14 DAY TRIAL // In addition to detailing some of the specifications and features of its upcoming Fusion chip, the much-anticipated Llano microprocessor, the Sunnyvale, California-based Advanced Micro Devices has also released details about the 2010 and 2011 product roadmap, which includes new processors called Bulldozer and Bobcat. According to Rick Bergman, senior VP and general manager for the company's product group, AMD's basic roadmaps have not changed over the past year and the products were “ahead of schedule.”
AMD's 2010 product roadmap includes four PC platforms, including the Danube and Nile in the mobile segment and Leo and Dorado in the desktop segment. The chip maker aims to boost the performance of its mobile products, while also improving the battery life and enable support for DirectCompute and OpenCL, as well as DirectX 11. The Danube will include 45nm quad-core processors, while the Nile will offer 45nm dual-core processors, designed for ultra-thin notebooks.
On the server side, AMD will release the Maranello platform, with the introduction of its Opteron 6000 series, featuring 8-core and 12-core processors, codenamed Magny-Cours, designed for two- and four-socket servers. In addition, the chip maker is also preparing the San Marino platform, with 4- and 6-core Lisbon processors, which will boast sub-6-watt cores. The Opteron 6000 series will be updated in 2011 with the introduction of Interlagos processors featuring 12-core and 16-core designs, based on the upcoming Bulldozer core.
Bulldozer is AMD's next-generation CPU architecture, seen as the successor of the K10 architecture and expected to be available in 2011. Bobcat, on the other hand, is a low-power processor that will be designed to compete with Intel's Atom in the MID and CE markets. Llano and Ontario are the company's much-anticipated APUs, designed for the desktop and mobile segment, respectively. They will feature DX 11 integrated graphics and are due out sometime in 2011.