AMD to Fight i7 Sandy Bridge with Bulldozer

Advanced Micro Devices at present is not able to compete in terms of pure performance against Intel Corp.’s Core i7-series “Sandy Bridge” microprocessors, according to benchmark results, but with its next-generation Bulldozer-based chips the company fully aims to fight.


A leaked document from AMD seen by us here claims that AMD FX-series central processing unit (CPUs) powered by the Bulldozer micro-architecture will be fully able to rival Core i7 2600-series chips. Below is the art-work for FX processor box:


AMD plans to introduce AMD 900-series chipsets compatible with Zambezi processors in Q2 2011. The Bulldozer processors, Radeon HD 6000 "Northern Islands" discrete graphics cards and AMD 900-series core-logic sets will power AMD's next-generation enthusiast-class platform code-named Scorpius.

The initial family of AMD's FX-series microprocessors based on Bulldozer micro-architecture will include four models with eight, six or four cores and 95W or 125W thermal design power (TDP).

The first breed of AMD FX8000, FX6000 and FX4000 currently known under Zambezi code-name will completely support all the advantages that the Bulldozer micro-architecture is supposed to bring, including new Flex FP floating point processing unit. The new chips in maximum eight-core configurations are projected - by AMD's internal documents - to offer roughly 50% performance improvement over Phenom II-series microprocessors in multimedia applications.


The primary family of AMD FX-series central processing units (CPUs) will feature two eight-core models, one six-core flavour as well as a quad-core version. The chips will support dual-channel DDR3 1866MHz memory, will support Turbo Core dynamic acceleration technology and will come in AM3+ form-factor and will have 125W and 95W TDP. The second "wave" of Bulldozer chips will also include four microprocessors and will improve performance of the initial breed of CPUs.

Gigabyte GA-E350N-USB3 AMD Fusion mobo

This little mini-ITX motherboard comes with one of the first AMD Fusion APU’s (Accelerated Processing Unit): the Zacate Dual-Core E-350 (1.6 GHz, 18W TDP) with a Radeon HD6310 (clock 500 MHz) graphics core. It also comes with 4 SATA 6Gbps ports and 2 USB3.0 ports, making it a very attractive little motherboard for users who value a power efficient system that still has teeth enough to show 1080p video and play the occasional lighter game.

This is an Ultra Durable 3 Classic motherboard. This means that GIGABYTE has used 2 ounces of copper for both the power and ground layers of the motherboard. It also has Japanese Solid Capacitors and GIGABYTE's DualBIOS technology. As mentioned earlier, this is a mini-ITX motherboard, meaning it measures just 17x17cm (6.7x6.7 inches). GIGABYTE still managed to put a x16 PCI-E-slot and space for 2 DDR3-memory sticks on the motherboard.

The main feature on the motherboard is the big heatsink/fan. This cooler keeps both the APU and the AMD Hudson-M1 FCH (Fusion Controller Hub) cool. The FCH is responsible for 8 USB2.0 ports (4 on the back panels and 4 via the internal USB headers) and the 4 SATA 6 Gbps connectors.


On the back panel we find:
• 1 x PS/2 keyboard/ mouse port
• 1 x VGA port
• 1 x DVI-D port
• 1 x HDMI port
• 1 x optical S/PDIF Out connector
• 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
• 2 x USB 3.0/2.0 ports
• 1 x RJ-45 port
• 6 x audio jacks (Center/Subwoofer Speaker Out/Rear Speaker Out/Side Speaker Out/Line In/Line Out/Microphone)

The motherboard also comes with features like HDMI 1.3, Dolby Home Theather Support, and On/Off Charge, which allows users to quickly charge an iPad/iPod/iPhone -- and other USB-charged devices -- even if the computer is sleeping or off.

AC Ryan Playon!HD Essential

The AC Ryan Playon!HD Essential allows you to store and enjoy all of your precious movies, music and photos in the comfort of your own living room. Free your media content from the limitations of your PC and let the Essential bring them to life in Full HD quality on your TV.

