News Bits: New AMD Roadmap, Intel Adds Another IGP, MSI Polishes Wooden Laptop

AMD roadmap shows new Turion, Athlon, Semprons

Image courtesy ComputerBase

AMD's roadmap for 2008 has been revealed by ComputerBase.de, a German website. The new CPUs codenamed "Lion" are for the upcoming Puma platform. Two models, the AMD Turion 64 Ultra and Turion 64 dual-core have 2MB and 1MB of L2 cache respectively, and support DDR2-800 memory. Clockspeeds of the CPUs range from 2.0 to 2.4GHz, and TDP ranges from 32 to 35W. A single-core Athlon 64 chip is also on the roadmap, with 1MB of L2, DDR2-667 support, and a TDP of 31W.

The lower-end Sempron chips, codenamed "Sable", have 512kb of L2, clockspeeds starting at 2.0GHz, and a 25W TDP.

AMD claims the new processors optimize power more efficiently than their current processors. The company plans to start shipping the laptop halfway through 2008.

Read More (Laptoping.com)

Intel adds another IGP to Centrino 2

Intel has added another Integrated Graphics Processor (IGP) to its Montevina notebook platform, the performance/mainstream GM47 model. It has built-in GMA X4500HD graphics like the GM45, but a faster core of 640MHz. It supports DirectX 10 and Shader Model 4.0, and will feature support for DVI, HDMI, and Display Port.

Read More (DigiTimes.com)

MSI introduces Wind Laptop

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Image courtesy Notebook Italia

MSI has introduced a UMPC called the Wind. It is built on the Intel Shelton platform with a 10-inch display. It is available with processor speeds ranging from 1.0 to 1.6GHz, 2.5-inch hard drives or SSDs, and a claimed 7 hour battery life with Linux or Windows.

Price range is expected to be from €299 ($458) to €699 ($1072) depending on configuration. There is no information available on a release date.

Read More (Gizmodo.com)

More new MSI notebooks at CeBIT

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Image courtesy Engadget

MSI introduced several new notebooks at CeBIT, including the wood-clad GX620 pictured here. It is also available in a leather and carbon fiber finish. The GX620 features Turbo Battery technology to increase battery life up to 20%. MSI also introduced the 17-inch GX720, which is available in a black lacquer finish.

Read More (Engadget.com)

TSA doesn't know what a MacBook Air is
Apparently, a traveler was held up when his MacBook Air was taken aside because it was odd and ended up missing his flight. The TSA employee could not believe it was a laptop because it had no optical drive and no ports on the back. The traveler ended up being able to go through security after the notebook was explained to the employee by colleagues.

Read More (Engadget.com)

 

Wait, 2.4GHZ 2MB cache as AMD high end CPU?!?!

and intel has 3.0 GHZ 1066 FSB 6MB cache mobile QC in the making???

AMD has to step it up....

 

the MBA thing cracks me up :laugh:

 

Woah, that wooden laptop is way cool.

 

Wind...air...whats with the names?

 

ASUS had one of those too..

Apparently, the 17 inc h"gaming" laptop from MSI has an AMAZING 8400m GS

 

Don't forget cloud

 

That's funny about the MBA...I hope that guy got through to his destination without any more trouble.

Who doesn't know about the Air, even if you don't like it?

 

I think TSA agents are too busy at being inefficient to take notice of Apple's new products.

 

mba part killed me!

 

In both the Engadget story and the blogger's own version, an optical drive is not mentioned. It can be assumed that the TSA in question was talking about the SSD, since a spinning hard drive would be something they were trained to look for on the x-ray machines.

Overall the whole story seems like a piece of viral marketing. The blogger goes on and on about how his little MBA is attracting the attention of "twenty percent of the security force" and how "new products on the market [...] haven't been TSA approved." I also found it interesting how the first TSA failed to recognize the Air but went on to note its lack of a spinning hard drive and no external USB ports. Let's not forget how something like this would only take a minute or two, yet somehow his "flight is long gone." Just doesn't seem to fit right to me.

Oh well, sorry about the rambling.

 

It does not take a few minutes if someone decides to pull you over, examine all your stuff, brink co-workers over to look at this suspect notebook...they take their time, and enjoy doing so.

 

Yeah, I almost missed a flight in December when I got pulled over and had my luggage inspected; it's quite possible to miss a flight because of it if you're a bit late arriving and the security line is unusually slow and/or long.

The new AMD processors don't seem like that big of an improvement. Faster memory, supposedly better power management, but that's all. Considering Intel will have 25W processors at 2.53 and 2.26 GHz that are also compatible with 800 MHz memory in May, it seems like AMD is releasing these processors as much to show that they're actually doing something, rather than to actually compete on level ground with Montevina (or even Santa Rosa Refresh for that matter).

