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AMD and ARM Team Up

Posted by Soulskill on from the dynamic-duo dept.

Vigile writes "Today AMD is making an announcement that is the first step in a drastic transition for the company by integrating an ARM Cortex A5 processor on the same die with upcoming Fusion APUs. Starting in late 2013, all AMD APUs (processors that are combinations of x86 cores and Radeon SIMD arrays) will also integrate an ARM Cortex A5 processor to handle security for online transactions, banking, identity protection and DRM integration. The A5 is the smallest Cortex processor available, and that would make sense to use it in a full APU so it will not take up more than 10-15 square mm of die space. This marks the first time AMD has licensed ARM technology and while many people were speculating a pure ARM+Radeon hybrid, this move today is being described as the 'first step' for AMD down a new road of dexterity as an IP-focused technology company with their GPU technology as 'the crown jewel.' So while today's announcement might focus on using ARM processors for security purposes, the future likely holds much more these two partners."

9 of 108 comments (clear)

  1. Fan-fucking-tastic. by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So AMD and ARM team up, and the product of their blissful union is an on-die TPM?

    Thanks for nothing, guys.

  2. I don't like the sound of this. by BanHammor · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So, they have these universal processing units, and the ARM part of them is doing fuckall but DRM? I can't exactly say "yay".

  3. They should be called AAA. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why not rename the whole business to AAA, for ARM, AMD, ATI?

    This would also make them the first chip maker in the phone book.

    1. Re:They should be called AAA. by SJHillman · · Score: 5, Funny

      Because then people would be calling them for a tow truck

    2. Re:They should be called AAA. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      what's a phone book?

    3. Re:They should be called AAA. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Not quite the bulldozer you were looking for..

  4. Playstation 4? by dicobalt · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Sounds like a console chip to me.

  5. Re:OMG TPM by TubeSteak · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I simply can not imagine why anybody would intentionally buy a modern computer without these wonderful capabilities.

    Ever since TPM was created, we're always just a few bits and bytes away from having it leveraged against us, by them.
    And by "us" I mean "the computer users."
    By "them" I mean "the hardware manufacturers and software/media companies."

    Example: The newest motherboards don't need the ability to disable trusted boot. Heck, it'd have been easier to not include it!
    We're more or less at the mercy of a small number of companies and their design decisions.
    Worse, we have no real power other than social pressure.

    --
    [Fuck Beta]
    o0t!
  6. Re:A5 is the smallest Cortex? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    It is the smallest core with TrustZone support. The article is wrong.