14 DAY TRIAL // Advanced Micro Devices may have released the high-end A-Series Kaveri accelerated processing units months ago, but there are some chips that have yet to debut, most notably the A8-7600, which, as it turns out, has been delayed.
The A8-7600 is the mid-range processor, featuring fairly balanced x86 computing and AMD Radeon graphics capabilities.
Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the A8-7600 will be the most balanced mid-range chip in the Kaveri line.
Which is to say, the unit is not yet available. And that so happens to be the biggest problem with this whole picture.
You see, the A8-7600 should have come out before the second quarter even started, and we have obviously already passed March by.
Earlier this month, we have even found out that the chip was delayed to the second quarter, which means that it could come out at any point before the end of June.
Sadly, it seems that even that has not proven true, because the processor has, instead, been delayed even further.
This time, there's even an official word from Advanced Micro Devices as to why this is, provided by the folks at VR-Zone.
“Production of the AMD A8-7600 is on track and will be available first to AMD’s OEM customers in Q1 2014, to ensure the introduction of AMD based systems in Q2 2014. Additional parts of the AMD A8-7600 for PIB production will be available for sale in the component channel in 2H 2014.”
No explanation was given for the delay (indeed, AMD made it sound as if there wasn't a delay at all), but it can be assumed that Globalfoundries hasn't managed to bring manufacturing capacity to the desired level, or that demand is too high for pre-build Kaveri PCs, so retail shipments have to wait.
So while we might see OEM systems based on the chip before May and June are over and done with, actual availability is only scheduled for the second half of the year.
So why all the disconsolation? The short version is that the A8-7600 offers 80-90% of the performance of the flagship A10-7850K APU for less than three fourths of the price. Also, its TDP (thermal design power) is of 65W, laptop level.
More specifically, the chip is, or will be, a quad-core model with 3.3 GHz base clock and 3.8 GHZ boost state. All in all, it is a very versatile chip, possible to be used in any pre-built PC, or sold via retail so that you can build a computer with it yourself.