Extremetech: "AMD cancels 28nm APUs, starts from scratch at TSMC"

[wayliff]

LINK

I have not been following the AMD stories that much but I figured this might be interesting for many.

Note: Did a couple of searches and did not find it...so hopefully this is not a repost.

 

[Arkaign]

AMD selling it's fabs off (particularly the epic Dresden facilities) is looking like one of the dumbest moves EVER.

http://www.fabtech.org/news/_a/official_amd_goes_fabless/

Hector Ruiz destroyed AMD.

 

[Regs]

"AMD reportedly finalized the decision to cancel both products right around the time it fired most of its PR and marketing divisions."

What pisses me off the most is it's usually the little guys that get fired, while the head haunchos that made the bone-head calls get a golden parachute or an early retirement.

 

[Genx87]

Apple dropping AMD makes more sense with this information.

 

[Regs]

I think this was all ready discovered in June.

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20110617PB200.html

 

[busydude]

Apple dropping AMD makes more sense with this information.

 

[Skurge]

Yeah, I don't really understand that post either.

 

[jacktesterson]

Apple dropping AMD makes more sense with this information.

Do explain?

 

[formulav8]

What did Apple drop AMD from?

 

[busydude]

^^ There is rumor(Charlie.. IIRC) that Apple is dropping AMD GPUs in favor of nVIDIAs.

 

[formulav8]

Whats wrong with AMD's gpu's? They perform great at a better price and better bang for watt. Unless i'm overlooking something?

Maybe Apple knows AMD will be closing down their discreet desktop cards. Which I can't really blame AMD for. Its just really a non-money maker these days. So all the nvidia fannys just might get their wish for amd to be on the way out. Then see how happy they are when it costs $450 or whatever to get a gtx260-192 type card again. :\

 

[lau808]

its good to see they will be going gate last now. im not sure how but that is supposed to improve performance or effeciency right? anyone care to explain the difference from gate first? I'm all ears

 

[Bateluer]

Do explain?

I thought he was referring to this?

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2011/11/why-apple-rejected-amds-llano-for-the-macbook-air.ars

 

[OS]

AMD selling it's fabs off (particularly the epic Dresden facilities) is looking like one of the dumbest moves EVER.

http://www.fabtech.org/news/_a/official_amd_goes_fabless/

Hector Ruiz destroyed AMD.

AMD may not have had much choice, they were probably cannibalizing themselves, to raise cash, to survive.

 

[Idontcare]

its good to see they will be going gate last now. im not sure how but that is supposed to improve performance or effeciency right? anyone care to explain the difference from gate first? I'm all ears

Instrinsically higher drive currents versus a given leakage, xtor width, operating voltage, etc.

There's a bit captured in this thread from a while back.

 

[Bateluer]

Another question, will this be affecting the Radeon 7xx0 series? Think those are already made at TSMC though.

 

[lau808]

thank u IDC, that link was plenty good to satisfy my knowledge itch

 

[Edrick]

So the question I have is which company is this going to hurt more, AMD or GF?

Granted this is very bad news for AMD in 2012, but if things go well with TSMC, AMD may not look too bad in 2013.

 

[lifeblood]

In the end I think AMD had to do this. GF has been failing to keep up and much of AMDs innovation has been stymied by GF's slowness to ramp up. Since CPU and GPU will now be combined on the same silicon as an APU they should both be produced on the same process. It makes sense to pick one (TSMCs or GFs) and put all their resources into it (which also means putting all their eggs in one basket).

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Another question, will this be affecting the Radeon 7xx0 series? Think those are already made at TSMC though.

The Radeon 7000 series? I had a Radeon 7500 in my old Power Mac. ()

 

[wlee15]

Seems like AMD had planned to produce 28nm APU at TSMC and GF.

http://pcper.com/news/General-Tech/TSMC-gets-AMDs-28nm-APU-business

 

[cbn]

AMD may try to mitigate the damage by doing a straightforward 28nm die shrink of existing Ontario/Zacate products. While the resulting chips wouldn’t incorporate any of the architectural improvements originally intended for Krishna/Wichita, they’d lower Brazos’ power consumption and buy time for a new processor.

AMD notebook roadmap

There’s no easy way to yank Krishna and Wichita out of AMD’s product lineup

If AMD goes this route, it might be able to launch a 28nm APU in 2012, but a true 28nm replacement for Krishna/Wichita is likely at least 18 months away. Without the GF-designed APUs, AMD will have no choice but to flog 40nm Brazos parts while Intel and ARM break into new markets and debut chips built on more advanced technologies.

^^^^^ I sure hope that doesn't become true.

 

[Nemesis 1]

In the end I think AMD had to do this. GF has been failing to keep up and much of AMDs innovation has been stymied by GF's slowness to ramp up. Since CPU and GPU will now be combined on the same silicon as an APU they should both be produced on the same process. It makes sense to pick one (TSMCs or GFs) and put all their resources into it (which also means putting all their eggs in one basket).

Really , It was AMD who choose gate first. Amd made many decisions befor selling their fabs . It looks to me like AMD should have never bought ATI . 5+ billion for a gaphics company that was worth 2 billion . AMD has made one bad decision after another. They could have developed their own graphics and been way ahead of the game . Now they are screwing GF because of AMDs decision making.

 

[cbn]

This bobcat news is worse than I thought....

but maybe the low power display techs will come to the rescue of the lowest power x86 laptop chips? (re: low power displays help accentuate any difference in power consumption between platforms)

According this article the newest e-reader using the Mirasol tech really isn't that expensive.

Qualcomm's Mirasol Reflective Color Display Debuts on Korean E-reader

By Jay Alabaster, IDG News Nov 22, 2011 3:10 am

Qualcomm's long-awaited Mirasol reflective color screen technology is on the market, in an e-reader that launched in South Korea on Tuesday.

The Kyobo eReader features a 5.7-inch touchscreen color display with a 1024 x 768 format at 223 pixels per inch. The device retails for 349,000 won (US$305) online and in the stores of Kyobo Book Centre, which says it is Korea's largest bookseller.

Mirasol has been under development for years by Qualcomm and its launch brings a third major display technology to the market for e-readers and tablets. Most displays today use either bright but power-hungry LCDs, or e-ink, which is energy-efficient but grayscale and slow to refresh.

Qualcomm's displays use tiny mirrors that change their reflectivity when small voltages are applied, shifting the color seen by users. They can quickly change colors to play video, require little power to hold an image, and the company says they work well in bright sunlight, though like e-ink they provide no light of their own. Earlier this month, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs said the technology will be in full production by the middle of 2012.

If used for 30 minutes per day, the new e-reader will provide weeks of reading on a single charge, Qualcomm and Kyobo said in a joint news release. The device also has its own light source to enable use in dark settings.

Most early e-readers featured grayscale screens. But a host of new devices, including Barnes & Noble's Nook Color and Amazon's Kindle Fire, have color screens and are blurring the line between e-readers and full-powered tablets.

 

[Idontcare]

The Kyobo eReader features a 5.7-inch touchscreen color display with a 1024 x 768 format at 223 pixels per inch

That has got to be one beauty of a screen with that ppi.