AMD C-60 Gets TurboCore to CPU and GPU

[btarunr]

AMD is giving its C-series Fusion APUs for netbooks and embedded systems a feature update with its upcoming model, the C-60. The AMD C-60 will have the same default clock speed as the C-50, at 1.00 GHz, but features the AMD TurboCore technology, which can up clock speed to 1.3 GHz when the two cores are loaded. The embedded Radeon GPU also features GPU TurboCore, which boosts engine speed from 276 MHz to 400 MHz. The new dual-core C-60 does all this, while limiting itself to the 9W TDP. AMD will release the new C-60 APU in Q3, 2011.



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[Lionheart]

Thats a nice feature while keeping the power low

 

[Jack Doph]

Now, this is the obvious compulsory comment: will they release a C-64 model?

 

[mastrdrver]

So with turbo fully on you get pretty close to E-350 speeds for the watts of a C-50......I'm glad I waited. Sounds like what the C-50 lacked to make it a pretty decent netbook APU had been taken care of. Not that it was really lacking, but the doubling of the GPU clock in turbo mode will take care of anyone who could come up with a complaint about it not being fast enough.

Just wish someone would put one in a netbook with a 10" screen, 2GB ddr3, and something other then Windows Starter.................for less then $400 and I'd be in.

 

[RejZoR]

Now, this is the obvious compulsory comment: will they release a C-64 model?

I'd prefer C-4 hehe... ...kaboom...

 

[ToTTenTranz]

400MHz GPU for a 9W part, now here's a game-changer.

 

[HalfAHertz]

I am guessing the turbo mode is regulated in software, because it is highly unlikely they had he time to change the core design of the CPU in such a short time. In such a case will you need a cpu driver, will it be done through CCC or will you need to install AMD overdrive?

 

[ToTTenTranz]

I am guessing the turbo mode is regulated in software, because it is highly unlikely they had he time to change the core design of the CPU in such a short time. In such a case will you need a cpu driver, will it be done through CCC or will you need to install AMD overdrive?

It could be there from the start, but laser-cut in the initial batch of production units until better yields were achieved.

I don't think a software driver is reliable enough to overclock the Bobcats and the Cedar while maintaining the 9W TDP.
A ~10% overclock would be safe enough to keep within a tolerable margin of error (as we used to see in CCC's automatic overclock), but a 30% CPU and 44% GPU overclock is nothing to sneeze at. I wouldn't trust the relatively unreliable Windows to manage that.

 

[Steevo]

OOr it was in the die, but through binning they achieved eenough stock to release it.

 

[DaJMasta]

Maybe by the time this is released there will be half a dozen products on the market that use the C-50....



I mean, I know that netbook manufacturers have been tight with intel for a while - they have definitely had the better solutions in most cases... but the c-50 seems like an excellent product (cheap, low power, high multimedia performance, on par CPU performance with the higher end dual core atoms) and I have seen it used in either 1 or two computers so far. I don't know what's holding people back... The E-350 has seen a better reception, but there's still only a handful of models that qualify as netbooks that use it. Quite frankly I saw the fusion platform release as a milestone in netbook computing - the first since the introduction of the atom... and no one's using it.

I know that the n4xx series chips cannot run HD(720p) video in a flash player on their own... am I the only one that thinks HD playback (and having a screen large enough to show 720p) matters in a netbook?

 

[mastrdrver]

I am guessing the turbo mode is regulated in software, because it is highly unlikely they had he time to change the core design of the CPU in such a short time. In such a case will you need a cpu driver, will it be done through CCC or will you need to install AMD overdrive?

Are the Thubans software controlled? Then I don't think the C-60 is either.

Not to mention that this is still another quarter away so (from this announcement) they have had probably a little short of 6 months to fix the bugs out of the APUs so they get a better yield. I would be surprised if turbo wasn't there from the beginning but just wasn't feasible because it was buggy, too hot, some combination of several problems that cause them to be inoperable, maybe even worse case kill the APU, etc.

Maybe someone can point out a month last year but my foggy memory wants to say that it wasn't too long after TSMC declared their buggy 40nm fixed that these were probably already (like Llano did at the beginning of the month) shipping to OEMs so they could have the E and C lines of APUs by CES. Remember it wasn't until the end of February (roughly in the US) that the scarcity of these APUs finally started being fixed. HP was the only OEM that had an AMD APU system available in the month of January. Acer showed up at the beginning of February with their netbook using the C series.

 

[wolf]

this is a great feature to add to a APU of this calibre, pending it can definitely stay within 9w, cant wait for them to add this to the 18w models too, i bet theres some headroom there.

the whole architecture has a lot of promise with die shrinks too, wont be long till we have a quad core APU under 20w I'd imagine.

 

[ToTTenTranz]

the whole architecture has a lot of promise with die shrinks too, wont be long till we have a quad core APU under 20w I'd imagine.

That's Krishna for you, sir.

 

[cheesy999]

i'll be happy when i can turn on turbo-core like this

and get a result like this

 

[HalfAHertz]

My first 486 pc had a turbo button. See? Tech really is going around in circles!

 

[mastrdrver]

this is a great feature to add to a APU of this calibre, pending it can definitely stay within 9w, cant wait for them to add this to the 18w models too, i bet theres some headroom there.

the whole architecture has a lot of promise with die shrinks too, wont be long till we have a quad core APU under 20w I'd imagine.

20w? I think they can do better then 20w with a quad on 28nm. Can't remember exactly but was thinking it would be closer to half that.

i'll be happy when i can turn on turbo-core like this

http://i955.photobucket.com/albums/ae33/cloverleafenterprises/turbo-boost.jpg

and get a result like this

http://zedomax.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/kitt4_m_m.jpg

Talk to Mussels.

My first 486 pc had a turbo button. See? Tech really is going around in circles!

Yep. They just moved it from the keyboard to...........somewhere. I bet they hid it on the keyboard inside the CPU.

 

[MikeX]

Who still use 80 amd cores GPU?
We are back to HD 4350
Ion 2 clone, but little better...

 

[mastrdrver]

Who still use 80 amd cores GPU?
We are back to HD 4350
Ion 2 clone, but little better...

The 95% of systems sold who don't game hardcore.

 

[MikeX]

@mastrdrver

I think it is the intimidating price. Regardless, I did buy one of those because, it was so tiny and cheap