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Revision as of 23:18, 10 January 2011

AMD Fusion is the codename for a future next-generation microprocessor design and a product of the merger between AMD and ATI, combining general processor execution as well as 3D geometry processing and other functions of modern GPUs into a single chip.[1] This technology is expected to debut in the first half of 2011, as a successor of the AMD K10 microarchitecture which is AMD's latest microarchitecture.[2]

Regarding future AMD microarchitectures beyond the introduction of the latest microarchitecture at mid-2007 and a refresh of the microarchitecture in late 2007 and early 2008; AMD executive VP Henri Richard's June 2006 interview with DigiTimes hints at the future processor development beyond that of the well documented one:

Q: What is your broad perspective on the development of AMD processor technology over the next three to four years?

A: Well, as Dirk Meyer commented at our analysts meeting, we're not standing still. We've talked about the refresh of the current K8 architecture that will come in '07, with significant improvements in many different areas of the processor, including integer performance, floating point performance, memory bandwidth, interconnections and so on. You know that platform still has a lot of legs under it, but of course we're not standing still, and there's a next-generation core that's being worked on. I can't give you more details right now, but I think that what's important is that we're establishing clearly that this is a two-horse race. And as you would expect in a race, sometimes, when one horse is a little bit in front of the other, it reverses the situation. But what's important is that it is a race.

— AMD Executive VP, Henri Richard, Source: DigiTimes Interview with Henri Richard.[3]

Motivation

In an interview with Exec VP of AMD, Mario A. Rivas, CRN.com claims that: "'With its Fusion program, AMD hopes to deliver multicore products using different kinds of processing blocks. A GPU, for example, will excel in multiple parallel computational tasks, while the CPU will take on heavy number-crunching duties. The Fusion-based processors, with the CPU and GPU integrated in a single architecture, should make the life of software programmers and application developers much easier,' Rivas added." [4]

Preliminary information

  • A heterogeneous multicore microprocessor architecture, combining a general purpose processing core(s) and basic graphics core(s) into one processor package, with different clocks for the graphics core and the central processing core.[5]
  • Four platforms focus on the four different aspects of usage.[6]
    • General Purpose.
    • Data Centric.
    • Graphics Centric.
    • Media Centric.
  • AMD demonstrated their first Fusion CPU/GPU on June 1, 2010 at the Computex trade show. AMD is calling the hybrid device an APU, Accelerated Processing Unit. The demo ran Internet Explorer 9 and Windows 7.[7]

Initial Announcements

Two implementations were announced publicly during AMD events.

Falcon

  • Codenamed the Falcon family.
  • Announced in AMD Technology Analyst Day July 2007.
  • Incorporation with GPU cores.
  • Target market:
    • Originally planned with the codenamed Bulldozer processor cores focusing on desktop market with TDP of 10 to 100 Watts.
    • An option to be implemented into mobile phones, UMPC and small multimedia devices [8], with the codenamed Bobcat processor core focusing on low power consumption (1 to 10 Watts TDP) computations for handheld devices such as UMPC.

Swift

  • The plan was later changed to bring the first product of Fusion (codenamed Swift [9]).
  • Announced in AMD Financial Analyst Day December 2007.
  • Based on the codenamed Stars CPU cores (K10 architecture) made on 45 nm process instead of Bulldozer and Bobcat cores.
  • Aimed at notebook market.
  • Native CPU die with a GPU core on the same package [10], implementing Socket FS1, with two variants [9]:
    • White Swift: Single CPU core.[10]
    • Black Swift: Dual CPU core.[10]
  • Support for DDR3.[10]
  • Incorporation of full DirectX-compliant GPU core(s): RV710-level, codenamed Kong.[11]
  • Codenamed Onion, new interconnect.[11]
  • Codenamed Garlic, new memory interface for reduced memory reading latencies of the GPU.[11]

