AMD Fusion APU Era Begins

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Big Experiences, Sleek Designs, All-Day Battery Life and Notebooks That Stay Cool All Day Now Possible With Revolutionary Single Chip(i)

LAS VEGAS, NV -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 01/04/11 -- CES -- Today at the Consumer Electronics Show, AMD (NYSE: AMD) launched a new class of accelerated processor that combines more compute capabilities than any processor in the history of computing. The AMD Fusion Family of Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) incorporate -- in a single die design -- multi-core CPU (x86) technology, a powerful DirectX® 11-capable discrete-level graphics and parallel processing engine, a dedicated high-definition video acceleration block, and a high-speed bus that speeds data across the differing types of processor cores within the design. New generations of desktop, notebook and HD netbooks are now available based on AMD Fusion APUs at affordable price points. Tablets and embedded designs based on AMD Fusion APUs are expected to be available later in Q1 2011. The new range of product features include stutter-free HD video playback, breakthroughs in computational horsepower to handle the most demanding applications,(ii) DirectX 11-capable graphics and all-day battery life.(i)

AMD expects leading manufacturers 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.

"We believe that AMD Fusion processors are, quite simply, the greatest advancement in processing since the introduction of the x86 architecture more than forty years ago," said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, AMD Products Group. "In one major step, we enable users to experience HD everywhere as well as personal supercomputing capabilities in notebooks that can deliver all-day battery life.(i) It's a new category, a new approach, and opens up exciting new experiences for consumers."

HD 2.0 Everywhere
High definition (HD) content is ubiquitous today. From YouTube videos to DirectX 11 games to Blu-ray, the world is tapping into various ways to enjoy this content with the computer serving as the hub. And thanks to the VISION Engine from AMD, a set of capabilities unique to all AMD Fusion APU-powered PCs, the visual side of computing never looked more vivid and realistic. The VISION Engine is an unmatched combination of:

  • DirectX 11-capable graphics
  • Massive parallel processing to speed application performance(iii)
  • The UVD3 video acceleration block found in the new AMD Radeon™ HD 6800 Series GPUs
  • Unique graphics driver capabilities updated on a monthly basis to continuously improve visual performance

Selecting a PC equipped with the VISION Engine and software from AMD partners means Internet browsing is a faster, application-like experience; 1080p HD video playback is gorgeous, smooth and quiet; standard definition video looks high-definition; 2D content can be converted into stereoscopic 3D; even the most graphics-intensive websites load quickly; manipulating HD content is fast and easy; and 3D gaming at HD resolutions is fast and life-like.(iv)

Personal Supercomputing
Much of a computing experience is linked to software and, until now, software developers have been held back by the independent nature in which CPUs and GPUs process information. However, AMD Fusion APUs remove this obstacle and allow developers to take full advantage of the parallel processing power of a GPU -- more than 500 GFLOPs for the upcoming A-Series "Llano" APU(v) -- thus bringing supercomputer-like performance to every day computing tasks. More applications can run simultaneously and they can do so faster than previous designs in the same class.(ii)

AMD AllDay™ Power
Additionally, AMD Fusion technology enables all-day battery life -- 10 hours or more.(i) The new power-saving features present in the single-chip design greatly extend the time between plug-ins, even when enjoying HD content.

Out power and Outperform: E-Series, C-Series and A-Series APUs
The 2011 low power platform (formerly codenamed "Brazos") enhances the everyday computing experience and is available beginning today in two APU variations: E-Series and C-Series. These APUs feature the new x86 CPU core codenamed "Bobcat." "Bobcat" is AMD's first new x86 core since 2003 and was designed from the ground up to deliver stellar mobile performance. 


----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Low Power APUs                      Model     TDP    Core Count   Frequency
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
E-Series (former codename:          E-350     18 W        2        1.6 GHz
 "Zacate")                        ------------------------------------------
Designed for mainstream             E-240     18 W        1        1.5 GHz
 notebooks, All-in-Ones, and
 small form factor desktops
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
C-Series (former codename:           C-50     9 W         2        1.0 GHz
 "Ontario")                       ------------------------------------------
Designed for HD netbooks and         C-30     9 W         1        1.2 GHz
 other emerging form factors
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The 2011 mainstream platform is primarily intended for performance and mainstream notebooks and mainstream desktops. It will feature the 32nm die A-Series "Llano" APU, which includes up to four x86 cores and a DirectX 11-capable discrete-level GPU, and is scheduled to ship in the first half of 2011 and appear in products mid-year.

