14 DAY TRIAL // We've covered the Kaveri line of Accelerated Processing Units from Advanced Micro Devices rater extensively, even though there are only two of them up for sale. Soon, though, there should be seven more on order.
Previously, rumors didn't seem to agree on when the mid-range AMD A-Series Kaveri APUs would be made available to the general public. Initially, the second quarter was pegged as the ETA, but later it was reported that the chips would only arrive in the second half of the year.
It seems that the first reports were the true ones, although AMD might still hold off on actually sending the new chips to retail stores until July. This could, after all, be a paper launch.
Besides, AMD didn't exactly offer some huge press release to say that it had added more chips to the Kaveri A-Series. It “only” updated its website with the chip specifications.
We're hopeful though, because from what we've heard, AMD has already sent samples of the A8-7600 processor, complete with configurable TDP (thermal design power). The processor is rated at 65W TDP but can work at 45W TDP if needed.
You'll have to sacrifice some graphics performance for it, but with 384 stream processors and 720 MHz GPU clock, that shouldn't be too crippling, all things considered.
Since we're on the subject, the A8-7600 APU is a quad-core chip with 4 MB L2 cache memory, 3.1 / 3.8 GHz frequency, and a DDR-2133 memory controller.
Do keep in mind, though, that this isn't the best chip in the new line. It's the fourth best actually, with the A10-7800 and A10 PRO-7800B between it and the A10 PRO-7850B.
A10 PRO-7850B, a business chip, is a quad-core with 3.7 GHz / 4 GHz clocks, 4 MB cache memory, R7 series graphics (720 MHz, 512 stream processors), DDR3-2133 memory support, and a TDP of 95W.
On the other end of the spectrum there is the dual-core A6 PRO-7400B, with 3.5 GHz / 3.9 GHz clocks, 1 MB cache, R5 graphics (756 MHz, 256 stream processors), DDR3-1866 memory, and 65W TDP.
The specs come from AMD's website, as we said, but you're better off checking with your local retailer or preferred online store to see what they offer, instead of braving the long tables of names and numbers located here. Some, or all, of the chips may only be sold as part of OEM computers though. Finally, the chips with “B” in their names can operate at 35W in addition to 95W (when applicable) 65W and 45W.
