 8670D graphics, clocked at 844 MHz. It features an unlocked base-clock multiplier.

The A10-6700 (AD6700OKA44HL) features the same graphics core as the A10-6800K, but features 3.70 GHz CPU clock speed, 4.30 GHz maximum Turbo Core frequency, and an upwards locked base-clock multiplier. The A4-4400 (AD4400OKA23HL), on the other hand, is an entry-level dual-core chip with 3.70 GHz core, 3.90 GHz Turbo Core, and Radeon HD 8370D graphics.

*** Please see the table below for more details about AMD Fusion S-Series “Richland” CPU line up:

Source

Sapphire AMD FirePro R5000 Remote Graphics Card- The Ideal Solution for IT Managers Operating in Data Center Environments

<TAIPEI— FEB 27, 2012>  Sapphire PGS today released the new remote graphics — AMD FirePro™ R5000 card, a flexible, manageable solution designed and engineered to power remote 3D-graphics workflows and full computing experiences over IP networks. The energy-space and cost-efficient AMD FirePro R5000 is the ideal solution for IT managers operating in data center environments where limited space, power budgets and cooling costs pose a constant challenge.

The AMD FirePro R5000 combines AMD’s Graphics Core Next (GCN) Architecture with Teradici’s PCoIP® technology, and delivers a 3D experience with low latency transmission – ideal for mid-range multimonitor endpoints such as those used by CAD, medical imaging and financial services professionals. The AMD FirePro R5000 also complements IT security protocols by safeguarding corporate IP, since critical information never leaves the data center.

“IT professionals are looking for a secure and straight forward cloud-based graphics solution that delivers core functionality capable of adapting to meet each employee’s unique graphics needs,” said David Cummings, senior director and general manager of AMD Professional Graphics. “The AMD FirePro R5000 meets these needs, delivering the flexibility, functionality, security and industry-leading graphics capabilities companies look for when deciding on a remote graphics solution.”

AMD FirePro R5000 Remote Graphics Features and Benefits

• Low      Power Solution: Maximum power consumption      of 150W helps to minimize power costs and enables the use of small      footprint low power client devices that are capable of      supporting up to four displays remotely;
• Effective      Cooling: Minimizes system heat and      fan noise in employee work areas, helps to reduce cooling costs and create      cooler, quieter workspaces while a variable speed fan adjusts to accelerate      the exchange of air heated by server components for cooler ambient air;
• Scale      and Simplicity: Centrally located in the      data center, IT can accommodate flexible seating arrangements or provide      employees with zero clients, ultimately helping IT get employees up and      running more quickly;
• Flexibility      of Deployment: Delivers the deployment      flexibility IT needs, including the option to deploy in desktop      workstations, rack and blade servers, and PCIe® expansion chassis;
• Power      Management: AMD PowerTune and AMD      ZeroCore Power intelligent power management and monitoring tools enable IT      managers to effectively track and contain power usage;
• High      Performance Remote Protocol: The      next generation Teradici TERA2240 host processor is able to transmit up to      300 megapixels per second and drive up to four displays per end user, with      refresh rates up to 60 frames per second giving what Teradici describes as      “the best remote user experience possible.”

“With the introduction of the AMD FirePro R5000 with Teradici PCoIP processor, IT departments now have powerful centralized computing solutions that are easy to manage, and deliver the graphics performance required to handle high resolution images, video and 3D models with ease,” said Trent Punnett, vice president of Product Management, System Engineering and Corporate Development at Teradici. “In addition, the AMD FirePro R5000 can be brokered and managed by VMware View giving a common broker and management window across both workstation and VDI desktops, and works with PCoIP zero clients that are offered by an ecosystem of over 30 OEMs.”

The AMD FirePro R5000 is rigorously tested by AMD to ensure readiness for demanding professional use. It is a durable remote graphics solution intended to increase asset utilization density, meet real-world workloads and ultimately help IT minimize operating costs and time spent on servicing individual systems.

The Comparison of the two generation of AMD FirePro Remote Graphics specifications

AMD A-series platform
Bluetooth 18 Dec 2012

Christmas is round the corner, have you decided what platform is the most cost effective solution out there? Last year, AMD delivered the first APU LIano which delivers integrated graphics into the core. This October, AMD delivered the 2nd generation that is built on the strength of the earlier generation.