The Playon!HD Essential is designed for users who prefer an easy to use media player without the fuss of networking. Setting a new standard of performance in the class of media players with no network, this inexpensive, user friendly, no-network media player supports the most file formats including Blu-ray and DVD ISO. With exceptional quality and ease, the Playon!HD Essential, plays your media files from external drives (USB drives, USB hard disks, and media cards such as SD Cards). The pre-installed eco friendly, low noise, low power consumption HDD up to 2TB allows you to conveniently store all your media files in one central location.

The Playon!HD Essential makes entertainment simple and enjoyable for you, your family and friends. Simply transfer, store and play your media content with the Essential and enjoy High Definition entertainment, the way it should be.

* More format support than any other no network media player.
* Superior video quality High Definition 1080p.
* Plays BD-ISO files including BD basic navigation.
* Plays DVD IFO/ISO with full DVD menu and navigation support.
* Supports more character sets (for non-English subtitles).
* Completely unique, newly designed user interface (Playon!GUI2.0).
* Smart content management (auto file indexing).

The Essential has similar styling to previous A.C. Ryan devices and has the front panel has a reflective finish with company logo in the centre. Beneath the logo is the on/off button which lights red when in standby and blue when on. The Essential sized 185x150x55mm and weighs approximately 610g.


On the right side of the device we find the input connectors. On the left is a media card slot which supports SD, SDHCm MMC, MS and MSPro. Then there are two USB 2.0 inputs and a USB 2.0 slave port.


Turning round to the back of the Essential we find an exhaust vent for the 40mm cooling fan, power socket and the systems outputs. Starting from the left we have an optical output, HDMI 1.3, Composite audio/video and coaxial audio. There are no network connectors on the back panel of the device as it is designed for those who want a stand-alone player. A.C. Ryan will however offer a Wireless-N dongle for the player.


This is the bundled components consist of a manual, composite video cables, remote, batteries, PSU and replacement feet.

PCP+ AB5S - 880G

* Chipset : AMD™ 880G Chipset + AMD™SB710 Chipset
* Onboard ATI Radeon HD 4250
* Memory :
- Dual Channel DDR3 memory technology
- 4 x 240-pin DDR3 DIMM slots
- Supports DDR3 1600/1333 MHz non-ECC ,un-buffered memory
- DDR3 Max.8GB
* Expansion Slots :
- 1 x 32-bit PCI slot
- 2 x PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots by 8-LANE
- 1 x PCI Express x1 slot
* Storage :
- 6 x Serial ATA2 3Gb/s connectors
- Supports HDDs with RAID 0, 1,10 functions
- 1 x Ultra DMA 133 / 100 / 66 IDE connector
* Audio : Realtek ALC883 HD Audio CODEC with 8-Channel
* LAN : Realtek RTL8111DL PCI Express Gigabit LAN
* Rear Panel I / O :
- 4 x USB 2.0/1.1 ports
- 1 x PS/2 mouse port
- 1 x PS/2 keyboard port
- 1 x VGA port & 1 x DVI port & 1 x HDMI port
- 1 x RJ-45 port
- 1 x Audio I / O ports
- 1 x SPDIF_OUT port (Coaxial)

Sony, Fujitsu and Toshiba launch Brazos netbooks

Fujitsu and Sony has joined the growing group of notebook makers with Brazos powered machines, as both companies have announced 11.6-inch models in Japan.



Fujitsu’s model is called the LifeBook PH50/C and will be available in red, blue and black. The APU of choice is the E-350 and the standard configuration will include 2GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive. We’re sure some kind of Wi-Fi option will also be included and judging by the picture there’s at least two USB 2.0 ports and an Ethernet port, but we’d expect there to be an HDMI port and a D-sub connector somewhere as well. The PH50/C is said to be weighing in at about 1.5kg (3.3lbs) and have a battery life of about 7.3 hours.



