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Taipei, Taiwan — Feb 04, `08 — AMD expects to launch its triple-core Phenom 8400 and 8600 at CeBIT 2008 along with its low-power quad-core Phenom 9100e, however the quad-core Phenom 9700 and 9900 CPUs, which were originally scheduled to launch at the same time, will be delayed for both launch and showcase to a later time, DigiTimes reports citing sources at motherboard makers.

DigiTimes further writes, “The delay of Phenom 9700 and 9900 is due to the TLB bug and AMD is still working to raise core frequencies. The company will launch Phenom 9550 and 9650 in the second quarter this year.

AMD will also delay the launch of its second wave triple-core Phenom 8700, 8650 and 8450 CPUs by a month, from their original schedule in early second quarter.” More at DigiTimes.

CES 2008 — Las Vegas — Jan 07, `08 — Intel unveiled 16 products today, including the company’s first 45 nanometer (nm) processors for Intel Centrino Processor Technology based laptops.

With the introduction of the new processors, Intel will offer 32 desktop, laptop and server processors based on these innovations. Intel also announced continuing momentum in ultra mobile computing and WiMAX.

Mobility: Intel Announces Santa Rosa Refresh Product Line
Santa Rosa Refresh – Intel launched “Santa Rosa Refresh,” an update to Intel Centrino processor technology that includes the next-generation 45nm high-k (Hi-k) mobile processor (codenamed “Penryn”) and improved graphics capabilities.

• 45nm Hi-k Intel Core 2 Duo mobile processor for Centrino — Taking advantage of the Hafnium-based, Hi-k metal gate reinvented transistors inside, Santa Rosa Refresh-based notebooks deliver improved platform performance and great battery life. Graphics improvement focuses on HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc support with an optional third-party decoder, as well as enhanced content and gaming capabilities.
• Santa Rosa Refresh for Desktop — Intel will also use this new mobile technology foundation with the energy-efficient performance of the 45nm Intel Core 2 Duo processor to enable a variety of smaller, cooler and quieter, stylish desktop designs.

Mobile Internet Devices:
• Intel confirms “Menlow” platform shipments in the first half of 2008: Intel is getting ready to ship its first-generation low-power platform, codenamed “Menlow,” in the first half of the year. The Menlow platform is comprised of the “Silverthorne” processor and the “Poulsbo” chipset, both being designed from the ground up for MIDs and UMPCs. At CES, Intel provided a sneak peek of some of the upcoming “Menlow”-based devices and applications that are being optimized for this platform.
• Intel unveils customers planning to launch Menlow-based platforms at CES: In a sign of growing momentum behind MIDs and UMPCs, Intel is showcasing a range of Menlow-based devices from customers who expect to ship these products later this year. In its technology showcase, Intel has Menlow-based MIDs and UMPCs from Aigo, Asus, BenQ, Clarion, Compal, Digifriends, EB, Gigabyte, Lenovo, LG-E, LiteOn, Quanta, Toshiba, USI, and Willcom.
• Skype announces support for Intel-based MIDs: Skype announced a collaboration with Intel to develop a mobile Skype experience for MIDs based on Intel low power processors and chipsets. Mobile users will be able to make Skype voice and video calls and send instant messages on the move while harnessing the PC-like performance of Intel’s MIDs. This new category of small, truly mobile consumer devices with WiMAX and Wi-Fi capabilities will enable free Skype-to-Skype voice and video calls and cheap SkypeOut calls to be made on open wireless networks.

WiMAX: Mobile WiMAX Takes the Stage in 2008
Intel’s integrated Wi-Fi/WiMAX module (codenamed “Echo Peak”) will debut in certain next-generation Intel Centrino processor-based laptops (codenamed “Montevina”) beginning in the middle of the year. The company’s low-power mobile WiMAX silicon specifically designed for mobile Internet and consumer electronic devices (codenamed “Baxter Peal”) will also be available this year.

