14 DAY TRIAL // During the company’s 2012 Financial Analyst Day, AMD outlined its APU and CPU strategy for 2012, thus confirming the Brazos 2.0, Hondo and Vishera processors, together with their approximate launch schedule.
Out of the three, Brazos 2.0 will be the first chip to see the light of day, as these APUs are scheduled to arrive in the first half of 2012.
Much like the first revision of the Brazos platform, this new iteration of AMD’s low-end APUs also targets the essential desktop and notebook space, but AMD says that it will deliver increased CPU and GPU performance, longer battery life, and a bevy of integrated I/O options.
The AMD Steady Video technology included in these APUs will also receive a series of improvements, while TDPs will range between 9 and 18 Watts.
After the Brazos 2.0 release, AMD will move its attention towards Trinity, which the company says is on track for a mid-2012 introduction. Trinity will take the place of the Llano APUs in the company’s lineup.
Compared to their predecessors, these chips will be based on the Bulldozer-derived Piledriver core (up to four such cores can go in a Trinity APU), and will feature next-generation DirectX 11-capable graphics technology.
According to AMD, these changes are expected to deliver up to 50% more compute performance than Llano, while also delivering superior entertainment potential, longer battery-life and better graphics.
Unlike Llano, Trinity will also be available in an ultra-low power option with a TDP as low as 17W, which targets ultrathin computers.
In 2012, AMD will also introduce the ultra-low voltage Hondo APU for tablets. These low-power (power maxes out at 5W TDP) APUs will have “Bobcat” CPU cores and support DirectX 11 technology in a BGA or pin-less packaging and are expected to arrive in the second half of 2012.
Finally, on the desktop platform side of things, Vishera will replace the Komodo CPU which will maintain compatibility with the current AM3+ motherboards.
As AMD revealed, Vishera processors bring an important number of updates including up to eight Piledriver cores, higher frequencies, improved instruction per clock performance, advanced instruction sets (thus also increasing application performance), additional DDR3 memory support and next-generation AMD Turbo Core Technology. Vishera should be launched in the second half of 2012.
During the 2012 Financial Analyst Day, AMD also presented its processors plans for 2013, which we'll cover in a future article.
UPDATE: As promised, you can read more about AMD's 2013 processor roadmap which includes the Tamesh, Kabini and Kaveri APUs here.
