14 DAY TRIAL // The second generation of FX central processing units from AMD, with 8 Vishera cores and up to 5 GHz clock, might end up waiting for replacements for a longer time than originally expected.
Until recently, it was believed that Advanced Micro Devices would release a new generation, the third, of FX processors in 2014.
They would be based on a new architecture, better than Vishera, and would be better in every possible way, maybe even featuring more than 8 cores (unlikely but possible).
The new roadmap that the company revealed during APU14 (the latest AMD Developer Summit), however, does not corroborate those assumptions.
In fact, the only new CPUs that will come out next year are Warsaw server chips featuring 12 or 16 Piledriver cores.
This is not counting the Beema and Mullins ultra low-voltage accelerated processing units, which we covered the other day.
So, with no new FX CPUs in sight, that means the 4.7 GHz FX-9370 and 5 GHz FX-9590 will have to somehow hold the fort for another year.
Maybe AMD will at least boost their clocks a bit, even though they're already obscenely high, but it's not like they'll be any better at matching Intel's overpowered Core i7 beasts even then.
Maybe the Sunnyvale company doesn't need to bother though. Program and game developers have been getting better at implementing multi-core support, and since 8 cores aren't really used fully right now, it could be that there is no need for a serious upgrade to FX if it's only in 2014 that applications will reach the point where the current-generation Vishera can be used properly.
Then again, that's not something that prospective buyers are likely to look too much into, so a one-year delay in an update to the high-end FX line will not be looked upon favorably regardless.
There's still the possibility that AMD still plans a refresh though, even if it didn't include those plans in the roadmap slides. We can only wait and see.
