AMD to show netbook processors tomorrow?
updated 01:30 pm EST, Wed November 12, 2008
AMD netbook chips Thurs.?
AMD could introduce new proprietary mobile processors as soon as tomorrow, reports indicate. In July, CEO Dirk Meyer announced that a response to Intel's Atom processors -- aimed at netbooks and mobile Internet devices -- would be mentioned in a Q4 analysts conference, which is scheduled for Thursday. One possibility is the announcement of Bobcat, which was first hinted at 18 months ago and is rumored to have a 1GHz 64-bit core, an 800MHz HyperTransport link and a DDR2 memory controller, together consuming 8W of power or less.
This would in theory be greater consumption than Intel's Diamondville Atom variant, which uses 2.5W, except that Diamondville is also dependent on a 22W northbridge chip and includes an integrated graphics core.
Other possibilities include AMD's "Ultra-Value Client" processors, which have been expected to ship in the near future and come closer in specification to Atom. The 3250e is a dual-core chip slated to run at 1.5GHz, consuming 22W; the single-core 2650e is rated at 1.6GHz, like most Atoms, but should use only 15W.
