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Final Barcelona models and launch date
2007-06-28 13:21:00
Back in February, Tracking AMD corelated data from various sources to predict the possible model numbers and specifications of Barcelona . Today we get the confirmation that we were correct and just a little bit off on some.First off, Barcelona will launch on September 10, 2007. What we got right is the clockspeeds. The chips will range from 1.9 GHz to 2.5 GHz, only the 1.9 GHZ and 2 GHz will be available from the start. What we got slight off was the model number since we predicted 2258-2270 when actually it will be 2348 for the 1.9 GHz version up tp 2360 for 2.5 GHz. Cache for all still remain at 512KB per core for a 2MB total for each processor. Barcelona model numbers revealedFirm date, speeds for AMD Barcelonas beckon
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The Inquirer is rumormongering again
2007-06-24 11:11:00
This recent opinion article from The Inquirer is interesting. Not because of the possibility that AMD may get that helping hand from a certain blue outfit (not Intel), but what led to that conclusion (speculation actually) that is interesting.There are three points cited that I find, again, interesting.First, it points out that majority of the Phenom SKUs gave been pushed back to Q1 2008 even though Barcelona will be in full swing by August this year. Knowing that both quadcore processors are basically the same except for the memory controller, why the delay? Is the DDR2-1066 that much harder to achieve?Second point: the "leaked" benchmark. When the POVray benchmark went out, it seemed that Barcelona was doomed, scoring just over 4000 when a quadcore Xeon at 2S can get 4933. But there are alot of unknowns in this comparison, as AMD Zone passionately points out. Adding fuel to the burgeoning fire, Dailytech has its own quick Cinebench test.The third point is the fabless model. Why w...
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New AMD model numbers
2007-06-16 06:28:00
From now on, AMD will be using a different scheme for classifying and naming its processors. Gone are the PR "plus" ratings since they don't make sense in a multicore world. Instead, AMD is adopting a similar system found in their Turion mobile processors.The new naming scheme will consist of 2 letters a 4 digit number (ie. AB-0000) The first letter will be the class name that will differentiate budget, mainstream and enthusiast parts. Right now, "L" is assigned to the low end, "B" for the mainstream and "G" for the high-end. On the other hand, the second letter will reveal the TDP of the processor, with "P" for 89W and above, "S" for 69W and "E" for 45W. The 4-digit number indicates the relative performance of processors within the class.Right now, AMD has two processors already using this scheme, the BE-2300 and BE-2350. From the name, you should be able to tell that this is an energy-efficient mainstream part and that the latter is "better" than the former. In fact these are Ath...
More About: Model , Numbers , Number

Alienware Hanger18
2007-06-08 17:20:00
This must be the most beautiful HTPC ever made. And its got AMD inside (unlike what The Inquirer says)It's got both digital and analog inputs and HDMI and even gigabit ethernet. It can do HD, 5.1 surround and 2 terabytes of storage for all your media. And of course, it looks so good you wouldn't recognize it as a computer. All you need is $ 1,999 for the base model.Alienware Hangar18

Phenom teaser ad
2007-06-08 17:03:00
If you visited the AMD website recently, you would have probably noticed this little graphic.Coming soon: AMD’s Next-Generation Client Architecture:The AMD Phenom ™ Processor FamilyPhenom probably won't launch on the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal but expect some kind of teaser coming on June 10. My guess is some special AMD advertisement on the Ferrari F1 livery.
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Barcelona still not up to speed
2007-06-07 10:07:00
The next-generation quad-core AMD Opteron, codenamed Barcelona , still has scaling issues to solve. Engineers familiar with the chip say the current Barcelona samples are not scaling well and don't look very good for a slated July launch. The general consensus is that Barcelona may launch in the July-August timeframe with desktop derivatives coming for a Christmas launch.Only two things could be happening here, AMD is in deep trouble or they're sandbagging (a lot)Dailytech
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Did you know?
2007-06-07 10:01:00
Intel Corporation is the 10th most frequent network location to visit Tracking AMD (while AMD was in 500th)Interesting, but useless.

