AMD Roadmap 2006 one more upgrade for 939?

maverik-sg1

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The Desktop

AMD Desktop Athlon 64 RoadmapProcessorCore NameClock SpeedSocketLaunch DateAthlon FX-59San Diego3.0 GHz 1MBSocket 939Q1'06Athlon FX-57San Diego2.8 GHz 1MBSocket 939NowAthlon 64 X2 >=5000+Windsor?2.6 GHz?Socket M2Q2'06Athlon 64 X2 >=5000+Toledo?2.6 GHz?Socket 939Q1'06Athlon 64 X2 4800+Windsor2.4 GHz 1MB?Socket M2Q2'06Athlon 64 4000+Orleans2.4 GHz 1MB?Socket M2Q2'06Athlon 64 3800+Orleans2.4 GHz 512K?Socket M2Q2'06Athlon 64 3500+Orleans2.2 GHz 512K?Socket M2Q2'06

Besides the single core M2 processors, we also have the dual core parts, codenamed Windsor. We have a 4800+ part for socket M2, as well as parts greater than or equal to 5000+ for both socket 939 and M2. As with the single core variants, we see two likely possibilities. The first is that the M2 parts will directly match the 939 parts in features, making the 4800+ a 2.4 GHz 1MB per core design. On the other hand, improvements in the performance of the platform through the use of DDR2 may allow AMD to use a 2.4 GHz 512K part for the 4800+. Part of the attractiveness of such a change is that the 2x512K parts would have a smaller die size, decreasing the manufacturing costs. Time will tell what AMD's precise plans are, and at present all we have are model names with which to speculate.

The last addition to the performance desktop market is a new FX model, the FX-59. While in the past we have speculated that AMD would switch the FX to a dual core design, the roadmap instead indicates that the FX-59 is intended to use a San Diego core running at 3.0 GHz. Other details in the roadmap show that AMD intends for the FX line to offer top single core performance. AMD market the FX line as being "ideal for 3D games and single-threaded applications." The X2 line on the other hand is "designed for sophisticated power users who run multiple processor intensive applications simultaneously," and is "ideal for digital content creation as well as for listening and viewing entertainment." It seems pretty clear from such statements that the FX line will remain single core for a while longer.

M2 isn't just a switch to DDR2 memory support, though. Besides DDR2, AMD indicates that the Orleans and Windsor processors will also have "Security and Virtualization" features. Previously codenamed Pacifica, the virtualization technology adds hardware support that allows a system to run multiple operating systems simultaneously. It was possible to do this in the past with such tools as VMware, but hardware support should dramatically improve performance. The security technology mentioned is likely to be very similar to Intel's LaGrande Technology and was code named Presidio. Whether or not you'll need a tin foil hat to operate your computer is yet undecided.

You'll notice that socket 754 is no longer even represented in the desktop arena. There are a couple parts that will work on socket 754 motherboards, but they are no longer marketed as mainstream or performance desktop processors
 
And for skt 754.....

Mobile and Transportable Processors

AMD has been trailing in the mobile performance per Watt competition ever since Intel launched the Pentium M. While they have announced a name change to their Mobile Athlon 64 lineup, they still appear to be using a low power Athlon 64 derivative as opposed to something designed from the ground up for the mobile sector. The good news is that AMD's base designs are generally far less power hungry than Intel's Pentium 4, so a separate design isn't really required. Like Intel, AMD has three categories of mobile processors. First are the DTR models which are essentially just desktop parts put into a laptop, although they may run with slightly lower voltage requirements. The next level up the mobility scale is referred to as Transportable, and the power requirements are 62W or less. Finally, the true Mobile parts are classified as either 35W or 25W parts, with the 25W targeting the Thin and Light category of notebooks. The DTR processors can basically be any of the regular desktop parts, so we'll skip that segment and start with the Transportable chips.