 

Regardless of whether the TSA MacBook Air story is real or viral marketing the sad thing is that it's believable. In the last 6 months I was stopped at the TSA carry-on checkpoint because a TSA agent didn't believe my Asus Eee PC was real ... but it was only a delay of 1 or 2 minutes tops and I made it to my flight with time to spare.

On the flight back I placed a deactivated Jawbone Bluetooth headset in my checked luggage and when I opened my luggage at home after the flight I found a nice form letter from the TSA inside stating that my bag was searched and some of my personal belongings were seized due to security concerns. The only item missing was my Bluetooth headset. I guess my deactivated Bluetooth headset could have been wirelessly activated to detonate the invisible explosives that weren't in my luggage.

The TSA is awesome like that.

 

AMD is SO out (of the competition) IMO.... Tis' sad actually!

 

AMD cpus since the launch of K8 did not use a traditional FSB like the Intel parts, so a larger cache was not as much of an advantage to an Athlon64 as it was with the Netburst Pentium and later Core units. The only thing it did seem to do was create more heat in the K8s, with the early Clawhammer core coming to mind.

I'm guessing that AMD is slowly adding more L2 cache because (1) it is cheaper now and the smaller die mfgr process is able to negate the extra added heat, (2) more cores call for more available L2 cache and (3) it looks more impressive from a marketing standpoint.

What will all this do for AMD in the notebook segment? Nothing. They have always remained a step behind (at least) Intel in mobile technology, and I don't see that changing any time in the near future. Even if this "Turion Ultra" shows it to be capable against Intel Core tech, the public will likely only remember the years of AMD sitting quietly on the sidelines without any interest in entering the game. Their biggest enemy will be public perception, not competition.

That's the way I see it, anyway. I'll still be watching what they do with interest, but I like underdogs..........

 

I can't believe the poor guy missed his flight due to his macbook air. What an irony!

 

I can't really see the point of the new single core Turion 64s. What AMD need to do is take the battle to Intel. We need a good Celeron competitor, a Sempron with comparable power that continues to include more features than the Celerons as Semprons always have. We need a budget Dual Core to take on PDC, say 1.6 - 2.0GHz, 512K cache and then Turion Ultra from 2.0-2.4GHz to take on Core 2 Duo with 2MB L2 cache, lots of HT and a nice new 45nm Core.

As has been said AMD always have been behind Intel in the mobile field. With a bit of thought and good marketing they could claw some of that back.

 

I totally agree with you. Plus these days, more GHz that not necessary mean faster speed and AMD and intel do NOT calculate their TDP the same.....so maybe, just MAYBE, AMD is bringing something good to the table. ...i just wish they are, for the sake of competition.

 

Actually, looking at the source article for the article referenced in this article, I think the new Athlon processor is actually dual core. This article was referenced by the one referenced here, and I think NBR's source may have misinterpreted their source.

Looking at the second chart, clearly only the Sempron is listed with one core, the others with two. Looking at the third chart, the Athlon is listed as the successor to the TK-57, which is dual-core. I can't read German well enough to back that up from the text, but perhaps someone who can read Germany can verify/refute that.

 

oooh, at least amd is get a little faster.... we really need it now...

 

Another thing that should make the amd platform is their new hd3200 integrated video. the performance seems to be that of an hd 2400( http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/amd-780g-chipset-review.ars, http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=3258)

 

Here's a video from Cebit demonstrating an AMD Puma notebook with integrated graphics running Half Life 2 at 49 FPS at 1024x768:

http://www.hexus.tv/show/2008/03/EXCLUSIVE_CONTENT_AMD_Puma_3x_quicker_than_Intel_integrated/

 

Too bad they couldn't have shown it against a Montevina GM47 notebook, that would have been more interesting.

 

I have high hopes for the 780G chipset and the forthcoming Fusion.

 

Please tell me I'm reading this correctly... you can run both ATI dedicated and integrated graphics together in crossfire mode? Hot damn.

 

They should have entitled it: What the Mac is going with TSA?

 

Problem for AMD is that not only its clockspeed is lower its IPC is also lower than core 2 duo. Will 2.4ghz Turion be faster than T8100( or equivalent processor in penryn/montevina lineup). Otherwise they would have to price it < $200. That is the major problem for AMD in server/desktop/notebook. They dont have cpus which they can sell for a premium.

Compare this with pre core 2 duo days when x2 3800+ was selling for > $300.