We're back!
2007-06-07 08:58:00
After a short sabbatical, I would like to tell everyone that Tracking AMD is back (The truth is I had a short vacation). I'm sorry everyone had to read their AMD news elsewhere.What's all the "new" stuff in store? Well first of all, Tracking AMD now has a top-level domain name at http://www.trackingamd.net (sorry no dot com, someone jumped the gun on that on). Also, expect a new look to the site by the weekend.Kent
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Site announcement
2007-04-05 03:04:00
Dear Tracking AMD readers,We are very sorry to say that we can no longer regularly maintain this wonderful blog about AMD, ATI and the competition. No, we are not shutting down, only informing you that updates may be scarce from now on.Over the past month, we have failed to regularly post stories and news on the site due to our tight schedule. We are not professional bloggers, just doing it for the fanboys that we are.We promise to continue following AMD and the microprocessor and graphics industry, updating you on the big events like the R600 launch (if ever that will happen) and of course, Barcelona.So see you in June, when we will track harder, deeper and better. By the way, we have posted some articles (after articles dated February 18) that were previously saved as drafts and not published, mostly because they were too short or unfinished.
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AMD makes "knock-off American processors"
2007-03-13 02:24:00
Need a break? Read this and remember to keep an open mind to other people's opinion.Entitled "Is Your Son a Computer Hacker?", this article was posted adequacy.org on December 2, 2001 by a person named T Reginald Gibbons under the topic "Internet Idiocy".Here's a quick excerpt...If your son has requested a new "processor" from a company called "AMD", this is genuine cause for alarm. AMD is a third-world based company who make inferior, "knock-off" copies of American processor chips. They use child labor extensively in their third world sweatshops, and they deliberately disable the security features that American processor makers, such as Intel, use to prevent hacking. AMD chips are never sold in stores, and you will most likely be told that you have to order them from internet sites. Do not buy this chip! This is one request that you must refuse your son, if you are to have any hope of raising him well.I remember AMD making clones of "American processor chips" (read Intel), but us...
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Still no Vista driver for Cool 'n Quiet
2007-03-08 09:52:00
Even though there is a perception that AMD and Microsoft are the best of friends, they can't seem to work out a little driver problem. Because until now, AMD has not issued a Windows Vista driver for its Cool 'n Quiet technology.Check out the official AMD support forum for yourself. (UPDATE: Its down.)
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AMD to miss Q1 revenue target
2007-03-07 02:12:00
AMD has warned it will likely miss its Q1 revenue target of $1.6-$1.7 billion. Analysts were expecting about $1.66 billion, a Thomson poll said. AMD CEO Hector Ruiz however is still "bullish for the company for the year" and is "not in any way disappointed that we have to make some adjustments."AMD Warns Q1 Revenue Target Miss Likely, Stock Sinks Lower - Seeking Alpha

R600 Dragonshead snapped
2007-03-02 10:34:00
Photo courtesy of ZDnetZDNet has 5 very interesting pictures of a red footlong graphics card we know as the R600. ZDnet corresponded David Berlind captured some shots of the R600 Drago n shead from top view to its backside. Note that "Draonshead" is the 12.4" version of the R600 PCB.Click here for the pictures.
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RV610, RV630 still on target
2007-02-28 13:45:00
Despite the woeful delays that has plagued the R600, its mainstream and entry-level brethren are still on schedule for a late Q2 (May) launch.The RV630, commercially the Radeon X2600 and R610, Radeon X2300 share the same architecture as the R600 or the X2900 except that these lower end models are made with 65 nanometer technology. Cross your fingers until May.
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AMD 690 officially launched
2007-02-28 11:58:00
AMD finally launched the AMD 690 chipset today. Note that this is the first chipset to come after the AMD -ATI deal. The AMD 690 is an interated raphics solution which can also play some games and do HD video.There are two versions of this chipset differing on the supported output. The 690G has two video outs that can operate simultaneously, either VGA/DVI, HDMI, TV-out or even dual-link capable DVI/HDMI. The 690V variant only offers VGA-out though since it does not support HDMI. The graphics performance is comparable to the X1300 with the integrated X1250 graphics for 690G having 4 more pixel pipelines than the X1200 on the 690V. Also, the 690 has a complete AVIVO Video engine to support HD playback 10-bit quality output and support for 1.07 billion colors instead of the usual 16.7 million gamut.AMD 690 Series Chipset - AMD.com
More About: Launched , Official , Ally