Consumer Desktop PCs: 45nm Goes Mainstream this Quarter
• “Penryn” family of processors comes to mainstream desktop PCs – Intel announced three quad-core and four dual-core 45nm-based processors for consumer desktop PCs arriving later this month and throughout the first quarter of the year. The new 45nm Intel Core 2 Quad and Intel Core 2 Duo processors have a range of speeds and feature large L2 caches and Intel HD Boost, which delivers increased performance on such multimedia applications as video editing and encoding.
• Intel Core 2 Processor with Viiv technology – Intel will also extend the performance and energy efficiency of the new 45nm processors with Intel HD Boost to the Intel Core 2 Processor with Viiv technology platform. The company will also focus future plans on delivering silicon-driven capabilities that support the areas of better connecting, protecting and managing digital content – as well as delivering the performance required to view, share and enjoy it.

• Later this quarter:
– The Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 Processor (3.2 GHz/1600 MHz system bus 45nm Hi-k metal gate processor formerly codenamed “Yorkfield”) and Intel X48 Express Chipset targeted at high-end PC users and enthusiasts. The Intel X48 Express Chipset continues to push the performance envelope with native support for XMP 1600 DDR3 memory.
– “Skulltrail” is a new dual processor-based platform that will provide extreme high-end enthusiasts with a fantastic professional media creation and gaming experience. The platform will feature two quad-core Intel Core 2 Extreme processors for 8-core performance and 4 PCI Express x16 Gen 1.1 slots with planned support for up to 4 graphics cards. More at Intel (in pdf).

Dec 25, `07 — DigiTimes is reporting on AMD adjusting its triple-core CPU model numbers and launch dates, citing sources at motherboard makers.

“AMD will launch two B2 stepping triple-core CPUs, Phenom 8600 and 8400 in March of next year, while in the second quarter, the company will launch three more models, Phenom 8700, 8650 and 8450.

The Phenom 8400 and 8600 will feature core frequencies of 2.1GHz and 2.3GHz, respectively, while the Phenom 8700 will clock at 2.4GHz. Phenom 8650 and 8450 will be based on B3 stepping cores, and will have frequencies of 2.3GHz and 2.1GHz, respectively. All five CPUs will have a 95W TDP.

The high price/performance ratio of the triple-core CPUs could force Intel to cut prices of its quad-core products which could cause higher-end models to cut into sales of lower-end CPUs, noted the sources. However, AMD could also face the same problem, they added.” More at DigiTimes.

Dec 24, `07 — DigiTimes is reporting on AMD notifying its partners that the launch of higher-end quad-core Phenom processors, including the 9700 and 9900, will be postponed to the second quarter of 2008 from the original schedule of early 2008, citing sources at motherboard makers.

“However, whether AMD’s triple-core Toliman series CPUs will also see delay will be the key decision for the company, since Toliman offers a high price/performance ratio compared with Intel’s quad-core CPUs. A delay for Toliman will hurt AMD the most, noted the sources.

The sources commented that the reason for the delay of 9700 and 9900 is because AMD has not yet been able to solve the translation lookaside buffer (TLB) erratum found in the chips.” More at DigiTimes.

On December 19, 2007, AMD released a new AMD Phenom 9600 Black Edition quad-core processor with Clock Multiplier Control for tunable performance. The newest Black Edition processor can improve platform performance by unlocking the potential of AMD OverDrive– the industry’s most powerful Windows-based performance tuning utility. More at AMD.

As per the headline, AMD press release ( click on the thumbnail for a screen shot) has NO mention of any kind of specs / clock speed.

OK! after a little bit Googling, found some specs at X-bit Labs:

“Quad-core AMD Phenom processor 9600 Black Edition will operate at 2.30GHz clock-speed, 2MB shared L3 cache and 512KB dedicated L2 cache per core and will have support for dual-channel PC2-8500 (DDR2 1066MHz), just like the typical AMD Phenom 9600 chip. However, the Black Edition processor has unlocked clock multiplier, which allows enthusiasts to clock the new chip higher than 2.30GHz without any issues that are associated with overclocking.”  More at X-bit Labs.

Taipei, Taiwan — Dec 19, `07 — DigiTimes brings us another Intel launch-delay news, just 2 days after Intel’s X48 chipset postponement.

DigiTimes reports on Intel adjusting its product strategy and delaying three 45nm quad-core CPUs, Core 2 Quad Q9300, Q9450 and Q9550, that were originally scheduled to launch in January next year, citing sources at motherboard makers.