If you have read our reviews, you would have noticed how well the Trinity or A10-5800K performs especially in the graphics performance against even the high end Intel Core i5-3570K. So what has changed ?

Basically, the the new A-series plaform Socket FM2 features the new X86 architecture featuring the “Piledriver” cores. Some features of it includes supports up to 4 cores and latest ISA instructions including AVX, AES, XOP, FMA4/3. There is also enahnced cache performnce over the previous BullDozer cores. It has also improved it’s max turbo frequency to up to 4.2GHz and is configurable through AMD Overdrive.

The GPU is also improved and feature 384 shaders at 800MHz, It supports 8xAA and 16AF  and DX11 support. UVD and VCE allows video encode and decode hardware to offload CPU and AMD Picture Perfect support with HD post processing technologies are included in this new design.

For those who always do file compression using WINZIP, you can also take advantage of the OpenCL instructions. One of such application is WinZip 16.5 x64 build 10095. Another such application is Cyberlink PowerDirector ver 11.

In fact, something that most users overlook is the support of new display technologies. This new platform comes with AMD Eyefinity technology that can support 3+1 monitors and has Display Port 1.2 support.. In addition, it has AMD Dual Graphics enhancements that allows you to pair up with an external graphics card to boost the graphical performance.

According to a report on SemiAccurate, it is said that the upcoming Broadwell will not come in an LGA package, so no removable CPU. The news was leaked from Japan PC Watch.

So what is the impact ? Most end users might not feel much of a difference as most users still buy a processor + motherboard bundle anyway. The difference is that you can’t really choose which processor to pair with your board as they come soldered on.

Enthusiast who are always changing processors as fast as changing underwear will find themselves shut off in a way. Web sites that leaks information will find themselves shut off too as it would be difficult for some sources to ‘smuggle’ Engineering board with solder processors out.

One of the nightmares will be inventory control. Distributors will have to stock up massive amount of stocks (board with CPU integrated).

The worst nightmware for mainboard manufacturers is that they might be forced out of the competition in a way. The reason is simple, Intel might be having their own brand boards with CPU integrated and will compete head to head with their products. This might also force such manufactuers to divert their attention to the other processor maker, AMD which still remains attractive in terms of price/performance.

Actually, we already expected this day to come. First, the industry consolidated and killed almost all the chipset makers. The chipset makers ended up making South bridges and on board DVB tuners. Now they probably have to give up making south bridges as SATA 6Gbps or USB3 controllers are all integrated into the single chipset.

Next was the integration of higher quality graphics into the chipset, with that you don’t even need an external graphics card unless you are crazy over 3D games.

Everyone out there is having their own game plan. Look at Apple, and Microsoft now making their own hardware and software. If they can increase their market share and profit margin, do you think they will care about whether mainboard manufacturers in Taiwan will survive ?

In fact we spoke to a number of people about this matter. We somewhat agree that Intel might do that low to mid range notebooks and motherboards. They willleave the higher end boards with socketed designs. By doing so, they might not be pushing customers away to AMD. In fact, AMD Hudson E350 are all socketed designs but their Trinity series (FM2) and 990FX boards which are considered the higher end are still socket design.

If Intel goes for soldered design and flood the market with thier own brand boards, the OEM manufacturers will stand to gain for more orders. 3rd party manufacturers like ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, ECS, Biostar, ASRock might have serious problems if they can’t get hold of processors (for soldering onto their boards). If our prediction is right, the higher end boards might still adopt socketed design but how many percent of their revenue of the motherboard manufacturers comes from the expensive boards?

Secondly, the other mid range board makers will still continue to compete with socketed designs. They will also deliver some high end boards but that might not sell that well either. They might end up selling more AMD. Perhaps a third group might evolve making ARM based boards one day.

So at the end of the day, motherboard manufacturers will be here to stay. It is just that how will they will channel their resources into socket or non socketed boards.

Comments

Review of GA-F2A85X-UP4 Socket FM2 board with AMD A10-5800K APU
Bluetooth 21 Oct 2012

A few weeks ago, AMD launches it’s newest A85X chipset and FM2 socket processors. The socket FM2 processors are improved versions of the FM1 processors, especially in the graphics and data encoding function but they do not share the same socket type.

