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AMD Announces Bulldozer and Bobcat Processor Designs

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 10:37 am
by Apoptosis
AMD Sets New Mark in x86 Innovation with First Detailed Disclosures of Two New Core Designs

-Low-power “Bobcat” and high-performance “Bulldozer” pave the way to upcoming CPU and AMD Fusion APU designs-
Today at HOT CHIPS 22, AMD (NYSE: AMD) will reveal new details on its two next-generation x86 processor core implementations, including AMDs unique approach to high-performance, multi-threaded computing, as well as a sub one-watt capable low-power design. The two new designs, codenamed “Bulldozer” for high-performance PC and server markets, and “Bobcat” for low-power notebook and small form-factor desktop markets, were designed from the ground-up to address specific customer requirements and compute workloads. The new cores are central to AMD’s future roadmap, including the AMD Fusion Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) products and AMD’s new high-performance server and client CPUs.

“In my opinion, Bulldozer and Bobcat are not only two of the greatest technical achievements in AMD’s rich history, but two of the most important for the industry as well,” said Chekib Akrout, senior vice president and general manager, AMD Technology Development. “With CPUs and APUs built from these core implementations, we expect our customers to deliver a new wave of innovative PC form factors and high-performance computing experiences.”

At HOT CHIPS 22, Brad Burgess, AMD Fellow and chief architect of Bobcat, and Mike Butler, AMD Fellow and chief architect of Bulldozer, will each present in the “New Processor Architectures” session. The x86 architecture lies at the very heart of computing and AMD has continuously evolved and improved its core designs. The Bulldozer and Bobcat cores continue that evolutionary path and are designed to change the user’s experience with the resulting products.

“Attacking both high-performance and low-power markets simultaneously with two brand new architectures is an impressive accomplishment that serves notice to the industry that innovation is alive and well inside AMD,” observed Nathan Brookwood, research fellow at Insight 64.

Highlights of the new cores include:

Bulldozer
* An innovative approach to multithreaded compute performance that balances dedicated and shared compute resources to provide a highly compact, high core count design that is easily replicated on a chip for performance scaling
* New x86 instruction support (SSE4.1, SSE4.2, AVX, and XOP including 4-operand FMAC)
* Advanced power management features
* Manufactured on advanced 32nm process technology

Bobcat
* Sub-one-watt capable operation
* Out-of-order instruction execution for higher performance
* Estimated 90 percent of today’s mainstream PC performance in half the area
* Core power gating and a microarchitecture optimized for low power
* Highly synthesizeable design that moves easily across manufacturing technologies

About AMD
Avanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) is an innovative technology company dedicated to collaborating with customers and technology partners to ignite the next generation of computing and graphics solutions at work, home and play. For more information, visit http://www.amd.com.

Re: AMD Announces Bulldozer and Bobcat Processor Designs

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 11:23 am
by Sttm
I hope they show some early performance numbers. C'mon $300 8 core chip with greater performance and efficiency then i7 core to core.

Re: AMD Announces Bulldozer and Bobcat Processor Designs

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 1:38 pm
by skier
Sttm wrote:I hope they show some early performance numbers. C'mon $300 8 core chip with greater performance and efficiency then i7 core to core.
bulldozer should be way ahead of the 4core 8T i7's but not the 970/980's

the regular i7's effectively have a 6 cores (4 additional threads which each equal a half-core performance wise) so they run with the Thubans, but they are more efficient because of the architecture

i7 970/980 have 6 cores then another 3 cores after HT making it 9, so unless bulldozer has a hefty performance increase it will still be behind even at higher clocks by lacking one core

OBVIOUSLY bulldozer will be a cheaper way to get enthusiast level performance, unless Intel rolls out hex i7's without HT or something to drastically lower pricing

howeven, AMD has said that the Bulldozer will outperform the current Opteron "Magny Cours" 12core CPU, do not recall if it was just core for core or in general

but, I'm seriously considering selling my motherboard and thuban to upgrade my board and wait for bulldozer


would also be sweet if bobcat becomes a feasible replacement for ATOM

Re: AMD Announces Bulldozer and Bobcat Processor Designs

Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 8:53 pm
by lordvic
Hmm...sub one-watt operation...didn't they introduce a processor back in 2006 that used 0.9W or something? The idea was from the third microprocessor company that died out in the 1990's...Cyrix? :-k

I read from somewhere that with Bulldozer being released, AM3+ socket CPUs may/will arrive shortly after...