“Intel has already notified its partners that it will push back the launch of the three CPUs to February or March next year, depending on AMD’s schedule for triple-core and the upcoming Phenom CPUs.

Launching the CPUs now will not benefit Intel much in its battle with AMD, while they could cause damage to Intel’s 65nm quad-core CPUs, therefore the company has decided it is in no rush to release new products until AMD is able to present more of a threat.” More at DigiTimes.

NEW YORK — Dec 13, `07 — AMD has delayed shipment of major chip products until next year but aims to return to profitability in 2008, Chief Operating Officer Dirk Meyer said on Thursday, Reuters reports.

Reuters further writes, “AMD, the world’s No. 2 supplier of computer processors, has struggled in the last two years with market share losses and chip shipment delays. It posted four straight quarters of losses this year amid renewed competition from its far larger rival, Intel.

Meyer said AMD would ship its high-end Barcelona chip products and Phenom products in the 2008 first quarter. Speaking at a meeting with analysts, he apologized for delays and promised to do better next year. The Barcelona chip is designed for computer servers and the Phenom chip is aimed at desktop PCs.” More at Reuters.

Dec 04, ‘07 — Slashdot reports on a story by “The Tech Report” on possible chip problems with AMD’s quad-core Opteron, Phenom processors.

“Errata are not uncommon with new processors, but a problem with the TLB logic in AMD’s quad-core Opteron and Phenom processors appears to be quite serious. The erratum is so severe that AMD has issued a ’stop ship’ order on all quad-core Opterons.

AMD has also blamed this bug for the delay of the 2.4GHz Phenom, despite the fact that the erratum is unrelated to clock speed. A BIOS-based workaround for the issue has been made available to motherboard makers, but it apparently carries a 10-20% performance penalty.

What’s more disturbing is that AMD knew of the erratum and the potential performance hit associated with fixing it before it launched the Phenom processor. Hardware provided to the press for reviews did not include the fix, conveniently overstating Phenom performance.”

Excerpts from The Tech Report:

“The erratum is a chip-level issue involving the TLB logic for the L3 cache that can cause system hangs in specific circumstances. AMD has a fix for the problem in the works, but it degrades performance.

In order to better understand this problem, TR spoke with Michael Saucier, Desktop Product Marketing Manager at AMD. Saucier confirmed that the TLB erratum can cause the system to hang when the chip is experiencing high utilization.

Apparently contradicting prior AMD statements on the matter, Saucier flatly denied any relationship between the TLB erratum and chip clock frequencies. He also said there’s no relationship between clock speeds and the performance degradation caused by the BIOS-based fix for the erratum.

we’ve already discovered that our Phenom review overstates the performance of the 2.3GHz Phenom. We tested at a 2.3GHz core clock with a 2.0GHz north bridge clock, because AMD told us those speeds were representative of the Phenom 9600. Our production samples of the Phenom 9500 and 9600, however, have north bridge clocks of 1.8GHz.”

More at The Tech Report.

BANGALORE, India –BUSINESS WIRE– Nov 29, ‘07 — AMD, a leading global provider of innovative processing solutions in the computing, graphics and consumer electronics markets, today announced the opening of a new silicon design and platform research and development (R&D) facility in Bangalore.

As India’s role and importance in AMD’s global R&D network increases, the number of employees in Bangalore continues to grow, requiring a new facility that will accommodate the current team while also providing room for future growth. Employees will move into the new 52,000 square-foot center upon its completion and continue to focus on development of AMD’s most advanced, next-generation processing solutions.

Dr. Hector Ruiz, AMD’s Chairman and CEO, traveled to Bangalore to inaugurate the newly built center, which is comprised of state-of-the-art office space offering a host of modern amenities to improve the overall work experience.

“Our engineering employees in India play a critical role in AMD’s global design network, and this new R&D center gives them the world-class equipment and resources they need to excel,” said Ruiz. “In AMD’s quest to become the technology partner of choice for the industry, this facility is vital to help us design and deliver industry-leading solutions specifically tailored to the needs of our customers in India, and for all our customers worldwide.”

