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AMD Plans Simultaneous Desktop and Mobile Chip Releases

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the everybody-skate dept.

wh173b0y writes "Tom's Hardware reports that AMD is planning to release both it's dual-core desktop and mobile chips at the same time. This news comes after AMD, who have been fairly quiet since the release of the Athlon FX-55, came up shorter than intel on the release dates for it's dual-core processors. Intel on the other hand has been busy planning more than a dozen different chips to release as well as pressing its software designers to embrace its 64-bit architecture."

43 of 199 comments (clear)

  1. Eff pee? by dosius · · Score: 2

    I would like to see a chip that would work as both mobile AND desktop...

    Moll.

    --
    What you hear in the ear, preach from the rooftop Matthew 10.27b
    1. Re:Eff pee? by Eric+Smith · · Score: 2, Insightful
      I'd like to see a product that's a floor was AND a dessert topping. But it's only gonna happen on SNL.

      There are much different tradeoffs that have to be made in chip design for low power vs. high performance.

    2. Re:Eff pee? by MatthewNewberg · · Score: 3, Informative

      I currently run a AMD Mobie 2600+ (forgot the wattage). The thing is great, overlocks easily (isn't clocked locked)and with pretty cheap, normal, quite cooling solutions. Not only that, but it also runs a lot cooler then the normal athlon XP which means you dont need as many fans. It is so nice to have a CPU that doesn't go over 100F, and the case temp to go with it. I really hope in the future that AMD continues to make mobile processors that you can use in desktops.

      --
      mnewberg.com
    3. Re:Eff pee? by Jozer99 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Step 1: Buy laptop
      Step 2: Unpack laptop
      Step 3: Plug laptop power adapter into laptop
      Step 4: Plug laptop power adpater into laptop
      Step 5: Plug monitor into laptop
      Step 6: Plug USB Keyboard into laptop
      Step 7: Plug USB Mouse into laptop
      Step 8: Turn laptop on
      Step 9: ???
      Step 10: Profit

      Seems simple to me.

    4. Re:Eff pee? by Laebshade · · Score: 2, Informative

      You mean like the AMD Mobile Athlon XPs? I know you meant dual-core, but still.... these nice gems go in (most) desktops and laptops.

  2. Maybe it's just me... by Avyakata · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Isn't that kind of a bad strategy? I mean, won't they take away the attention from each other? I'd think it'd be better to make a spectacle of one, wait for people to invest interest in it, then, once the hype dies down, release the other to a similar effect. Won't this move minimize public attention?

    1. Re:Maybe it's just me... by eyegone · · Score: 4, Funny


      If they understood marketing, they'd be Intel.

      --
      "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
    2. Re:Maybe it's just me... by Che+Guevarra · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The difference is that each brand of detergent is not stamped Proctor and Gamble (atleast not overtly). Most people have no idea that every single detergent on the shelf at the grocery store is made by the same company. Proctor and Gamble uses this very expensive strategy to insulate each brand from negative consumer perceptions AND to eat up shelf space ANONYMOUSLY. Does AMD plan to place their name on both chips? If so, the Detergent analogy does not apply. Sorry to be a punk, I'm taking a marketing class this semester.

    3. Re:Maybe it's just me... by mike5904 · · Score: 2, Informative

      Wrong. Although these statements are often referred to as Moore's law, they are much more accurately termed corrolaries: the "law" actually only states that the number of transistors on a chip will double every 18 months. This is after a revision process as well, since I believe the original statement used either 6 or 12 months. According to Wikipedia, in 1975 he revised his law further, to a two year doubling period.

  3. What would I do with $1000? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Two cores at the same time.

  4. News flash by Wesley+Felter · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Desknotes use the same processors as desktops, so of course they come out at the same time. And now that all the desktop chips have power management, the difference between "desktop" and "mobile" chips is very little.

    1. Re:News flash by GoatPigSheep · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Well not exactly, my centrino notebook has a 75 watt power supply, for the WHOLE SYSTEM.

      A high ghz P4 can use 1.5 x that JUST FOR THE MICROPROCESSOR. The power management on the P4 is just to keep your electricity bill down...

      --
      GoatPigSheep, the 3 most important food groups
    2. Re:News flash by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 2, Informative

      Desktop and mobile chips mean a lot in difference, it's not just about having more idle modes. The thermal design power of the fastest Pentium M chip is 25 watts. The slower and ultra low volt P-Ms are in the mid-single digits. I am certain that the leakage power at idle of even a slow desktop Athlon 64 is higher than the fastest Pentium M running at 100%.

    3. Re:News flash by default+luser · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You'd be surprised. I certainly was.

      The numbers for the Athlon 64 Winchester core are quite impressive...but this is because they havn't cranked up the voltage to produce anything faster than a 3500+ core yet.