The GA-F2A85X-UP4 is one of the new boards that Gigabyte release to support these new processors.

Featuring the AMD A85X chipset, it supports native USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gbps. The board itself supports 4 DIMM memory slots with a total of 64GB of memory. It supports up to an official DDR3-1866 but can be overclocked up to DDR3-2400+. It also supporst the AMD memory profile (AMP) standard.

As for graphics, the integrated graphics within the APU, in our A10-5800K is a Radeon 6770D class graphics running at 800MHz. The graphics output can be from the D-SUB, DVI-D (up to 2560×1600), HDMI (up to 1920×1200) or DisplayPort (up to 2560×1600). The board also support Virtu MVP to boost graphics performance with any NVIDIA or AMD card on board together with the APU integrated graphics.

Alternatively external graphics card can be used. It has 3 full length PCIe slots that operates in PCIe x16, PCIe x8 (dual cards) and another PCIe slot at PCIe x4. There are 3 PCIe x1 and 1 PCI slot. The graphics card can run in CrossFire configuration or AMD dual graphics (selected cards in tandem with the integrated graphics in APU).

There are plenty of USB and SATA ports on board. There are 4 USB 3.0/2.0 (2 at back panel and 2 others thru internal USB header). Another 10 USB 2.0/1.1 can be supported (2 ports on the back panel and 8 ports thru USB headers). In addition, Gigabyte supports another 2 more USB 3.0/2.0 ports with the Etron EJ168 chipset.

In terms of features, the specific ones for Gigabyte boards are quite standard. They are @BIOS, Q-Flash, EasyTune, DualBIOS, Auto green, On/Off charge, 3D UEFI BIOS, 3TB+ Unlock etc.

The GIGABYTE motherboard employ award winning GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 5 technology that includes high current capable components for the CPU power zone including IR3550 PowIRstage® ICs from International Rectifier, 2X Copper PCB and high current Ferrite Core Chokes rated up to 60A, which together are able to deliver cooler temperatures than traditional motherboards. Featured on a range of new motherboards based the AMD A85X Chipset, GIGABYTE Ultra Durable™ 5 technology is the next evolution in quality motherboard design.

In the next few pages, we will go through the details and benchmark it against the BIOSTAR FM2 board and compare it with A8-3850 (FM1) and Intel Core i5-3570K.

According to a report from Digitimes, AMD is slated to launch it’s own APUs targeting the tablet market. This is AMD’s answer to INTEL’s Clover Trail-based Atom Z2760 processor designed specifically for tablet products.

so far, Intel’s Atom Z2760 is adopted by various major players e.g. Acer, Asustek Computer, Dell, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard (HP), Lenovo, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics and ZTE, for their tablet products, AMD, so far, has not yet announced its partners for the Hondo APUs.

So far, most tablets are focused on two platforms, the ARM/Android or Intel/Windows 8. So far, it is unsure if AMD will adapt which platform. If the price is competitve enough, it will surely appear as a formidable alternative.

AMD recently announced its Hondo-based Z-60 APU, which adopts a 40nm process and Brazos architecture. The APU consumes 4.5W and is capable of being adopted in a 10mm thick tablet, supporting Windows 8 and resolutions up to 1920 by 1200.

Since Z-60 only has average power consumption, the sources believe AMD’s next-generation 28nm Jaguar-based SoC, Tamesh, which is set to launch in the second quarter of 2013, should provide a better chance for the CPU maker to compete on a level playing field.

MSI FM2-A85XA-G65 is MSI’s FM2 board with some great overclocking potential. From the usual vast range of options in BIOS. It also has voltage probes for you to measure the voltages in real time using probes.

In addition, it comes with OC Genie II which allows you one press overclocking. Just press it before powering up and it will auto overclock it to a safe overclocking level to boost your system performance within stable limits for daily usage.

In our test, MSI is a bit conversative as it clocks up the A10-5800K to 39 x 105MHz giving it a boost to the system to 4GHz. This is surprising because the turbo speed is 4.2GHz. No matter what, the overclocked speed is within the Turbo speed which should give it a boost without compromising stability.