AMD Transportable RoadmapProcessorCore NameClock SpeedSocketLaunch DateAthlon 64 4000+Newark2.6 GHz 1MBSocket 754Q3'05Athlon 64 3700+Newark2.4 GHz 1MBSocket 754NowAthlon 64 3400+Newark2.2 GHz 1MBSocket 754NowAthlon 64 3200+Newark2.0 GHz 1MBSocket 754NowAthlon 64 3000+Newark1.8 GHz 1MBSocket 754NowSempron 3600+Albany2.2 GHz 128KSocket 754Q1'06Sempron 3400+Albany2.0 GHz 256KSocket 754Q3'05Sempron 3300+Albany2.0 GHz 128KSocket 754Q3'05Sempron 3300+Georgetown2.0 GHz 128KSocket 754NowSempron 3100+Albany1.8 GHz 256KSocket 754Q3'05Sempron 3100+Georgetown1.8 GHz 256KSocket 754NowSempron 3000+Albany1.8 GHz 128KSocket 754Q3'05Sempron 3000+Dublin/Georgetown1.8 GHz 128KSocket 754NowSempron 2800+Dublin/Georgetown1.6 GHz 256KSocket 754NowSempron 2600+Dublin/Georgetown1.6 GHz 128KSocket 754Now

At the high end of the Transportable segment are the Athlon 64 Mobile parts. All of these parts feature 1MB of L2 cache, and most have been available for some time. AMD has recently transitioned from the older 130nm Odessa core - basically a lower power version of the Clawhammer - to the 90nm SOI Newark core. The only new Mobile Athlon 64 part is the 4000+, which runs at the same clock speed as the FX-55 processor but only supports single channel memory. As virtually any socket 754 board should have no trouble supporting these mobile variants, 754 owners looking to upgrade for additional CPU performance might be interested in checking out these parts. The price is generally a bit higher, and a switch to socket 939 is probably the better course of action if you can manage it, but a change from the 1.8 GHz 512K 2800+ to the 4000+ would provide a substantial boost to performance.

The Mobile Sempron is also undergoing a change from the older Georgetown core to the new Albany core (and before Georgetown was the Dublin core). You might still see some of the older core versions out there, but the Albany core is the preferred model, as the 90nm SOI provides much better power and thermal characteristics. While the desktop Sempron parts are slated to get 64-bit support, the mobile parts will remain 32-bit only for the time being. To quote the roadmap, "AMD will introduce 64-bit enabled Mobile AMD Sempron only when it makes sense for our value notebook customers." In other words, most value notebooks ship with lower end components, so 64-bit addressing isn't going to be terribly important for a laptop with 256 or 512 MB of RAM.

In the future, the Mobile platform will also transition to DDR2 support, only the thin and light notebooks will use socket S1 rather than socket M2. S1 appears to mostly be targeting a smaller package size, as it will also be a dual-channel DDR2 platform with support for the security and virtualization enhancements. Two code names appear on the roadmap for S1 parts, the Taylor core will be a dual core Turion 64 processor with security and virtualization support while the Keene will be a single core part without Pacifica and Presidio technologies. For the full size notebooks and desktop replacements (DTR), M2 will be used and the Trinidad core bears the Mobile Athlon 64 moniker with specs identical to Windsor - though cache sizes could differ, we admit. That means dual core, dual-channel DDR2, and security plus virtualization technologies. A Mobile Sempron part based off of the Richmond core drops the virtualization support and runs on a single core. All of these DDR2 mobile parts are scheduled for a Q1'06 release. Having mentioned the Taylor core and Turion 64 brings us to the next group of mobile processors.

AMD Turion 64 RoadmapProcessorCore NameClock SpeedSocketLaunch DateMT-44Lancaster2.4 GHz 1MBSocket 754???ML-44Lancaster2.4 GHz 1MBSocket 754Q4'05MT-42Lancaster2.4 GHz 512KSocket 754Q1'06ML-42Lancaster2.4 GHz 512KSocket 754Q3'05MT-40Lancaster2.2 GHz 1MBSocket 754Q3'05ML-40Lancaster2.2 GHz 1MBSocket 754Q3'05MT-37Lancaster2.0 GHz 1MBSocket 754Q3'05ML-37Lancaster2.0 GHz 1MBSocket 754NowMT-34Lancaster1.8 GHz 1MBSocket 754NowML-34Lancaster1.8 GHz 1MBSocket 754NowMT-32Lancaster1.8 GHz 512KSocket 754NowML-32Lancaster1.8 GHz 512KSocket 754NowMT-30Lancaster1.6 GHz 1MBSocket 754NowML-30Lancaster1.6 GHz 1MBSocket 754NowMT-28Lancaster1.6 GHz 512KSocket 754???ML-28Lancaster1.6 GHz 512KSocket 754???
 
Hello mate,

Wow some good AMD future info there, thanks.

I guess S939 will stock at the 5000+ 2.6Ghz Dual core and the FX 59 3Ghz. Then the only way will be M2 & DDR2 :)

Michael
 
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