      But take this, for example:

      3200+ Winchester.
      30w full-load (2.0GHz)
      10w Idle.
      3w Idle with Cool N' Quiet enabled (thanks to half core speed and even lower voltage)
      ~10w moderate load (Cool N' Quiet clocking the processor at 1GHz most of the time, 2GHz when performance demands it).

      I have one, and this sucker barely tops 100F at full load (stock Antec Sonata with Zalman 7000A throttled down to %50). I have also seen no issues with the dynamic clock speed, only one of the games I've tried was affected (UT 2003).

      I imagine the notebook versions are even better, as they come with more than two levels of power management. The Pentium M has some serious competition when it comes to low power usage.

      --

      Man is the animal that laughs.
      And occasionally whores for Karma.

  5. Arr. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "Intel on the other hand has been busy planning more than a dozen different chips to release as well as pressing its software designers to embrace its 64-bit architecture."

    Good luck with that.

    AMD already rules the x86 64-bit market. AMD chips are currently more power efficient and produce less heat (on average, let's not compare high efficiency chips to 'normal' chips on either side of the table). Not to mention, who needs dual core, when you can have eight eight-core Opterons*? Sixty-four cores! Mmmm, there's the beef.

    It's so nice to see Intel trying desperately to catch up to AMD. ;) Insert quips about mighty falling, tables turning, et cetera.

    * Yeah, yeah, they won't be here tomorrow. I can dream, damn it.

    1. Re:Arr. by Glock27 · · Score: 2, Informative
      While AMD seems to have the upper hand in design, intel is stomping them into the dirt on sales.

      That isn't really true...AMD has been gaining marketshare again recently. It is up to around 18% of the overall market, and is rapidly increasing its sales of server/workstation chips. Opteron went from 3.5% of server sales in 2003 to 6.5% in 2004. That is almost 100% growth, all at Intel's expense.

      AMD has been behind in mobile offerings, but Turion may change that - it competes directly with Pentium-M (the processor part of the 'Centrino' marketing package).

      Plus, AMD is set to ramp up it's CPU production capacity quickly over the next couple years, to around 100 million processors per year. If it can sell all of them, that will put it close to 50% of the market at that point (give or take). Given the power savings and mostly superior performance with AMD chips, things are looking good...

      --
      Galileo: "The Earth revolves around the Sun!"
      Score: -1 100% Flamebait
  6. It is good we still have competition by Husgaard · · Score: 5, Insightful
    It drives the market forward, forcing all parties to innovate.

    But take a moment to think about the current software patent madness, and what would have happened if this had been the case with semiconductor patents in 1980. In this scenario we would be lucky if Intel announced that the 486 would hit the market next year.

    If a company has a monopoly there is no incentive to innovate. Patents are monopolies, but they have to be balanced so the incentive to innovate is not taken away.

    1. Re:It is good we still have competition by qbwiz · · Score: 2, Insightful

      As far as I am aware, there's a patent minefield around these types of chips. The reason we have chips as advanced as they are is cross-licensing between Intel, Cyrix, and AMD, because all three (or AMD and Intel, at least) have important patents.

      --
      Ewige Blumenkraft.
    2. Re:It is good we still have competition by Lehk228 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      actually IBM required there be more than one source for all their parts, so in order for intel chips to be used in the IBM PC they had to license the tech to AMD.

      --
      Snowden and Manning are heroes.
  7. Re:Dual core laptops? by Splork · · Score: 3, Informative

    keep your pants on. only one CPU core runs when on battery and most likely not even at full speed.

  8. It's... by neutron2000 · · Score: 2, Informative

    ...not it's, it's its. Holy crap. And it's even an entity... It took effort to be that wrong.

  9. Correction by leathered · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "..as well as pressing its software designers to embrace its 64-bit architecture."

    Should read 'embrace AMD's architecture'.

    --
    For all intensive porpoises your a bunch of rediculous loosers
  10. How does it know? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    How does the chip know which mode to run in? Probably a jumper.

  11. Editing nazi by Neo-Rio-101 · · Score: 2, Funny
    "We have still room to sclae the chip through 2005 and 2006 and expect the chip to be the best performing enthusiast and gaming processor," (sic) from article.

    I wonder how one sclaes a chip through several years? ;)

    --
    READY.
    PRINT ""+-0
  12. Re:Older Laptops by ekul.taylor · · Score: 2, Informative

    Socket 939 and 940 will work (you will probabley need a bios update). If I remember correctly socket 754 should work as well. Thank you integrated memory controller. That is only for the first release of dual core chips. Once the cores have shared cache and the like I think you need new core logic for the northbridge

  13. Two questions: by MacGabhain · · Score: 5, Insightful
    When is the last time Intel met a release schedule?

    When is the last time Intel failed to abandon at least a fourth of their in-development product line?