Review of BIOSTAR Hi-Fi A85X socket FM2 motherboard
28 Sept 2012

In a few days time, AMD will introduce their next generation of graphics integrated processor or APU. The new APU uses a different socket type FM2 from the previous generation Socket FM1. The new series of processors, also has an improved performance especially in the area of multimedia encoding compared to the earlier generation.

In conjunction with the new generation of AMD processors, BIOSTAR releases a A85 chipset motherboard. This motherboard belongs to the HiFi Series and is known as BIOSTAR HiFi A85X.

The mothboard HiFi A85X supports the newest FM2 socket processors A4, A6, A8 and A10 + Athlon II X4 processors with a maximum TDP of 100W. It has 4 DIMM slots which operates in Dual channel mode and supports up to 64GB of memory.

The board also caters for those who wants maximum graphics performance. It has 3 PCIe 2.0 x16 slots that can work in X16+x8+x4 in CrossFireX mode. There is also 3 PCIe 2.0 and 1 PCI slot.

Native support of SATA3 or SATA 6Gbps supporting 7 SATA 6Gbps + 1 eSATA in RAID 0,1,5,10 modes. There is also native support for USB 3.0. There are two USB 3.0 ports, 1 USB 3.0 header, 4 USB 2.0 ports and 3 USB 2.0 header on board.

Depending on the APU used, it supports dual graphics technology and CrossFire with selected models of graphcis card (see manual). Alternatively, you can use Virtu MVP to boost performance with Virtu’s Hyperformance and Vsync feature.

The board is also Windows 8 compatible and comes with software like BIO-Remote2, Rapid Switch2, Debug3, BIOSFLasher, Charger booster, BIOS online Update etc to complement the UEFI BIOS.

The BIOSTAR HiFi A85X stands out from it’s competitors as it emphasis on good quality audio. The HiFi series of motherboard provides autio compoenents with independent power design to reduce electronic noise. In addition, it uses noise block multi layer PCB to isolate audio signals from digital sources. The board uses High quality ESD and a Hi-Fi AMP which can drive headphones with over 100dB loads and wide bandwidth of frequencies. There is also Hi-Fi Resistor and Hi-Fi cap which helps in the audio.

To complement the hardware, it has software that can do multi channel calibration (MCC). Audio performance is automatically calibrated to the dimensions of your room. There is another software known as Smart Ear which you can optimize your headphone experience. The board supports THX TruStudio Pro.

So much about the features, how will it perform against the Socket FM1 and Intel equivalent ? We will use the A10-5800K APU to test it against the A8-3850 (FM1) and INtel Core i5-3570K.

According to a news article on techworld australia, it is said that the upcoming Advanced Micro Devices’ latest A-series quad-core desktop processors runs at up to 4.2GHz, but can be overclocked to 6.5GHz with liquid nitrogen cooling, the company said.

The two unlocked processors, which we have already listed as A10-5800K and the A8-5600K
are faster and cheaper than competitive Intel chips, said AMD desktop products manager Adam Kozak during a conference call to discuss the new chips.

Compared to the equivalent Intel, the AMD is in the US$100 to $150 price range, Kozak said. Intel’s unlockable processors start at $216, according to a Sept. 2 price list.

The chips are based on the Piledriver microarchitecture, which is also used in the latest laptop processors code-named Trinity released by AMD starting in the middle of this year. AMD’s internal benchmarks revealed the new chips provide 25 percent to 37 percent overall faster system performance than the older desktop chips code-named Llano, which were released last year.

The unlocked chip A10-5800K has 4MB Cache rated 100W and has a max. clock speed turbo at 4.2GHz. The internal graphics clock is rated at 800MHz and has 384 cores. The A8-5600K has a maximum clock speed of 3.9GHz and 256 graphics cores with 760MHz GPU clock speed.

AMD did not reveal actual pricing but it should be in the range of USD 120 in units of 1000. The processor will be available from Oct 2 2012.

Source

If you are an Intel user, you would probably be aware of XMP. AMD in it’s upcoming motherboards featuring the Socket FM2 will support AMP. AMP or AMD memory profile it AMD’s version of the Intel Extreme Memory Profiles (XMP) which amounts to known-safe automatic overclock settings. The AMP profiles are stored in the DDR3 memory modules and can be read by supporting motherboards. With such ram modules, it is easy to configure the board to work well with these RAMs as the voltages, ram timings are already preset.