Sony’s new model is the VAIO YB which will be available in ever jollier colors, namely silver, pink and green. Sony has gone for the same base hardware as Fujitsu, in other words and E-350 APU and 2GB of memory but fit a smaller 320GB hard drive as standard. The VAIO YB sports three USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI port, a D-sub connector, and twin memory card readers, Gigabit Ethernet and a pair of audio jacks. You’ll also find a 1.3 Megapixel webcam, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR as part of the spec.



The VAIO YB weighs in at 1.46kg (3.22lbs) with the standard battery which is said to be good for up to 6h of usage, although Sony offers two high capacity models which gives you either 7.5 or 11h worth of battery life, although at a currently unknown extra weight addition. No word on pricing as yet, but we’d expect the VAIO YB to be a lot more affordable than the Lifebook PH50/C.

Meanwhile, Toshiba’s NB550D went on sale in Taiwan today and it’s yet another consumer coloured notebook which comes in four different choices of randomly picked colours which includes gold (looks kind of brown to us), green, orange and a blue, although there appears to be a black version as well that is currently not available. This is a smaller 10.1-inch system which shares the same design as Toshiba’s NB520 netbook, but of course with different bits inside.



Feature wise we have an AMD C-50 dual core APU at 1GHz, 1GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive. Toshiba has fitted three USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI port, a D-sub connector, a card reader, an Ethernet port and a pair of audio jacks. You also get 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, surprisingly Bluetooth 3.0, a webcam and a pair of very large Harman Kardon branded speakers for this size machine. Sadly the screen resolution is that of a netbook at 1024x600, but the NB550D weighs in at a light 1.32kg (2.9lbs) with a 6-cell 48Whr battery pack although we don’t have any details in terms of how long it’s meant to last. The NB550D retail for NT$13,900 in Taiwan, or $479, which is about $100 cheaper than the Atom N550 powered NB520 netbook.

What is an APU

Check out this video which gives a visual representation of the APU (Accelerated Processing Unit) design model.



AMD officially introduced its Zacate and Ontario Accelerated Processing Units, saying notebooks and netbooks based on them are "now available." AMD says it expects PC vendors including Acer, Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Lenovo, MSI, Samsung, Sony, and Toshiba to "announce plans to deliver AMD Fusion APU- based systems at very compelling value and mainstream price points." Even tablets based on the new silicon are on the way, although those aren't due out until later this quarter.

Zacate and Ontario combine AMD's brand-new Bobcat microarchitecture, DirectX 11-class integrated graphics, and the new UVD3 video decoding block in a single piece of silicon manufactured using TSMC's 40-nm fab process. Both Zacate and Ontario are available in dual- and single-core flavors, with the former having an 18W thermal envelope and the latter fitting into a 9W TDP. Benchmarks showed that the quickest, dual-core Zacate model can keep up with Intel's entry-level CULV processors and deliver far better graphics performance.

MSI shows off its first Brazos systems

MSI was showing off a pair of Brazos solutions earlier today at an event in Taipei, Taiwan. On display was a 12-inch notebook as well as a 20-inch all-in-one desktop, both featuring an AMD E-350 CPU.


The all-in-one Wind Top AE2050 have a 20-inch 16:9 screen. MSI will offer models with a multi-touch enabled screen, but this doesn't appear to be a standard feature. Besides the 1.6GHz dual core E-350 CPU with built in Radeon HD 6310 graphics, MSI has added USB 3.0 support and the two ports are located on the left hand side of the system.

Other features include four USB 2.0 ports, a pair of audio jacks, built in Ethernet of some form, an HDMI port, a multi-format memory card reader and an optical drive. It also sports a pair of SRS certified speakers and a top mounted web cam. It might not be the most exciting system ever, but should prove to be an interesting alternative to an Atom/ION all-in-one system.