Engineering staffs in Bangalore are playing the lead role on “Shanghai,” AMD’s first 45nm quad-core microprocessor, and are currently involved in design testing and optimization of the new chip. Prior to their efforts on “Shanghai,” teams were responsible for delivering key intellectual property (IP) for the first Quad-Core AMD Opteron microprocessor, previously codenamed “Barcelona.” More at AMD.

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif –BUSINESS WIRE– Nov 19, ‘07 — Kingston today announced it is shipping 1066MHz ValueRAM designed specifically for the new AMD Phenom Processor. Kingston worked closely with AMD on the launch of the Spider Platform, comprised of the new Phenom Processor, ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series graphics card and the AMD 7-Series Chipset, to ensure peak memory performance. Kingston’s 1066MHz ValueRAM modules help take advantage of Phenom’s ability to deliver true quad-core performance.

“The new Phenom processor from AMD will give high-performance and multi-threaded applications room to excel,” said Mark Tekunoff, senior technology manager, Kingston. “DDR2 1066MHz ValueRAM desktop memory has been designed and tested to complement AMD’s new chipset and CPU technologies, giving high-end users the ultimate experience.”

Memory is essential in optimizing the performance of the new Spider Platform. Kingston’s DDR2 memory modules help fuel Phenom’s four natively integrated processor cores, breaking system bandwidth barriers and turbo-charging platform performance.

Kingston DDR2 ValueRAM 1066MHz Specifications
Part Number                    Capacity and Features                                    MSRP (US only)
KVR1066D2N7/512           512MB 1066MHz (CL7-7-7-20 @ 1.8V)              $ 89.00
KVR1066D2N7/1G            1GB 1066MHz (CL7-7-7-20 @ 1.8V)                  $ 178.00
KVR1066D2N7K2/1G        1GB 1066MHz (CL7-7-7-20 @ 1.8V) kit of 2       $ 170.00
KVR1066D2N7K2/2G        2GB 1066MHz (CL7-7-7-20 @ 1.8V) kit of 2       $ 340.00

SAN JOSE, Calif –BUSINESS WIRE– Nov 19, ‘07 — Samsung announced today that its highest-speed DDR2 main memory and its fastest graphics memory have been designed to work smoothly with the new AMD Phenom processors and new ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series of graphics processing units (GPU) for desktop PCs.

AMD Phenom processors provide a high-speed L3 2MB cache to enhance the information flow between processor cores, main memory, and graphics and video accelerators.

The Samsung 512 megabit (Mb) DRAM (dynamic random access memory), capable of 1066 million data transfers per second, is Samsung’s fastest DDR2 chip and is available in densities up to 1 gigabyte (GB) per module.

“AMD is delighted that Samsung is producing a high performance memory solution well suited for our new AMD Phenom processors,” said Bob Brewer, corporate vice president of marketing and strategy, AMD. “Samsung’s leading-edge GDDR4 and GDDR3 graphics memory can provide a significant performance boost for systems that use our ATI Radeon HD GPUs.”

Samsung’s fastest memory chip – its GDDR4 1.2Ghz has been designed to be fully compatible with AMD’s new ATI Radeon HD 3870 GPU. ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series of GPUs transfer data at 72 gigabits (Gbps) per second, while consuming less power than current ATI graphics processors. In addition, Samsung’s 900Mhz GDDR3 is engineered to work seamlessly with the ATI Radeon HD 3850 GPU. Samsung’s 1.2 Ghz GDDR4 is offered in a 16Mx32 configuration, while the 900 Mhz GDDR3 is available in a 8Mx32 configuration.

The AMD Phenom processor incorporates four natively integrated processor cores and provides a system bandwidth of up to 14.4 Gbps of high bandwidth I/O. The ATI Radeon HD 3800 series is designed for Windows Vista, with the ability to navigate the Windows Aero 3D user interface.

Samsung‘s 1.2 Ghz GDDR4 and 900 Mhz GDDR3 are now in mass production. Samsung’s DDR2-1066 DRAM is planned to be mass produced beginning at the end of the year.