So far, Biostar, ECS and ASRock Socket FM2 boards will feature this capability. It will be useful for users who just wants less headaches plug and play solution. For those who loves to meddle with ram timings, this might not be that important as you can manually adjust your ram timings anyway.

So, will you buy AMP certified modules at a premium ? Discuss.

BIOSTAR Officially Launches Latest AMD “Trinity” Based Hi-Fi Motherboard with Exclusive Integrated BIOSTAR Hi-Fi Technology

September 19, 2012, Taipei, Taiwan – BIOSTAR, a manufacturer of motherboards, VGA cards, industrial computer systems and other peripherals, has officially launched their latest edition to their high-end motherboard lineup, the Hi-Fi A85X. This newest ATX form factor motherboard supports all AMD Socket FM2 CPUs and offers native support for SuperSpeed USB 3.0 and dual-channel memory up to DDR3 – 2400 in over-clocking mode. Socket FM2 is a CPU socket used by AMD’s upcoming Trinity Fusion APU’s which will also utilize AMD’s new A85X chipset. The Hi-Fi A85X has also received the official Windows 8 hardware certification from Microsoft.
One feature set that sets the BIOSTAR Hi-Fi A85X above and beyond typical motherboards is the integrated BIOSTAR Hi-Fi technology called “Puro Hi-Fi Technology”. Marketing Manager Eric Tung gets excited when given a chance to explain the value proposition with these motherboards. “It’s pretty cool how we have put a unique power delivery system just for the audio aficionados out there, like me” explained Eric. “With our professional quality sound and video capabilities on this board, a user can set up a full PC based home theater system with full THX support and true 7.1 surround sound…I mean the real thing, this isn’t simulated. You have to hear it to believe it”, he enthused.

Targeting audiophiles, HTPC enthusiasts and high-end gamers alike, Puro Hi-Fi sports an integrated independent audio power design with a built-in amplifier. The technology utilizes audio components with an independent power design for a significant reduction in electronic noise producing superb sound quality. The unique noise-blocking multi-layer PCB layout is conducive for an exceptionally clean signal. That design feature, together with a sampling rate of 192kHz/24-bit, delivers a high quality audio through an analog connection to your home theater system, multi-channel speakers or high-end headphones allowing you to enjoy true high-definition 7.1-channel surround sound.

Part of the Puro Hi-Fi design includes high-quality “Non-Polarized Electrolysis Electric audio capacitors” for each individual audio channel circuit delivering low noise, low distortion, and a wide bandwidth to achieve the highest sound resolution and sound expansion for the most realistic sound effects. Furthermore, the resistors used by the system are of the metal-oxide film type with metal oxides such as tin. The electric characteristics are that of greater stability and reliability than regular metal film resistors when operating in an extremely broad working temperature range. These special components are typically used in applications with high endurance audio demands.

With BIOSTAR’s implementation of four unique technologies, Puro Hi-Fi, THX, Lucid MVP and SmartSpeedLAN, the brand new Hi-Fi series of motherboards increases sound, network and graphics performance dramatically. For a powerful gaming masterpiece with even a limited budget, this new Hi-Fi series motherboard is the best choice and will become a new favorite among gamers and movie watchers.

In less than 2 weeks time, AMD is back with it’s newer incarnation of APUs. It will launch it’s new series of Trinity APU for the desktop market on October 1.

The Trinity APU adopts a 32nm process from Globalfoundries. It has an integrated graphics of Radeon HD 7000.

The models of APUs to be launched are A10-5800K, A10-5700, A8-5600K, A8-5500, Athlon X4 750K/740, A6-5400K and A4-5300 together with the new A55, A75 and A85X.

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD: 3.72, -0.30, -7.36%) slumped 6% on Tuesday morning after Chief Financial Officer Thomas Seifert became the latest high-level executive to exit the struggling chip maker.

Analysts at BMO (BMO: 58.42, +0.04, +0.07%) slashed their price target on AMD to $4 from $5, though they maintained a “market perform” rating on the stock. Wedbush cut AMD to $4.50 from $5, keeping a “neutral” rating.

