We don’t know squat about what the PS4 will look like since it didn’t make an appearance at Sony’s two-hour long press event last night, but we’ve learned a lot about what it’ll be like when it finally shows up. And now, we know it’s going to have AMD innards. More »
So we didn’t see the actual PlayStation 4 console on stage at Sony’s press event tonight, but that doesn’t mean we can’t know what’s inside it. A press release reveals that the PS4’s PC-like configuration will include an 8-core 64-bit x86 “Jaguar” CPU built by AMD, with a Radeon GPU comprised of 18 “compute units” capable of cranking out 1.84 TFLOPS to process graphics and more. Its Blu-ray drive — yes, it will still have one of those — spins at a brisk 6X (8X for DVDs) and as mentioned on stage, it packs 8GB of unified GDDR5 RAM capable of 176GB/sec of bandwidth. 802.11n WiFi, USB 3.0, Bluetooth 2.1, HDMI, optical out and even a legacy analog AV out make up the inputs and outputs, although the potential amounts of storage are still unspecified.
Also mentioned are the new software features, which include long-awaited additions like cross-game chat, and PSN Sony Entertainment Network accounts can now connect to Facebook. Other details we’ve already heard plenty about, like its instant-on “suspend mode”, preloading of content, cloud gaming and shared game experiences. There are still many unknowns about Sony’s next game console, get filled in on the facts as they are after the break.
Asus has a first today – having announced the TUF Series Sabertooth 990FX/GEN3 R2.0, which is touted to be the first AMD-based motherboard in the world that will carry PCI Express 3.0, allowing you to include next generation high performance graphics cards inside. In fact, you can carry up to a trio of DirectX 11 graphics cards with 28nm GPU technology within, where these can be set up via NVIDIA SLI or AMD CrossFireX. I guess gaming and performance enthusiasts will find the Asus Sabertooth to resonate the most with them, and with the famous Asus TUF Series thermal design, you can be sure that overheating is not going to be on the list of issues to contend with.
Similar to all other TUF Series motherboards, the Sabertooth has also undergone military and server-grade testing in order to make sure of its absolute stability, reliability, and longevity. Other features include a quartet of DIMM slots, Northbridge and Southbridge, independent and automatic fan speed control, and of course, a five-year warranty for that added peace of mind.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Nifty MiniDrive Offers Additional MacBook Storage On The Cheap, Touchscreen Chromebook In The Works (Rumor),
These days, we do seem to see more and more companies take the multi-tasking route, that is, to roll out multi-functional devices and hybrids. Remember the good old days when your mobile phone was just that, and it did not do anything more other than to make and receive calls in addition to text messages? Well, smartphones have more or less rendered the featurephone defunct, and AMD intends to eke out a tiny market space by introducing their AMD Turbo Dock system, which is something that will automatically adjust the performance of an AMD-powered tablet, depending on whether it remains hooked up to a keyboard dock or not.
When in tablet mode, you will be able to enjoy 1080p HD video playback support, 3D gaming capability and a host of other features, but your CPU will not have to run at full speed since changes are you will not be running processor intensive tasks. AMD claims that their Turbo Dock technology is able to provide a boost to CPU and GPU performance by up to 40% whenever it is docked. Will it catch on later this year as hybrid tablets based on the AMD Temash platform arrive? Only time will tell, so stay tuned.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: WSJ “Confirms” Google’s Retail Store Plans, Google Rumored To Be Opening Their Own Retail Stores This Year,
AMD has revealed Turbo Dock, its latest attempt to broach the tablet and ultraportable markets, with a Jekyll & Hyde APU processor that prioritizes performance when docked and battery life when in slate mode. Set to debut on AMD’s Temash SoC this year, Turbo Dock is in effect a dynamic throttling system that boosts CPU and GPU performance by up to 40-percent when a hybrid PC is docked, on the assumption that the user is likely to be doing more system-intensive content creation.
When the screen section is removed, however, Turbo Dock automatically throttles things back, reducing power consumption so that the tablet lasts longer. In fact, the system is constantly adjusting depending on what apps are being run, meaning the full potency of the APU isn’t employed if all you’re doing is watching a video.
Temash, meanwhile, is AMD’s latest low-power processor, aimed at Windows 8 powered tablets and hybrids. Built using 28nm processes, it promises five times the graphics performance of Intel’s Atom Z2760 – as in, for instance, Acer’s Iconia W510 hybrid – and will be available in dual- and quadcore versions.
