AMD Launches Fusion Platform for Notebook PCs

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) will continue to push discrete graphics chips even as it moves to combine the technology with CPUs in a new Fusion platform being introduced at CES, company officials said.

The Zacate E350 and E240 single- and dual-core 1.6 GHz and 1.5 GHz processors are aimed at $400-$500 notebooks, and the Ontario C-50 and C-30 single and dual-core 1.2 and 1 GHz chips are aimed at $200-$300 netbooks and other emerging products, company officials said. The Zacate and Ontario ICs draw 18 watts and 9 watts of power. In the previous generation Athlon Neo II processors that weren’t combined with a graphics chip, 18-20 watts were typical. Each of the new chips is paired with a Radeon 6000M series graphics processor that continues support for Microsoft DirectX 11 and adds HD3D technology for stereoscopic playback of games and movies.

Though the new Fusion ICs pack graphics that AMD previously sold in discrete graphics cards, the PC maker has no plans to pull back from the market now in favor of combining the technologies, said Leslie Sobon, vice president of product and platform marketing. AMD’s new HD 6900M/6800 graphics processors target gaming PCs. The HD6700M, 6600M and 6500M take aim at high-end notebooks. The 6400M and 6300M are designed for $400-$600 notebook PCs. The graphics processor will be sold as add-in cards at retail in Q1 priced $50-$250, company officials said. AMD built out its graphics processing business with the acquisition of ATI Technologies several years ago. New features will likely be built into discrete graphics processors before migrating to the Fusion or future combo platforms, Sobon said.

"There will be advantages for gamers who want that extra graphics processor performance and they will get that benefit by adding a discrete chip,” Sobon said. “Fusion starts with discrete and having discrete level IP, and being able to do the boards helps us get to market faster and test features."

The Fusion platform is a turning point for AMD, which has long been a distant second to Intel in notebook PC processors. Intel also has developed integrated CPUs/graphics processors, but so far AMD has the edge, analysts said. AMD had 14 percent of the Q2 2010 notebook processor market, up from 12 percent the previous quarter. AMD will focus Fusion on notebook and netbook PCs for now before charting a course for tablets or e-readers, company officials said. Among the PC makers expected to field Fusion-based notebooks are Asustek, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and MSI Computer, each expected to offer two or three models priced $200-$400, Sobon said. Acer will be among the few companies going to market with a Fusion-based tablet PC in 2011, and AMD’s tablet platform is expected to emerge in volume until 2012, company officials said.

"We're so small in the notebook market that given all the opportunities in front of us, it doesn’t make sense to start turning R&D dollar spending toward the tablet market yet,” CEO Dirk Meyer told analysts in an earnings conference call. “We'll start doing that when the market is big enough."

The importance attached to Fusion can be seen in that the “Bobcat” core processors at the heart of the platform are AMD’s first release of new CPU cores since 2003, company officials said. The Fusion Ontario and Zacate ICs were built for AMD by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. using a 40-nanometer process.

The Fusion line will be extended this year with the launch of Llano CPUs expected to have up to 3 GHz clockspeeds and target $500-$700 notebook PCs. The Ontario chip displaced Llano, expected to be available to PC makers last fall (CED Sept 10 p7) but postponed until the first half of 2011. Llano will start appearing in notebook PCs in the second half (CED Sept 10 p7), Sobon said. The Llano, which will have up to four X86 processor cores with more than 35 million transistors, ran into yield issues at GlobalFoundaries, which is using a 32-nanometer process to make the chip. The Llano is designed to draw 2.5-25 watts depending on the performance demand.

AMD is expected to release a new Bulldozer desktop PC CPU in the first half that will be built by GlobalFoundaries using a 32-nanometer process, Sobon said. In addition to desktops, Bulldozer also will be a key chip for AMD’s server business, she said. Bulldozer will feature improvements in power consumption and clock speed, said Sobon, who declined to release details. “The desktop market doesn’t get a lot play right now and tablets are kind of the king with notebooks below them,” Sobon said. “Desktops are still viable because gamers still love them, and there will always be a place for them.”