14 DAY TRIAL // Since it was revealed all those months ago, the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface standard has actually grown in popularity. Still, it hasn't become nearly as widespread as it could have been if Intel and Advanced Micro Devices had decided to include native support for it in their latest chipset releases. Now, AMD appears to be eager to remedy this state of affairs, and the upcoming southbridge seems poised to become the means by which this goal will be achieved.
Nothing official has actually been said on the matter, since IT companies are known for their reluctance to reveal any details ahead of launch, unless it serves their purpose, of course. Still, market watchers being who they are, it was only a matter of time before rumors shed some light on the fate of the technology. The most recent one was published by Digitimes and implies that the upcoming Hudson D1 southbridge will come with native USB 3.0 support.
The Hudson D1 soutbridge will be launched alongside the Ontario processors. These APUs (accelerated processing units) are based on TSMC's 40nm manufacturing process technology and have on-die graphics. This platform will be aimed at ultra-thin PCs, notebooks and netbooks. In Q3, the Sunnyvale, California-based outfit will bring out other CPUs, including the six-core Phenom II X6 1045T, the dual-core X2 560, as well as triple-core and quad-core Athlon II chips. The Hudson should come afterwards.
All in all, the market should finally see the first chipset with integrated SuperSpeed support before the year is out, sometime during the fourth quarter to be exact. After that, the market should finally be graced with a steady inflow of USB 3.0-enabled PCs. To make this happen, AMD has supposedly contacted Renesas Electronics, the one behind the making of NEC's uPD720200 controller, regarding licensing its technology. It is also quite possible that the 2011-bound Llano will come hand-in-hand with USB 3.0 motherboards.