AMD will be bringing along a selection of demo units to Mobile World Congress next week, to show off exactly what the A6-1450 and other Temash SoCs are capable of. Meanwhile, the first production tablets and hybrids to use Temash and feature Turbo Dock will be launched later in 2013, though no specific brands have been confirmed at this stage.
AMD Turbo Dock promises perfect balance for your Win8 hybrid is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
This week we’re having a look at the real-deal final release iteration of the ASUS VivoBook U38N with full touchscreen capabilities, Windows 8, and AMD innards. This machine is sleek, keeps with the fantastic ASUS style language we’ve been loving since the ASUS Transformer Prime stole our hears back in 2011, and provides a rather rare look at this sort of amalgamation of bits with AMD under the hood. It all starts with 5-point capacitive touch on a Full HD 1920 x 1080 panel with a rather nice “frameless” design up front.
With an ASUS piece of hardware you know you’re getting a machine whose creators spent some time perfecting its casings, and here we’ve got a design that’s been perfected several times over. This notebook will not look unique to you if you’ve worked with an ASUS laptop in the last few years. It’s certainly thin at between 6-19mm from its thinnest to its fattest, and it’s light enough to fit in your standard backpack at just 1.55Kg.
The panel you’re looking at is 13.3-inches of Full HD IPS LCD at a 16:9 aspect ratio. The front-facing camera you’re working with is HD 720p for video chat and you’ve got a standard integrated microphone so you can chat without additional accessories. If you do want to plug in, on the other hand, you’ve got 3x USB 3.0 ports, a Mini VGA port, full-sized HDMI-out, and an SD card reader so you can rock and roll.
The keyboard here is a really standard ASUS setup – working with a bit more breathing room than we’ve seen on the slightly smaller Transformer tablet units over the past couple of years with a touchpad that’s also had some usability improvements. Of course if you continue to compare an Android tablet user experience to a Windows user experience here with full Windows 8, you’re going to feel that this device is rocking and rolling in the hardware department – it does have a bit to do with the fact that Windows 8 is made for a desktop environment, of course.
Inside you’ve got a choice between 2.5῀ 7mm 500 GB HDD and 2.5῀ 7mm SSD 128GB as well as DDR3 1600MHz 2GB (on board) with either 2GB or 4GB Slot DIMM. It all depends on what you need to keep you kicking. You’ve also got a choice between AMD Radeon HD7600G and AMD Radeon HD7620G graphics on either AMD A8-4555M or A10-4655M Quad-Core APU processors. All this magic comes clean with the AMD A70M Hub Controller – your only choice for chipset.
You’ll also find that you’ve got a built-in Bang & Olufsen ICE Power audio system that’ll make dorm room video watching a successful venture without a doubt. Each speaker is 2.5 W and you’ve got the guarantee that Bang & Olufsen worked with the ASUSA special Golden Ear team for an “exclusive” SonicMaster Technology experience. In short: this laptop sounds very, very nice.
With Windows 8 you’ve got a fully touch-friendly experience ahead of you from start to finish, and with the 5-finger touch functionality of the ASUS U38N series, you’ll be tapping all day long. To keep you running strong, you’ve got AMD to keep you warmed up nice and toasty, complete with several AMD-exclusive features. Have a peek here first at a system readout for this unit:
| Manufacturer | Asus | Product Type | Notebook |
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows 8 Pro (64-bit) | ||
| Motherboard | ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. U38N | ||
| Processor | AMD A10-4655M APU with Radeon(tm) HD Graphics | ||
| Processor ID | AuthenticAMD Family 21 Model 16 Stepping 1 | ||
| Processor Frequency | 2.00 GHz | Processors | 1 |
| Threads | 4 | Cores | 4 |
| L1 Instruction Cache | 64.0 KB | L1 Data Cache | 16.0 KB |
| L2 Cache | 2.00 MB | L3 Cache | 0.00 B |
| Memory | 3.45 GB DDR3 SDRAM 675MHz | FSB | 202 MHz |
| BIOS | American Megatrends Inc. U38N.TPM.ALS.0x20 | ||
With this build of Windows 8 you’ll be seeing a fairly clean design with not one whole heck of a lot of extra software pushed by ASUS. That said, there are some interesting additions you’re going to want to see in our hands-on with the system coming up next. Note while you’re watching how sleek the system is and how well touch is responded to right here with this basic out-of-box build.