Wall Street sent AMD’s shares dropping 5.99% to $3.77 in recent trading, bringing their 2012 tumble to about 30% and one-year slide to almost 50%.

AMD is going to launch their new Socket FM2 in October, will that turn the company around after Socket FM1 failed miserably ?

Source

Gigabyte F2A85X-UP4 AMD Socket FM2 board unveiled on net

The first press pictures of the upcoming socket FM2 board from Gigabyte was posted on the net today. Although no details are provided by Gigabyte, this board might be the saviour of AMD after it’s failure to secure much marketshare from it’s Socket FM1.

See attached gallery for the detail photos.

CyberLink Optimizes Flagship Products for the New Second-Generation AMD A-Series APUs

Offering Free Updates for Users on PowerDirector 10, PowerDVD 12, MediaShow 6 and MediaExpresso 6.5

TAIPEI, Taiwan, May 22, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — CyberLink Corp. (5203.TW) today released new updates for PowerDirector 10, PowerDVD 12, MediaShow 6 and MediaEspresso 6.5. The products optimized for the new Second-Generation AMD A-Series APUs benefit users from hardware-accelerated HD playback, enhanced video editing, maximum rendering and improved transcoding performance.

PowerDirector 10 — The World’s Fastest Video Editor Optimized for the new 2nd Gen AMD A-Series APUs, CyberLink PowerDirector 10 now offers up to 3.6 times faster video production speed(*1) and allows users to produce professional quality home videos and 3D movies(*2), by harnessing the power of the system’s GPU to greatly improve the speed of the editing process. PowerDirector 10 provides a highly parallel scalable pipeline for many HD tasks with AMD’s new Video Codec Engine (VCE) to accelerate the encoding or transcoding of videos.

PowerDVD 12 — No. 1 Blu-ray & Media Player CyberLink PowerDVD 12′s DLNA Media Server (DMS) can stream videos on-the-fly to portable devices with AMD’s VCE transcoding technology. Intelligently converting videos to the right format, PowerDVD 12 allows users to browse, stream and enjoy high quality videos, in real time, on portable devices connected within the home network.

MediaShow 6 — Fast & Easy Photo/Video Organizer CyberLink MediaShow 6 offers a rich set of features to help users rapidly import, organize and share SD, HD and 3D media content. With the optimization for the 2nd Gen AMD A-Series APUs, users can now create stylish slideshow videos with incredible speed.

MediaEspresso 6.5 — Ultra Fast Universal Media Converter CyberLink MediaEspresso 6.5 accelerates the conversion of standard and HD videos into multiple formats for use on various consumer electronics devices. In conjunction with AMD’s VCE, MediaEspresso 6.5 provides quick output of video content for playback on new iPad, iPhone 4S, iPod and PSP devices in blazing speed.

“CyberLink is committed to provide premium user experiences,” said Alice H. Chang, CEO of CyberLink Corp. “By optimizing CyberLink’s complete product lineup for AMD’s 2nd Gen APUs, our users can enjoy enhanced and accelerated performance in media creation.”

“We are excited to work closely with CyberLink, an industry leader for multimedia software,” said John Taylor, Director of Client Product and Software Marketing at AMD /quotes/zigman/216580/quotes/nls/amd AMD -1.59% . “With the launch of the 2nd Gen AMD A-Series APUs, we look forward to providing a whole new digital dimension to our customers.”

Free updates will be available from June. Please check CyberLink Website or Product Updates for more details.

*1: Testing was performed on AMD A10-4600M. With AMD UVD, VCE and OpenCL enabled, the production time of a single video applied with “beating” effect is 3.6 times faster than it is done in software mode. *2: Side-by-side 3D format up to 1920X1080 Resolution +AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, and combinations thereof, are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Other names are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

All companies and product names mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and are the sole property of their respective owners. Copyright (C) 2012 CyberLink Corp. All rights reserved.

SOURCE: CyberLink Corp.

AMD is set to launch its latest A series APUs codenamed Trinity in May and will initially only release models for notebooks with models for desktops to wait until August, while the company’s 40nm tablet PC processors codenamed Hondo is set to launch in the fourth quarter to timely fit in with the release of Windows 8, according to sources from notebook players.