MSI Wind U270 which is MSI's first Brazos notebook and it's a 12-inch model that features a fairly basic, but not unattractive design. The display has a resolution of 1366x768 which is a step up from the Acer Aspire One 522. Again it sports the 1.6GHz dual core E-350 Zacate APU with Radeon HD 6310 graphics. MSI has fitted the U270 with a D-sub connector, an HDMI port, a single USB 3.0 port, two USB 2.0 ports, a pair of audio jacks, an Ethernet port and a multi-format memory card reader. There's of course also a built in webcam & WIFI, space for a standard 2.5-inch hard drive and support for up to 4GB of DDR3 memory.

Acer Aspire One 522 on Fusion APU

A leak info (not from Wikileaks :-P) that Acer is preparing a brand new Aspire One netbook based on AMD Ontario (FUSION) APU. This new Aspire One powered by a 1 GHz Dual Core Fusion APU (Accelerated Processing Unit) CPU & GPU Combo with max TDP only 9 watt. The on-die GPU said to be a Radeon HD 6250 class that is fully capable for mainstream games and Full HD playback.

Aspire One 522 is using 10.1 inch LCD screen but with max resolution of 1280x720. If not satisfied by that, we can used external LCD via HDMI port. Price tag expected to be around US$ 425.

More detail specifications:
AMD Fusion Dual core 1GHz AMD C-50 Ontario APU
Memory DDR3 2GB
Hard disk 500GB
Graphics ATI Radeon HD 6250 + HDMI Port
Layar 10.1″ 1280 x 720
OS Windows 7 Starter
HD webcam
WiFi 802.11b/g/n + Bluetooth+EDR
6-cell battery

AMD's Cayman Unleashed

AMD today introduced AMD Radeon™ HD 6900 series graphics (Cayman), its most advanced enthusiast GPU representing the intelligent choice for enthusiast gamers. The AMD Radeon™ HD 6900 series of graphics cards provides gamers with an enhanced second-generation, Microsoft DirectX® 11-capable architecture for breakthrough performance, advanced image quality features for the best looking games, and innovative AMD PowerTune power management technology that dynamically adjusts power draw on the fly.

Unlike Barts, Cayman is based on a fundamentally new GPU architecture, with improvements extending from its graphics front end through its shader core and into its render back-ends. The highlights include higher geometry throughput, more efficient shader execution, and smarter edge antialiasing.


Reviews:
TechReport
X-Bit Labs

AMD ships 3 new processors with speed bumps

AMD continues to expand their current desktop CPU line, just in time for holiday shoppers. The first of these processors being released today is the AMD Athlon II X3 455 (HDZ565WFK2DGM). The new Athlon II X3 455 is the triple core processor which replaces the Athlon II X3 450. The Athlon II X3 455 features three cores running at 3.3GHz. The second processor today is the Phenom II X2 565 Black Edition. The Phenom II X2 565 is a dual core processor that runs at 3.4GHz. The Phenom II X2 series has become a favorite for the potential of unlocking the unused cores on the processor. This presents an opportunity to purchase a quad core processor at a lower cost, though there is no guarantees that the third and fourth cores will work properly, so you need to keep that in mind if that is your goal for the Phenom II X2 series.

The third and final processor being release today, is the flagship processor from AMD, the Phenom II X6 1100T processor (HDE00ZFBK6DGR). The 6-core THUBAN 1100T takes over the top spot in AMD's CPU line from the 1090T, and does it at a suggested retail price of only $265.00. The clock speed improvements over the 1090T are minimal: both the standard and Turbo Core speeds increase only 100MHz, to 3.3GHz and 3.7GHz, respectively.


Paired with AMD's new 800 series chipsets, which offer extra PCI-E lanes for CrossfireX, SATA 6G and USB 3.0 without needing expensive add-ons like the NVIDIA NF-200, AMD's Thuban processors offer the enthusiast a way to build an affordable, yet very powerful and versatile 6-core production or gaming system.