Finally have a peek at our basic benchmark result from Geekbench. This notebook is certainly not the most powerful we’ve come across, but it definitely gets the job done for your everyday computing needs. If you’re looking for some notebooks to compare to, feel free to head down into our Laptop Reviews tag portal for machines from each of the finest manufacturers on the market. AMD does seem to be holding its own against some of the more visible names in the public today!
| Section | Description | Score | Total Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows x86 (64-bit) – Microsoft Windows 8 Pro (64-bit) | |||
| Integer | Processor integer performance | 3270 | 3578 |
| Floating Point | Processor floating point performance | 4806 | |
| Memory | Memory performance | 2245 | |
| Stream | Memory bandwidth performance | 3025 | |
With the ASUS VivoBook U38N you’ve got a rather well-rounded solution for your school or everyday home use. With the high-quality audio system and the Full HD picture right in front of your face, you’ll also do well to work with this machine as a home entertainment blaster, especially if you’re the sort of person who doesn’t use a giant TV. If you DO use a giant TV, you’ve also got the option to output via HDMI as well – easy as pie!
This is easily one of ASUS’ finest efforts to date, and with AMD under the hood you know you’ll have a unique solution that your best buddy will be interested in fiddling around with. ASUS also works with a collection of their own accessories that work with this notebook, and the manufacturer continues to support their ever-growing line of products with both hardware and software upgrades into the future. Let us know if you’re onboard!
ASUS VivoBook U38N Review: AMD in a classic ZENBOOK chassis is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
If you’re the fidgety type that’s also in the market for a new GPU, AMD’s ready to tempt you into springing for a Radeon HD 7000 series card with the promise of free gaming swag. The imaginatively named “Never Settle: Reloaded” bundle reuses several titles from last year’s promotion — Farcry 3, Sleeping Dogs and Hitman: Absolution — and adds a few more it hopes will grab your attention: BioShock Infinite, Crysis 3, DmC Devil May Cry and Tomb Raider. AMD’s 7770 GHz Edition GPU no longer qualifies, but purchase a 7800 or 7900 series card and you’ll be given at least a couple of games to enjoy on your new hardware. Exactly what software you’ll receive varies on how much dough you’re waving around and what region you’re shopping in, so head to the source link for a full rundown of the options. A single 7990 or a two-pack of 7900 series cards will get you the most games, but if you don’t quite have the bread, ask Lara for a loan — she might be willing to share some of her perilous adventure fund and help you out.
Filed under: Desktops, Gaming, Peripherals, Software, AMD
Source: AMD
GizmoSphere and AMD are targeting independent developers, embedded system makers and tinkerers with the Gizmo Board — a four-inch square powered by a dual-core 1GHz G-T40E. The x86 CPU and Radeon 6250 GPU put a lot of power and flexibility in your hands, though, the 1GB of soldered on RAM does limit it somewhat. In addition to being able to run Android, Linux or Windows, there’s also a host of connectivity options packed in. There’s a VGA connector and two USB 2.0 ports, along with an Ethernet jack and a pair of custom I/O connectors — one of which can be hooked up to GizmoSphere’s Explorer board, which has a keypad, LCD and an area for prototyping. You can pick up the Gizmo Board direct from the company’s site (at the source) for $199 which certainly makes it more expensive than options like the Raspberry Pi, but there’s also a lot more horsepower under its passively cooled hood. Check out the PR after the break for more.
GizmoSphere Launches an AMD APU-based Gizmo Board for Embedded Systems Inventors and Hobbyists
AMD is a Founding Member of GizmoSphere Embedded Developer Community
SUNNYVALE, Calif. -1/24/2013
AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced that the newly launched Gizmo board, a low-cost board geared toward x86-based embedded system development available from GizmoSphere, is powered by an AMD Embedded G-Series Accelerated Processing Unit (APU). Gizmo is a 4-inch by 4-inch x86 development board that can run a variety of operating systems including Android, Linux(R), RTOSes and Windows(R). AMD is a founding member of GizmoSphere, a not-for-profit organization whose collective goal is to drive and enable technology projects of interest to independent developers, with a focus on stimulating and encouraging innovation around multicore heterogeneous computing using APUs.
The Gizmo board includes the G-T40E dual-core processor running at 1.0 GHz, combined on a single die with AMD Radeon[TM] HD 6250 discrete-class graphics. The board provides a performance capacity of 52 gigaFLOPS (GFLOPS) at less than 10 watts. Custom high- and low-speed edge connectors enable a full range of functions. This unprecedented level of integration between serial and parallel processing offers a power-efficient foundation for high-performance multimedia content delivery across a broad range of embedded designs such as digital signage, x86 set-top box (xSTB), IP-TV, thin client, information kiosk, point-of-sale, casino gaming, media servers and industrial control systems.
