14 DAY TRIAL // Despite being touted in a more or less official form for quite some time now, AMD's brand-new series of APUs (accelerated processing units) have just now managed to find their way onto the market, the company opting for a CES launch of their new products simply because most of their partners will have quite a few Fusion-packing products on display.
As some of you might know already, the AMD Fusion Family of Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) incorporate – in a single die design – multi-core CPU (x86) technology, a powerful DirectX11-capable discrete-level graphics and parallel processing engine, a dedicated high-definition video acceleration block, and a high-speed bus that speeds data across the differing types of processor cores within the design.
The 2011 low power platform (formerly codenamed "Brazos") enhances the everyday computing experience and is available beginning today in two APU variations: E-Series and C-Series.
These APUs feature the new x86 CPU core codenamed "Bobcat," AMD's first new x86 core since 2003 and was designed from the ground up to deliver an enhanced mobile performance.
The 2011 mainstream platform is primarily intended for performance and mainstream notebooks and mainstream desktops and will feature the 32nm die A-Series "Llano" APU, which includes up to four x86 cores and a DirectX 11-capable discrete-level GPU, and is scheduled to ship in the first half of 2011 and appear in products mid-year.
"We believe that AMD Fusion processors are, quite simply, the greatest advancement in processing since the introduction of the x86 architecture more than forty years ago," said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, AMD Products Group.
"In one major step, we enable users to experience HD everywhere as well as personal supercomputing capabilities in notebooks that can deliver all-day battery life. It's a new category, a new approach, and opens up exciting new experiences for consumers," added Mr. Bergman.
New generations of desktop, notebook and HD netbooks are now available based on AMD Fusion APUs at affordable price points, while tablets and embedded designs based on AMD Fusion APUs are expected be available later in Q1 2011.
AMD expects leading manufacturers Acer, Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Lenovo, MSI, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba to announce plans to deliver AMD Fusion APU-based systems, which means that we'll have our hands full over the next couple of days.