SUNNYVALE, Calif. — November 19, 2007 –Rewriting the rules for enthusiast computing, AMD today unveiled its new platform codenamed “Spider”, with the first true quad-core processor supporting scalable graphics for The Ultimate Visual Experience. The AMD Spider platform combines the introduction of AMD Phenom quad-core processors, ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series graphics processors with Microsoft DirectX 10.1 support, AMD 7-Series chipsets with CrossFireX and AMD OverDrive software. The AMD Spider platform is a major milestone on the path to Accelerated Computing, AMD’s vision for platform-level acceleration through co-processing.

AMD’s Spider platform advances enthusiast computing by delivering the most sophisticated multi-GPU enthusiast platform ever with ATI CrossFireX technology. The combination of the energy-efficient 55nm ATI Radeon HD 3800 Series of graphics processors and the increased system bandwidth of PCI Express® Generation 2.0 and HyperTransport 3.0 technology, provide optimal processing power for a scalable HD multi-GPU experience. AMD design and manufacturing innovation has enabled the AMD Spider platform to easily scale to three or four graphics processors and deliver a true gaming supercomputer.

HD Technology
With HyperTransport 3.0 technology, AMD Phenom processors have more system bandwidth than ever before with up to 14.4 GB/second of high bandwidth I/O. When combined with the additional bandwidth of AMD PCI Express 2.0 chipsets and graphics processors, the AMD Spider platform enjoys maximum bandwidth to support smooth 1080P video playback, enhanced multi-GPU and high-speed disk and network interfaces. With the only true quad-core processor and infrastructure flexibility with AM2+ socket, AMD processors are designed to be compatible with future 65nm and 45nm AMD Phenom processors to deliver key performance gains.

The addition of UVD ensures exceptional platform efficiency and image quality in HD-DVD and Blu-ray decoding for both H.264 and VC-1 specifications. Big screen gaming and entertainment is also made easy with enhanced HDMI connectivity with integrated HDCP and audio for HDMI video.

Scalable Platform Performance
The multi-core design of AMD Phenom quad-core processors, based on Direct Connect Architecture, features an integrated memory controller designed to support memory speeds up to DDR2 1066, 128-bit floating point units and AMD’s Balanced Smart Cache for rapid access to memory, with a shared L3 cache for leading-edge performance on multi-threaded software.

Availability and pricing
AMD Phenom processors 9600 (2.3GHz) and 9500 (2.2GHz) are now available for $283 and $251 respectively in 1,000-unit pricing. The ATI Radeon HD 3850 with 256MB of GDDR3 memory begins at US $179 MSRP and the ATI Radeon HD 3870 with 512MB GDDR4 memory from US $219 MSRP, available from AMD’s selected graphics products partners.

Taipei — Nov 08, ‘07 — Amid stiff barriers from 90nm and 65nm conversion, sources at Taiwan motherboard makers do not expect AMD to roll out the highest frequency 2.6GHz version of its new quad-core Phenom CPU family before 2008. Says Digitimes.

Digitimes further reports, “The sources noted that AMD will only introduce two Phenom CPU at the November 19 launch, the 2.2GHz 9500 and 2.3GHz 9600 models. A 2.4GHz 9700 model is expected to launch during December, but a 2.6GHz one will not be introduced until 2008, they noted.

While expressing satisfaction about the new 65nm desktop CPU lineup, the motherboard makers explained the key reason for AMD failing to meet its roadmap on the launch of a 2.6GHz Phenom is because of barriers relating to conversion to 65nm.

However, the sources highlighted the competitive pricing that AMD is planning to offer. Prices for the 9500 and 9600 CPUs may be as low as US$250 and US$270 for some channels and OEMs, while the officially announced prices will be US$280 and US$320. The 9700 processor will be priced at around US$300, the sources added.” More at Digitimes.

Digitimes is reporting on price cut of AMD Desktop CPUs. “AMD has cut pricing of its single-core Athlon 64 and dual-core Athlon 64 X2 CPUs for desktop platforms and has added a new Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Black Edition to its lineup. The cuts range between 5-28%, according to figures from the company.

AMD has announced the price reductions in order to clear inventory in preparation for the upcoming launch of its Phenom CPUs, noted sources at motherboard makers.”

More at Digitimes…