“Gizmo is an excellent board for the next generation of embedded systems development,” said Kamal Khouri, director of Embedded Products, AMD. “The new board will serve the diverse and growing embedded development community and is especially useful for those wanting to incorporate the advanced capabilities possible by harnessing a heterogeneous architecture. Developers ready to take advantage of a high-performance, full I/O-featured x86 development board will find tremendous value in Gizmo.”
Packaged as part of a development kit, the Gizmo board is available now through GizmoSphere.org for $199. GizmoSphere’s founding members include AMD, Sage Electronic Engineering, Texas Multicore Technologies and Viosoft.
Filed under: Misc
Via: SemiAccurate
Source: GizmoSphere
Chalk up another potential win for AMD. The latest report on the next PlayStation console (courtesy of Kotaku), allegedly codenamed “Orbis,” puts AMD at the heart of both CPU and GPU: an eight core AMD64 CPU and an AMD R10XX GPU are said to drive the system. That’s at least the dev kit that the site’s tipster has as of right now, but those specs — yes, even biggies like these — could change completely by retail availability. Should AMD remain the CPU/GPU manufacturer, both Nintendo’s Wii U and the next PlayStation will be powered by AMD chips; not too shabby for a company that’s been bleeding talent. The rumors we’ve seen of the next Xbox also point to x64 architecture, but it’s unclear whether that’ll be supplied by AMD or another manufacturer. If those rumors pan out however, it would mean that a single unified architecture would power two of the major gaming consoles as well your laptop and desktop — something that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. (And would open up a world of possibilities.)
We’re inclined to trust the current specs of the dev kit, as they’re said to be sourced from “official Orbis documentation … a hive of more than 90 PDFs about the forthcoming console.” One slide culled from that official documentation also outlines Sony’s vision of user accounts, allowing multiple Sony Entertainment Network accounts to be signed in simultaneously (thus allowing for individual Trophies, and potentially cloud saves, among other uses). The piece also details a new controller — though it is noted that the current dev kit supports both DualShock 3 and Sixaxis controllers (and the image above shows a Move, so probably that too) — which is supposedly known as “the Orbis Development Tool.” It’s said to resemble the DualShock, albeit with the addition of a capacitive touchpad — a rumor also posited by some UK outlets earlier this week.
Whether any of this is actually true is another question altogether, and we can’t be sure until Sony gives official word. It sounds like some form of information isn’t too far off — E3 perhaps? Regardless, head over to Kotaku for the alleged full (current) list of specs on the dev kit and even more speculation.
Filed under: Gaming, HD, Sony, AMD
Source: Kotaku
AMD has confirmed its two new mobile chip experts on the team, snagged from Apple and Qualcomm in recent weeks, after reports that the processor company was focusing on SoC-development to take a bite of the smartphone and tablet market. Charles Matar and Wayne Meretsky – who shift over from Qualcomm and Apple, respectively – had been revealed to have joined AMD’s ranks earlier this week, though at the time the chip maker declined to detail their new responsibilities. Now, however, the cat is out the bag.
According to AMD, it’s not only low-power mobile chips but next-gen server processors that will benefit from the fresh blood. Matar and Meretsky bring “years of expertise in SoC design and developing 64-bit software ecosystems, respectively,” Mark Papermaster, AMD’s Chief Technology Officer, said in a statement today. “The fact that these computing experts have returned to the company underscores AMD’s unique position and opportunity, based on differentiated IP, to take a leadership position in low-power clients and dense cloud servers.”
Matar will take up a role as corporate vice president of SoC Development, where AMD says “he will employ his in-depth understanding of market trends and wireless industry requirements to help AMD shift appropriate focus to client and embedded market opportunities.” The exec has previously worked at Motorola and various semiconductor companies, before his stint helping with low-power chip designs at Qualcomm.
As for Meretsky, he will be corporate vice president of Software IP Development, and will bring his code expertise honed from Apple and, before that, P.A. Semi to work on AMD’s software development activities. His role will be in “ensuring tools will be in place that will enable developers to take advantage of the compute power in AMD’s SoC designs.”
“Meretsky is a former AMD Fellow” the company points out, “who was instrumental in making AMD’s 64-bit technology the de facto industry standard for PCs, workstations and servers.” It also highlights that Meretsky worked alongside Jim Keller back in the P.A. Semi days; Keller was snatched by AMD from Apple, where he was chip architect, last year.
AMD confirms ex-Apple and Qualcomm execs new focus on SoCs and more is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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