AMD's Fusion details break from containment

GPU type and process size spotted

By Austin Modine • Get more from this author

Posted in PCs & Chips, 5th August 2008 00:28 GMT

Free whitepaper – Deploying high-density zones in a low-density data center

After AMD announced plans for the CPU/GPU 'Fusion' processor on the back of its acquisition of ATI in 2006, the company has since been extremely guarded with details.

But folks at TGDaily say they've unearthed news on Fusion chips from unnamed industry sources. According to the publication, the first Fusion processor, code-named "Shrike," will consist of a dual-core Phenom CPU and ATI RV800 GPU core.

The processors are expected to debut using a 40nm process technology from TSMC.

Only basic details on the RV800 are forthcoming. It has DX10.1 compatibility and minor performance gains beyond those from shrinking the die itself.

AMD's Fusion processor is the company's answer to Intel's next-gen 'Nehalem' architecture, which similarly integrates multiple cores and a GPU on the same processor die. Fusion chips are scheduled to debut in 2009 and will likely transition to a 32nm process in early 2010. ®

Free whitepaper – Power and Cooling Capacity Management for Data Centers