AMD's New Embedded Processors, Ready for Some Las Vegas Action

AMD has launched another dual-core series of chips for the embedded market, especially tailored for point of sale devices, gaming machines, kiosks, and entry-level Network-Attached Storage appliances. The new models are part of the Athlon X2 family and are known as 3400e, 3600+ and 4200+, with increased performance and a low power envelope of between 22 and 35 watts.

In order to work at full performance, the new processor models are to be used in conjunction with the company's M690E chipset, but they also work with other models, including the Broadcom HT-2100 and HT-1000 chipsets. The released chips are compatible with AMD's AM2 socket and allow users to upgrade their systems from single-core to dual-core processors without replacing the whole infrastructure.

AMD has also released to its vendors a set of blueprints based on the AMD Athlon chip, that offers a standardized platform built around the company's Direct Connect Architecture. "This SBB RDK could help our customers reduce the typical design cycle by three to nine months," said Buddy Broeker, director of Embedded Computing Solutions, AMD.

The RDK fully supports Network Attached Storage (NAS), Storage Area Networks (SANs), Unified Storage technologies and come with a plethora of interface connectivity options, such as Gigabit Ethernet, 10Gigabit Ethernet, Fiber Channel, and Infiniband.

"Further, the new low power additions to our embedded line-up provide system designers simplicity and flexibility to create innovative, high-performing embedded systems powered by the exceptional performance-per-watt and energy-efficiency of AMD processor technology," he continued.

The SSB standard covers the enclosure controller slot and ensures compatibility with hardware manufactured by the major industry vendors, such as Dell, EMC, and LSI Logic. The new kit reveals schematics and layout source files, while the reference design specifications have been made available to AMD's manufacturing partner, Newisys Data Storage.

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