Catalyst 7.2 Drivers
2007-02-22 14:40:00
AMD has officially released Catalyst 7.2 graphics drivers for Windows Vista, XP and Linux. Accordin to AMD, the new Catalyst drivers offer vast improvements for OpenGL under Vista.Catalyst 7.2 is available for download here.By the way, from now on driver updates and releases will also be posted.
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R600 delayed again
2007-02-22 08:30:00
Ignore all the previous posts with bright red graphics, the R600 aka X2900 will not launch on March 30 or even somewhere near CeBit.The R600 launch has just been pushed back to Q2 (probably May)

R600 named X2900
2007-02-19 09:35:00
After several weeks of calling the R600 card as the Radeon X2800, everyone seemed to have gotten it wrong.AMD announced to its partners that 700 million transistor R600 will be called Radeon X2900. The card will be available in many variants as posted here. The X2900 XTX retail card will be dual-slot 9.5" design with a vapor chamber cooler, like a Vapochill for the GPU. The OEM version will be longer at 12.4" and will have a silent fan cooler. Following one month later, the GDDR3 equipped X2900 XT will launch. All X2900 cards from XTX, XT to XLwill feature native HDMI interface and a "cableless" Crossfire set-up that does not need any more cables or bridges for Crossfire configuration to work. There is also no more master-slave cards for this generation. By the way, the core frequencies reported earlier are not yet final as AMD wants to get the most of these, but the figures will be close.Instead of traditionally adopting the 800 name (like 9800, X800, X1800) for its first high end...

More about the Radeon X2000 series
2007-02-18 07:24:00
In addition to the X2800 XTX, AMD will launch several other cards based on the R600 as well.The R600 XT will now be known as the X2800 XT. It will be clocked at 600 MHz with 512MB GDDR3 memory at 1800MHz, but at 256 bits only in an attempt to cripple the card. This will see a price of $500.The R600 XL will become the X2800 XL. Same clock and memory specifications as the X2800 XT but will only have 96 shaders. Expect this to retail at $400.The last of the X2800 is the X2800 GTO based on the R600 GTO. It will also run at 600 MHz but GDDR3 memory is at 1400MHz only. The card will have 256MB GDDR3 memory at 256 bit and still capable of 96 Shader units. This will be priced at $300 to compete with the nVidia 8800 GTS 320MBA month or two later, probably in May, the low end cards are expected to launch based on the RV610 and RV630. Remember that these chips are actually going to be made with 65nm technology instead of 80nm, which the R600 is currently manufactured.The RV630 will be named t...
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R600 cards pictured
2007-02-18 06:58:00
The 12.4 inch R600 XTX Dragonshead card is now know as the Radeon X2800XTXThe much touted R600 will be known as the Radeon X2800 XTX. It will have core clock of 750 MHz while the GDDR 4 memory is at 2200MHz. The top of the line XTX will have 128 shaders comparable to the G80, 1024Mb 512 bit of GDDR4 memory and made with 80 nanometer manufacturing. Best of all, it will sell for $600.There will be two versions of the X2800 XTX, differing in the PCB. The huge card above is called the "Dragonshead" and is the OEM version. The other is called "Dragonshead 2"and doesn't differ in clock or memory, but interestingly it is just 9.5 inches long. This will be the retail version of the R600.For more information, The Inquirer seems to have a lotThe four flavours of DAAMIT's R600 detailed Radeon X2800XTX will work at 750MHz/2200MHz Radeon X2600XT and X2300 details elaborated
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ATI R600 to launch in March
2007-02-06 12:48:00
The Inquirer and TGDaily are reporting that the much anticipated and much delayed ATI R600 will launch on March 11-13, 2007 in the AMD ATI Tech Day in Amsterdam. Expect this to be the biggest and grandest ATI Tech Day yet.After Level505, the latest look on R600 performance comes from MyDrivers, claiming DirectX10 performance of 5% to 10% faster than the nVidia 8800GTX or the G80.
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Barcelona model numbers revealed
2007-02-04 08:43:00
After claiming that Barcelona is ready for ramp, The Inquirer now tells us that there will be four Barcelona-based Opterons at launch sometime in the second quarter:Opteron 1266 (95W TDP, 2.3GHz projected*)Opteron 1268 SE (120W TDP, 2.4GHz projected*)Opteron 1270 SE (120W TDP, 2.5GHz projected*)Opteron 2258 HE (68W TDP, 1.9GHz projected*)* Deduced from preliminary information from HKEPC.com. See details below.Remember that these are native quad cores based on Barcelona, aka K8L to some, so comparing clocks with current Opteron is irrelevant. Note that the models still use the same TDP envelope for the Socket F/AM2 platform - 95W for standard Opterons, 120W for SE and 68W for HE.Now look closely at the model numbers from The Inquirer and the HKEPC data (given that this insider information is close to the truth) and the correlation between the two is obvious as you can see from the chart below.Click on the image to enlargeSince the SE models end up as being called x270 and x268, and t...
More About: Model , Numbers , Number