Supporting Resources

Cautionary Statement

This release contains forward-looking statements, concerning among other things, product roadmaps, including the timing of the planned introduction of AMD Fusion platforms and the features and performance of new product and technology releases, and the timing of the planned introduction of our customers' products based on our products, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are commonly identified by words such as "would," "may," "expects," "believes," "plans," "intends," "projects," and other terms with similar meaning. Investors are cautioned that the forward-looking statements in this release are based on current beliefs, assumptions and expectations, speak only as of the date of these presentations and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations. The material factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, without limitation, the following: the possibility that 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; AMD will be unable to develop, launch and ramp new products and technologies in the volumes and mix required by the market; AMD's third party wafer foundries will be unable to manufacture its products on a timely basis with acceptable quality, at acceptable manufacturing yields and using competitive technologies; AMD's third party wafer foundries will be unable to transition to advanced manufacturing process technologies in a timely and effective way, consistent with AMD's planned expenditures; AMD will be unable to maintain the level of investment in research and development that is required to remain competitive; demand for computers and consumer electronics products and, in turn, demand for AMD's products will be lower than currently expected; customers will stop buying AMD's products or materially reduce their demand for its products; third parties will not develop or improve software that is optimized for AMD products; AMD will require additional funding and may not be able to raise funds on favorable terms or at all; there will be unexpected variations in market growth and demand for AMD's products and technologies in light of the product mix that it may have available at any particular time or a decline in demand; any inability to obtain sufficient manufacturing capacity or components to meet demand for AMD's products or the under-utilization of GLOBALFOUNDRIES manufacturing facilities; the effect of political or economic instability internationally on sales or production; or that GLOBALFOUNDRIES will be less successful than anticipated. Investors are urged to review in detail the risks and uncertainties in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including but not limited to the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 25, 2010.

About AMD

AMD (NYSE: AMD) is a semiconductor design innovator leading the next era of vivid digital experiences with its ground-breaking AMD Fusion Accelerated Processing Units (APUs). AMD's graphics and computing technologies power a variety of devices including PCs, game consoles and the powerful computers that drive the Internet and businesses. For more information, visit http://www.amd.com.

AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, Radeon, and combinations thereof, are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. DirectX is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Other names are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

(i) In testing conducted by AMD performance labs, the 2011 Low Power platform reference design "Zacate" E-350 demonstrated up to 641 minutes or 10.68 hours "all-day" battery life while idle, and up to 249 minutes or 4.15 hours as an "active" metric using 3DMark '06. The reference design consisted of a AMD Dual-Core Processor E-350, 1.6Ghz 2C, 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3-1066 system memory 14.0" display @ 1366x768, Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, 62Whr Li-Ion battery. The 2011 AMD C-50 Dual-Core Accelerated Processor demonstrated up to 735 minutes or 12.26 hours "all-day" battery life while idle and up to 379 minutes or 6.31 hours as an "active" metric using 3DMark '06. The reference design consisted of a an AMD Dual-Core processor C-50 1.0Ghz 9W, 2GB (1x2GB) DDR3-1066 system memory, AMD Radeon™ HD 6250 Graphics with 10.1" @ 1024x600, 6-cell Li-Ion, 62.2 Whr battery. LED Backlight Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit. All testing performed using a 6-cell Li-Ion, 62.2 Whr battery. AMD defines "all day" battery life as 8+ hours of idle time.

(ii) Based on performance per watt comparisons between AMD Fusion APUs and the AMD Athlon™ II P320 CPU combined with the AMD Mobility Radeon™ HD 4250 GPU. In testing conducted by AMD performance labs, AMD Fusion APUs demonstrated the following: A-Series -- up to approximately 500 GFLOPS; E-Series/C-Series -- up to approximately 90 GFLOPS at 18/9 W. In comparison, the AMD Athlon™ II P320 CPU and AMD Mobility Radeon HD 4250 GPU deliver a combined total of 74 GLOPS at 38 W.

(iii) Requires application support for AMD Accelerated Parallel Processing (APP) technology. AMD Accelerated Parallel Processing technology works with applications designed to take advantage of GPU acceleration capabilities.

(iv) Additional hardware (e.g. Blu-ray drive, HD or 10-bit monitor, TV tuner, HDMI connector, 3D enabled panels, 3D-enabled glasses/emitter, Blu-ray 3D drive) and/or software (e.g. multimedia applications, 3D content, 3D middleware, 3D games) are required for the full enablement of some features. Not all features may be supported on all components or systems -- check with your component or system manufacturer for specific model capabilities and supported technologies.

(v) Theoretical peak performance of the A-Series "Llano" APU.

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Sarah Youngbauer
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Source: Advanced Micro Devices

Released January 4, 2011