AMD Sets New Mark in x86 Innovation with First Detailed Disclosures of Two New Core Designs

Published on Tuesday, 24 August 2010 03:04 Written by TradersHuddle Staff

PALO ALTO, Calif.-( Business Wire )-

Today at HOT CHIPS 22, AMD (NYSE: AMD) will reveal new details on its two next-generation x86 processor core implementations, including AMD's unique approach to high-performance, multi-threaded computing, as well as a sub-one-watt capable low-power design. The two new designs, codenamed “Bulldozer” for high-performance PC and server markets, and “Bobcat” for low-power notebook and small form-factor desktop markets, were designed from the ground-up to address specific customer requirements and compute workloads. The new cores are central to AMD’s future roadmap, including the AMD Fusion Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) products and AMD’s new high-performance server and client CPUs.

“In my opinion, Bulldozer and Bobcat are not only two of the greatest technical achievements in AMD’s rich history, but two of the most important for the industry as well,” said Chekib Akrout, senior vice president and general manager, AMD Technology Development. “With CPUs and APUs built from these core implementations, we expect our customers to deliver a new wave of innovative PC form factors and high-performance computing experiences.”

At HOT CHIPS 22, Brad Burgess, AMD Fellow and chief architect of Bobcat, and Mike Butler, AMD Fellow and chief architect of Bulldozer, will each present in the “New Processor Architectures” session. The x86 architecture lies at the very heart of computing, and AMD has continuously evolved and improved its core designs. The Bulldozer and Bobcat cores continue that evolutionary path and are designed to change the user’s experience with the resulting products.

“Attacking both high-performance and low-power markets simultaneously with two brand new architectures is an impressive accomplishment that serves notice to the industry that innovation is alive and well inside AMD,” observed Nathan Brookwood, research fellow at Insight 64.

Highlights of the new cores include:

Bulldozer

• An innovative approach to multithreaded compute performance that balances dedicated and shared compute resources to provide a highly compact, high core count design that is easily replicated on a chip for performance scaling
• New x86 instruction support (SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, and XOP including 4-operand FMAC)
• Advanced power management features
• Manufactured on advanced 32nm process technology

Bobcat

• Sub-one-watt capable operation
• Out-of-order instruction execution for higher performance
• Estimated 90 percent of today’s mainstream PC performance in half the area
• Core power gating and a microarchitecture optimized for low power
• Highly synthesizeable design that moves easily across manufacturing technologies

Additional Resources

• Overview Video
• Brad Burgess Profile
• AMD at Work Blog
• AMD Fusion Blog
• Become a fan of AMD on Facebook
• Learn more about AMD Fusion

About AMD

Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) is an innovative technology company dedicated to collaborating with customers and technology partners to ignite the next generation of computing and graphics solutions at work, home and play. For more information, visit http://www.amd.com.

Cautionary Statement

This release contains forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are generally preceded by words such as “plans,” “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates” or “intends.” Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements in this release involve risks and uncertainty that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. The forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, the timing of new product releases and their features and functionality and the availability of systems that include our products. Material factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, without limitation, the following: that the AMD products described herein will not be available in the mix required by the market and at mature yields on a timely basis; AMD’s technology partners will not offer these AMD products as described herein, or in sufficient quantities to address market demand; Intel Corporation’s pricing, marketing and rebating programs, product bundling, standard setting, new product introductions or other activities targeting AMD’s business will prevent attainment of AMD’s current plans; there will be unexpected variations in market growth and demand for these AMD products; and AMD will be unable to obtain sufficient manufacturing capacity or components to meet demand for these products. We urge investors to review in detail the risks and uncertainties in AMD’s filings with the United States Securities Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 26, 2010.

Copyright 2010, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, Fusion, and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Other names are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

AMD Public RelationsGary Silcott, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.