The Trinity processors adopt a Piledriver structure and will have a 25% improvement in overall performance and 50% in graphics performance comparing to the existing Llano processors, noted the sources.

AMD is set to launch its desktop Trinity processors including A10-5800K, A10-5700, A8-5600K, A8-5500, while will also releasing A6 (Weatherford) and A4 (Richland) series processors. All these processors are manufactured by Globalfoundries, adopting a 32nm process.

In June, AMD will release low-power consumption, entry-level Brazos 2.0 – the new C and E series processors including 18W E2-1800 (1.7GHz) and E1-1200 (1.4GHz). In the third quarter, AMD will release new FX series processors including FX-8350, FX-6300 and FX-4320.

After Bulldozer, AMD will release Steamroller structure in 2013 and Excavator in 2015 and for notebook processors, the company will launch Kaveri processors to replace Trinity and Kabini APUs to replace Brazos 2.0.

Source

 Right after Intel launches it’s third generation, there are news that AMD will launch their 2nd generation APUs this May 15th 2012. The Piledriver based APUs are divided into 3 categories. It is rumoured to spot the new Socket FM2 and has memory support of DDR3-2133. The integrated graphics is a Radeon HD 7000.  The highest performance APU A10-5800K will clock at 3.8GHz with Turbo at 4.2GHz and will have a TDP of 100W. AMD also adopted the “K” series indicating the multiplier is unlocked (formerly known as Black edition).

“Trinity“, “Weatherford” and “Richland” (all 32 nm)

Piledriver based APUs will be divided into three main versions for specific price-points and markets

• Trinity covers the performance segment of the APU line. It will replace the Llano based A8-series.
• Weatherford covers the upper-mainstream segment. Replacing the Llano based A6-series.
• Richland covers the lower-mainstream segment. It is to replace the Llano based A4-series.

ASUS F1A75-V Pro
bluetooth 22 Feb 2012

The AMD Fusion platform has been released for some time. Not every board is made the same. This is definitely true for the ASUS F1A75-V Pro which excels in its design for this Socket FM1 board.

Based on the AMD A75 FCH (hudson D3) chipset supports the AMD Socket FM1 A series/E series APUs. These APUs comes with an DX11 integrated graphics core Radeon HD 6550 series that provides resoultion of up to 1920×1200@60Hz for HDMI, DVI or RGB. On DisplayPort it can support up to 2560×1600@60Hz.

The chipset A75 FCH supports 6 SATA 6Gbps ports with RAID 0,1,10, JBOD. It also supports 4 USB 3.0 and 10 USB 2.0 ports.

The F1A75 V-Pro comes with 2 PCIe 2.0 x16 (x16,x4 – CrossFireX), 2 PCIe 2.0×1 and 3 PCI slots. It has Realtek 8111E GbE, Realtek ALC 892  8 channel audio. In addition to the support by the chipset, the on board ASMedia PCIe SATA controller supports 1 SATA 6bps and 1 eSATA 6bps connector. There is also another ASMedia USB 3.0 controller which supports 2 USB 3.0 connectors (blue connectors at the back of the board).

On top of the standard features available from the chipset. The board’s ASMedia USB 3.0 supports a faster USB 3.0 UASP mode, it delivers a 170% performance compared to other USB 3.0 solutions.

The board features Dual Intelligent Processor 2 with DIGI+ VRM – the TPU (TurboV Processing Unit) and EPU (Energy Processing Unit). The DIGI+ VRM allows power phase performance and system voltages adjustments to maximise overall performance and overclocking potential while the EPU to server power signal and eliminating digital to analog conversion lag.

The board also supporst auto tuning and ASUS TurboV for real time OC tuning.

Other features of this board include a GUI based UEFI BIOS, AI Suite II, MEMOK and Anti Surge Protection.

The APU we are going to use is the A8-3850. This APU is 32nm DX11 3D graphics capable. It also supports OpenGL 4.1 and OpenCL 1.1 standards. It has 4 Core 4 threads and the embedded video is a Radeon HD6550D class video capable of doing 4000 marks in 3DMark Vantage Performance test.