Llano and Ontario for 2011

  • The plan was later changed again with "Swift" being canceled and removed from the processor roadmap[12]. It is suspected that the cancellation was due poor yields on the 45 nm manufacturing process[13]. Instead, Ontario and Llano will form the first generation of AMD APUs, targeting different market segments. Llano was already sampled[14][15] with Ontario in mass production as of late 2010.
  • Llano will use upgraded Stars CPU cores and a Turks-class GPU. It will be manufactured by GlobalFoundries on their 32 nm SOI process[16] and target the same market as the existing Athlon II line. Like Athlon II, it will be available in dual, triple, and quad-core variants.
  • Brand new Bobcat[17] CPU cores with a Cedar-class GPU will form the basis of the Ontario (TDP 9W) and Zacate (TDP 18W) APUs. Both Ontario and Zacate are based on the same silicon die and will come in single and dual-core variants.[18]
  • Native CPU die with a GPU core on the same package[15][16].
  • Incorporation of full DirectX 11 compliant GPUs[15][16].
  • Llano will have an integrated PCIe 2.0 controller, a dual channel DDR3-1600 memory controller and 1MB L2 cache per core (no L3 cache) [16].
  • Ontario is a monolithic System-on-Chip aimed at netbooks, tablets and other low-power devices[15].

Trinity and Enhanced-Bobcat for 2012

  • AMD's Financial Analyst Day 2010 revealed a new generation of Fusion APUs for 2012.[19]
  • Llano APU will be replaced by the Trinity APU.
  • Trinity will replace the Stars based cores with Next-Generation Bulldozer cores. Like Llano, Trinity will be manufactured on the 32 nm SOI process.
  • Bobcat-based Fusion APUs (Ontario/Zacate), will be replaced by Enhanced-Bobcat variants (Krishna/Wichita) made on a 28 nm bulk process.
  • For the Desktop/Notebook markets, Zacate will be replaced by Krishna. It is expected to be available in 2- to 4-core variants with twice the GPU power of Zacate.
  • For the Low-power/Netbook markets, Ontario will be replaced by Wichita. It is expected to be available with 1 to 4 cores and GPU in the Zacate performance class.

Roadmap

[19][20]

APU release process TDP CPU cores GPU SPUs
Ontario Q1 2011 40 nm bulk 9W 1-2 Bobcat 16 (80) VLIW5
Zacate Q1 2011 40 nm bulk 18W 1-2 Bobcat 16 (80) VLIW5
Llano Q2-Q3 2011 32 nm SOI 25W~95W 2-4 Stars+ 80 (400) VLIW5
Krishna H2 2011[21] 28 nm bulk ~9W 1-2 Bobcat+ 16+(64) VLIW4(?)
Wichita H1 2012 28 nm bulk ~18W 2-4 Bobcat+ 16+(64) VLIW4(?)
Trinity H1 2012 32 nm SOI 25W~95W Bulldozer 80+(320) VLIW4(?)

Media discussions

Benchmarks testing

  • - AMD Benchmarks Zacate APU [22]

Anticipated competitors

See also

References

  1. ^ ATI chipsets already include GPU
  2. ^ "AMD Demonstrates World's First Fusion APU at Computex 2010". AMD. 2010-06-02.
  3. ^ http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20060628VL201.html
  4. ^ "AMD sees Vista driving demand for graphics horsepower". crn.com. 2006-12-14.
  5. ^ Fudzilla report
  6. ^ Template:PDFlink, retrieved July 24, 2006
  7. ^ AMD demos first Fusion 'APU'
  8. ^ Fudzilla report
  9. ^ a b AMD Financial Analyst Day 2007 presentation, presented by Mario Rivas, page 16 of 28. Retrieved December 14, 2007
  10. ^ a b c d e Template:Zh icon HKEPC report, retrieved March 4, 2008
  11. ^ a b c d Template:Zh icon HKEPC report, retrieved August 20, 2008
  12. ^ AMD’s CPU Roadmap, 2008-2011
  13. ^ http://www.fudzilla.com/processors/processors/processors/fusion-swift-45nm-didnt-work
  14. ^ AMD Ships Llano Samples to Customers, Plans to Initiate Production in Late 2010.
  15. ^ a b c d AMD Ontario: Monolithic System-on-Chip, 40nm Fabrication Process.
  16. ^ a b c d [1]
  17. ^ [2]
  18. ^ http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/3954/softnologyeontario1.png
  19. ^ a b AMD begins shipping Brazos, announces Bulldozer-based APUs, [3] pdf
  20. ^ AMD Fusion Release Dates
  21. ^ AMD readies next-generation netbook/tablet PC platform
  22. ^ http://www.anandtech.com/Show/Index/3933
  23. ^ [4]

External links

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