14 DAY TRIAL // AMD is, obviously, working on its next set of processors and has already set up plans for the next few years, plans on which some light has been shed, courtesy of a certain new information leak, though people may just grow more confused because of the codenames.
Like Intel, Advanced Micro Devices is constantly thinking several years ahead in order to always be prepared with a new processor and, since it bought ATI, video cards as well.
In fact, its product portfolio is a bit more varied than Intel's as it includes more than common CPUs (central processing units).
APUs (accelerated processing units) based on the Fusion micro-architecture managed to gain quite a few design wins already, like Acer's recently updated Aspire One 522.
The Sunnyvale, California-based company probably wanted to keep things secret until it was ready to offer information on an official basis.
Unfortunately, market watchers are not so easily thwarted and, one way or another, a leaked slide still found its way into the virtual hands of the folks over at guru3D.
The “Trinity” Llano refresh is purported to have already reached the stage where sample shipments are sent out to OEMs.
Considering that the official launch is scheduled for January, 2012, this might fit with the time line, since motherboard and notebook makers need time to build platforms for the chips.
With E2, A4, A6 and A8-Series naming schemes, all of them are equipped with a better graphics than today, codenamed London/Northern Islands.
Meanwhile, the Bulldozer x86 cores are made on the 32nm architecture, the same node employed in Intel's new Atom D2500 and D2700.
For some reason, the slide tosses in a couple of more code names, Comal and Virgo, for laptops and desktops, respectively.
Considering the fact that the A-series branding will be used for these, it is likely that people will get confused, but the situation won't last for too long.
While they are supposed to come out in the first quarter of 2012 and sold alongside Llano, this will only last until the latter phases out by the second quarter.