    Intel anouncing a dozen different dual-core processors for a range of machines is a joke, and frankly isn't even very good hype. Even if I believed it, I wouldn't be impressed. You don't NEED 12 different lines. Make 5 and make them right: 1) Super low power notebook; 2) performance notebook; 3) main-stream desktop; 4) enthusiast-gamer desktop; 5) Hardcore teraflops. (Oh wait... this is Intel. Better skip that last one. They're not exactly known for putting their effort into general-purpose FPUs.)

    1. Re:Two questions: by toddestan · · Score: 2, Funny

      Make 5 and make them right: 1) Super low power notebook; 2) performance notebook; 3) main-stream desktop; 4) enthusiast-gamer desktop; 5) Hardcore teraflops.

      Isn't that what they already got?
      1. Pentium M
      2. Pentium 4M
      3. Pentium 4
      4. Pentium 4EE
      5. Itanium??

      Oh wait, you said make them RIGHT. Nevermind.

    2. Re:Two questions: by MacGabhain · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Sure. And I can order the 2.6GHz Opteron that tests out about the same there for $850 (It's the 252 in the test system). Best price I can find for an Itanium 2 1.5GHz is $6500. Yes, that's the CPU price.

      So, yeh, as long as you don't mind spending 7 times as much, you can get the FPU performance out of Intel.

  14. Intel have 12+ new chips on the drawing board by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    And AMD have a similar number.

    - Faster Semprons
    - Faster Athlon 64s
    - Faster Athlon FXs
    - Faster Athlon 64Ms
    - Faster Opterons
    - New Dual Core Opterons
    - New Dual Core Athlon 64s
    - New Dual Core Athlon 64Ms
    - Upcoming 65nm Opterons (both single and dual core)
    - Upcoming 65nm Athlon 64s (single, dual, FX)

    And there are probably plans for Quad-core Opterons, etc, at 65nm, and so on.

  15. Re:Dual core laptops? by Wesley+Felter · · Score: 5, Funny

    You better keep your pants on; otherwise you could end up with a nasty burn.

  16. Catch-22 by Luthair · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Most have no use for dual cores and devs have no reason to implement support until their customers have them.

    1. Re:Catch-22 by Grey+Ninja · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I think in this case, it's much like 64-bit. If you build it, they will come. High end performance freaks like to have stuff like that. You can run Winamp and a game at the same time, or who knows what. It's not REALLY useful, but it's useful enough that people want it. As CPU manufacturers start to build them, a market will generate. As that happens, devs will begin to support the new market.

    2. Re:Catch-22 by swillden · · Score: 5, Informative

      Most have no use for dual cores and devs have no reason to implement support until their customers have them.

      I don't agree that most people have no use for dual cores. Sure, most applications don't make use of them, but all modern operating systems are multi-tasking and the ability to have one CPU taking care of all of the common busywork while the other one is crunching on whatever your main task is does make a difference.

      If you don't believe me, find a dual processor machine sometime and spend some time working on it. It's surprising how much smoother and more responsive it is -- often, a dual-processor machine *feels* faster than a single-processor machine with far more than twice the actual performance. I have a dual 500Mhz PII box that still surprises me every time I touch it. It feels faster than my 1.4 GHz Athlon and seems about as quick to respond as my Athlon64 3400+.

      For common tasks, users will find they actually prefer two cores at 1 GHz over one core at 4 GHz. The dual-core machine will be cooler (and therefore quieter) and will often be more responsive, even though it will be much slower at straight-line CPU-bound tasks.

      People will like these.

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
  17. Intel Recovers Fast by ackthpt · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Intel, which shrugged off the idea of 64 CPU's a couple years ago, as something people didn't need, has made up for this gaffe and is not only getting ready to sell their dual core line, but have already indicated the run of the Pentium IV is soon to be over.

    Next thing you'll hear from Santa Clara, 'why, we practically invented it!'

    So what kind of Las Vegas act will they enlist to push dual core? Probably twins or something, as Sigfried and Roy are shutdown.

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  18. Eh... not really a big deal by doormat · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Since its just AMD's desktop-replacement line of chips, its the same thing as if Intel putting Pentium Ds in DTR laptops. Besides, Tom's Hardware is the Fox News of tech news, heavily intel/nvidia biased.

    --
    The Doormat

    If you're not outraged, then you're not paying attention.
  19. Coming from a gamer by cr0y · · Score: 3, Insightful

    A highend mobile chip would be awesome, I would happily toss the extra money for a desktop replacement if it ran the games just as well as my current desktop, (which shouldnt be hard, A64 3000+, 1024,R9800Pro)

    I have been waiting for an athlon 64 notebook with a mobile radeon x800 for months...anyone know when this thing is due for release?

