AMD Says Llano Systems Should Become Widely Available This Quarter

AMD started shipping the first A-series Llano accelerated processing units (APUs) at the beginning of this month and the company now expects that the first systems built using these chips to make their appearance in the second quarter of 2011.

The Llano APUs should become a substantial part of the market during the back-to-school season, according to the company.

"We began shipping Llano for revenue on the first quarter, and it is very simply, the most impressive processor in history, featuring a modern graphics architecture,” said Thomas Seifert, interim chief executive officer of AMD, during a recent conference call with financial analysts.

“You should expect to see Llano-based systems widely available in this quarter," added Mr. Seifert.

AMD expects that about 70% of the company's desktop processors shipped in 2012 will be based on the Llano architecture, while the remaining 30% will be represented by Bulldozer and Brazos chips (20% Bulldozer and 10% Brazos).

As mentioned earlier, AMD has already started shipping quad-core Llano A-series accelerated processor units to various computer makers, but the names of the companies that received these chips weren't disclosed.

Llano APUs are based on the K10.5+/Husky x86 architecture and the quad-core desktop chips will be paired together with a BeaverCreek on-die GPU that can pack 320 or 400 stream processors while the dual-core models come with the WinterPark graphics unit that features 160 stream processors.

The chips also sport an integrated dual-channel DDR3 memory controller, a PCI Express controller, up to 4MB of cache and select processors pack AMD's Turbo Core 2.0 dynamic acceleration technology as well as a Hybrid CrossFireX graphics support.

The initial launch, that is planed to take place later this quarter, will include at least four quad-core and one dual-core desktop chip as well as a series of mobile parts. (via Xbit Labs)