"Better By Design" sticker art
2007-02-04 05:59:00
Just when you though having a couple of stickers on your laptop wasn't enough. Now AMD is pushing on the marketing for its "Better by Design " campaign emphasizing "choice" while keeping the notion that all these components are "integrated". This will focus on the processor, graphics, and for laptops - the wireless component; branding them separately to convey added value while keeping them rolled into an integrated package. The stickers interestingly convey that meaning quite well. Look for these on your next desktop or laptop purchase.AMD “Better by Design” Program Enables PC Manufacturers to Deliver Ultimate Solutions for Windows Vista™ - AMD Official Press ReleaseBetter by Design - AMD WebsiteAfterthought: I knew that AMD can't resist to tie up processor and graphics, especially that it now has superior integrated graphics with ATI compared with the G965 derived mobile core.
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Opteron 2218 works on Quad FX?
2007-02-04 05:11:00
This DailyTech post shows that it might be possible to run an Opteron 2200-series processor using an Asus L1N64-SLI Quad FX board and standard DDR2-667 memory.Though the Asus motherboard is essential a Socket F dual processor workstation board using unregistered DDR2 memory, Opterons supposedly should not work on them since its integrated memory controller uses ECC memory. The DailyTech test showed that plugging in a dual-core Opteron 2218 (2.6 GHz, 2x1Mb cache, 90nm SOI, 95W TDP) into the Asus L1N64-SLI using standard DDR2 memory is possible. The author even did some diagnostics to check for problems but everything passed. (Screenshots)So does this mean that some odd is happening with this board or are all dual processor designs from AMD (Opteron 2200-series processors and FX-70/72/74) now able to accept standard non-ECC memory?
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Asus M2A-VM motherboard based on AMD 690G
2007-02-01 15:14:00
Images from Asus WebsiteAsus M2A-VMSupport AMD Socket AM2 CPUAMD 690G Chipset + SB600 southbridgeIntegrated ATI Radeon X1250-based graphics, supports DX9.0 and Shader model 2.0Dual VGA Output DVI-D (2560×1600 at 60Hz) and RGB interface (2048 x 1536 at 85Hz)PCI Express architectureDual-channel DDR2 800/667/5334xSATA 300MB/s RAID 0,RAID 1, RAID10AMD LIVE! ReadymicroATX form factorRead more: Asus M2A-VM - ASUSTek websiteSo far there are no details on pricing or availability. A quick search in NewEgg didn't find anything.Other motherboards based on AMD 690G chipsetECS AMD690GM-M2 EPOX EP-AT690G Pro
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