    --

    ItWasFree.com - Take the mystery
  20. So BRING IT ALREADY! by eWarz · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I've been holding back on upgrading for a LONG time. I Almost upgraded when PCI Express and DDR2 came about, but with the news that dual-core CPUs were just around the corner, i decided to wait for that. I'd prefer AMD over Intel.

    FYI running on an AMD Athlon 2400+, MSI K7T-Turbo2 (KT133a chipset), 3 GB RAM, Geforce 6800Ultra, SB Audigy, Maxtor 80 GB special edition. While this PC isn't exactly a slouch in it's own right. (tends to outrun every machine i've touched, and since i do freelance computer repair, i touch alot of them!) I feel that new technology has passed me by and it's FINALLY time to catch up!

    Bring it on!

    Windows XP Uptime: 11months 2days 17hrs 41mins 37secs

  21. Intel Roadmap? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    While it seems nice that Intel has tried to pass off AMD's 64-bit solution as theirs and tried to pass of the idea of dual-cores as theirs, it seems clear that one of these companies is executing its roadmap and one is trying not to get runover by the competition.

    I still see clear technical advantages due to foresight in AMD's architecture (NUMA, Hypertransport) that support their dual-core designs. I see no such a roadmap/foresight from Intel. How do they plan on getting data to these dual-core Xeons fast enought so that their buses are not the bottleneck?

  22. Re:Who currently sells an AMD 64-bit laptop? by Jollyeugene · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Try HP zv5400 or Compaq R3000Z series, among many others.

    I am posting from my Athlon3000+ 64bit laptop with its sick 1.6 GHZ BUS. I purchased this a month ago for $950 dollars from Staples. Yes 64bit laptops are out there-- and they can be found for cheap.

    And, yes it is fast. And, yes it runs a 64bit OS-- debian pure64.

    I would HATE to think of what I would have had to spend on this machine if I had gone with a Pentium 4 with HyperThreading. Compairing compiles with a friends Dell Pentium 4 is truly hillarious-- this thing murders it. The Athlon64 runs fairly cool too-- idles at 98 degrees in Linux.

    64 is the way to go, IMO.

  23. Dual core used by what by smallguy78 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    To quote the intel article:

    Parallelism will allow to chip developers to speed up processors ten-fold between 2005 and 2008, the executive said. "By the end of the decade, mainstream desktops will handle eight threads, mainstream servers 32 threads"...

    Although great news for games players, developers and media users, how is 8 processors going to be any benefit to the average corporate desktop that uses MS Office, IE and handful of other non-processor-intensive apps?

    It seems like dual and multicore technology will be a complete waste for these machines, which probably make up the majority of the desktop market.

    --
    Nothing costs nothing
  24. Not quite Intel is selling more 64bit chips by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    AMD already rules the x86 64-bit market

    Actually, they don't. Copying from http://news.com.com/IBM+extends+lead+in+server+mar ket+-+page+2/2100-1010_3-5587722-2.html?tag=st.nex t:

    "AMD pioneered the addition of 64-bit extensions to x86 in 2003 with its Opteron. Intel followed suit halfway through 2004. Despite AMD's earlier arrival, more revenue came from servers using Intel's 64-bit Xeon chips, McLaughlin said: $1.3 billion for Xeon servers, compared with $838 million for Opteron servers"

    Notice that Intel has a huge market share in the x86 world so all people who bought servers before Opteron bought Intel, and they continue doing the same despite of the Opteron goodness. If you look at the desktop processor market, is going to happen the same: Intel has 80% of the market share, and as soon as they start selling 64-bit enabled P4s, most of the x86-64 installed base will be from Intel, not from AMD.

    1. Re:Not quite Intel is selling more 64bit chips by FuzzyBad-Mofo · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Intel has 80% of the market share

      Yeah but a few years ago, Intel had over 90% marketshare. AMD has come a long way. People used to give me strange looks when I told them I preferred AMD over Intel (this was in the Super Socket 7 days, when AMD had PC-100 and Intel was still using PC-66).

      There's nothing wrong with Intel products (FDIV jokes aside), they make solid chips that perform decently. But the price/performance award goes to AMD hands down, and has for some time.

  25. Re:Who currently sells an AMD 64-bit laptop? by kf6auf · · Score: 2, Informative

    I sure hope you are talking about Fahrenheit there as I think most people would assume that when not specified CPU temperature is in Celsius and 98C is pretty warm (and I don't even know if a pair of pants would protect your jewels from that furnace). Anyway, metric is the way to go -- but then maybe I should tell that to the JPL engineers across the street, so I guess for now I will settle for not making the rest of the world think we are all stupid for being American by at least letting them know we are using Fahrenheit.

    Now, since /. is primarily American, mod me to hell just for asking for the units.