While NVIDIA nearly got sued over their lack of Vista-ready drivers for their G80, ATI isn't exactly innocent. The Inquirer did a quick experiment to see if it was possible to configure a Vista workstation with an ATI FireGL graphics card. To their surprise, it wasn't. This is because ATI does not have any FireGL drivers compatible with Windows Vista. And unlike NVIDIA, they do not even have beta drivers out. While most of the gaming community is more likely to use an NVIDIA G80 than an ATI FireGL, this is still a major problem for anyone relying on a FireGL based workstation.

The gap between high performance desktops and notebooks is getting smaller and smaller - yet one area where notebooks could use a boost is undoubtedly the graphics department. For any sort of high resolution/high detail gaming, a notebook integrated GPU just won't cut it.

It would be benefitial if power-hungry GPUs could be placed outside of the notebook, and then connected to it via some interface. ASUS has caught on, its XG Station should offer such a solution.

Now, it looks like ATI has something in the works as well. Hexus reports that ATI is developing Lasso, an external board interconnecting multiple graphics boards with your notebook.

Below is a picture of an early prototype:

Interesting news from AMD: It plans to sort of launch it's upcoming K10 CPU on this coming monday if one can trust an interview of two AMD spokesmen at the french website Syndrom-OC.net. In this interview Giuseppe Amato (Technical Director, Sales and Marketing EMEA) and Philip G. Eisler (Senior Vice President, Chipset Division) are talking about the transition of the K8 to it's 65nm version, the K8L (L = Low Power). Furthermore they are explaining the new features AMD implemented into the Barcelona core and prove the rumor that it will come with 2.6 GHz only at the release.

Head on to Syndrom-OC.net to get the whole story.

Although ATI was a respected manufacturer of chipsets for Intel-based motherboards, the merger with AMD shook up the market a little bit, leaving some doubt as to whether or not AMD would continue to supply hardware supporting its major competitor. However, AMD has revealed that it is happy for the old ATI chipset development to continue, provided that Intel is willing to have AMD producing chipsets for its processors. AMD has also admitted that it isn't planning to dominate the chipset market like Intel - its current aim is just to have a reasonable share, instead of trying to topple Intel and face a price war.

Jochen Polster, vice president for sales and marketing of AMD's Worldwide Infrastructure Partnerships department, told the surrounded press that AMD finally contracted United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) to produce the AMD 690-family chipsets. Right now most of the mainboard manufacturers are about to release products based on either the 690G or the 690V.

On the presentation show of AMD's first chipset created in cooperation with ATI, the 690G, it flexed it's muscles in presenting a quad core Barcelona based PC system together with a pair of R600 graphics cards. The cards were running in Crossfire mode and the whole system was tweaked not for gaming but for calculating computational algorithms. It could squeeze out 10^12 floating point operations per second which equals a TeraFLOP/s (a term that get's quite popular today). AMD didn't seem to be tight lipped regarding the postponing of R600 at this event.

At least EE Times and The Register have a good deal more information packed into their articles.

At the press center of AMD there is now a press release covering the story.

HKEPC reports that AMD's Crossfire architecture might become open to 3rd party chipset manufacturers. In the past, several attempts at getting Crossfire working on other chipsets have been made, but this was rather rare.

AMD hopes to open up the Crossfire architecture so that any motherboard with any chipset that features 2 x16 PCIE slots will have the ability to link 2 ATI GPUs via Crossfire. This would theoretically mean that NVIDIA chipsets would support Crossfire, too.

CrossFire has lagged behind in term of marketing share for a long time. Therefore, an open multi-GPU chipset platform would definitely be a wise strategy for AMD.

AMD Launches New 690G and 690V Chipsets tomorrow

AMD will finally launch its long-awaited 690-series chipset-family tomorrow. Two variants will spearhead the release: the RS690-based mainstream AMD 690G with ATI Radeon X1250 graphics, and the RS690C-based value AMD 690V with ATI Radeon X1200 graphics.

AMD's 690-family hit plenty of snags along its development cycle. Early roadmaps showed a 2H'2006 launch, however, AMD kept pushing the launch back. Motherboard vendors blamed the delayed launch on AMD for multiple delays with the RS690. AMD's discrete RX690 variant that was to launch in the same timeframe as RS690 has yet to make an appearance. The ATI Radeon X1200-family IGP features two pixel-pipelines and two vertex-shaders. Unlike some ATI Radeon X1000-series GPUs, the pixel-pipelines have not been decoupled - the ATI Radeon X1200-family only has two pixel-shaders. AMD specifies a 400 MHz GPU-core clock for reference designs.

The ATI Radeon X1200 powered AMD 690V only supports D-Sub VGA and TV-output capabilities. AMD ups the ante with the AMD 690G with ATI Radeon X1250 graphics by integrating native DVI and HDMI output capabilities with support for HDCP, despite previous delays.

AMD's 690G will drive simultaneous DVI and HDMI devices too. It is up to the manufacturer to support the output capabilities of the AMD 690G, though some manufacturers have opted to provide HDMI outputs via an ADD2-style add-in card.

Below are some pictures of motherboards from Asus, Biostar, ECS, and MSI.

The guys over at HEXUS.com had the opportunity to set up an interview with AMD's John Fruehe at their online television subsidiary HEXUS.tv. The host of the 'show' is Dan Goldsmith, Technical Director of Armari, a company specialized in high end workstations, servers and clusters. During the 11 minutes Fruehe, being the World Wide Business Development Manager for AMD's Opteron branch, explains the advantages of the upcoming quad-core Opteron like the thermal design, L3 cache. I don't want to spoil too much here - give it a try and be enlighted: HEXUS.tv Interview

As you may have thought already Mr. Fruehe is not allowed to talk about the interesting figures. So to cover that part I would point out the Hong Kong based website HKEPC which spreads the word that these Opterons will start at frequencies of 2.1GHz to 2.3GHz only (2.6GHz in Q2 of 2008). All of them will have 512kb L2 and 2MB L3 cache.

AMD today introduced the new energy-efficient 45-watt AMD Athlon 64 single-core 3500+(2.2GHz, 512KB L2 cache) and 3800+(2.4GHz, 512KB L2 cache) desktop processors. The new energy-efficient AMD Athlon 64 processors 3500+ and 3800+ are based on 65nm technology. Using the reduced line widths enabled by 65nm technology, AMD can produce more processors on a 300mm wafer while manufacturing processors designed for low-power consumption, reinforcing AMD's commitment to energy-efficient computing. And for those who crave high performance, AMD has also introduced the AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor 6000+(3.0GHz, 2MB total dedicated L2 cache). These new processors are expected to be immediately available in the channel and from OEMs including Alienware, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Systemax and Voodoo, representing the latest in a succession of innovations based on the award-winning AMD64 processor architecture. Pricing for the 65nm energy-efficient AMD Athlon 64 processors 3500+ and 3800+ are $88 and $93, respectively in 1KU. Pricing for the new AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processor 6000+ is $464 in 1KU.

AMD has officially announced its DTX specification. DTX is an open industry standard specification initiated by AMD to help enable the broad adoption of small form factor quiet and desktop-friendly PCs. All DTX motherboards will have two expansion slots. Motherboard manufacturers are free to decide the configuration of these expansion slots, which can be PCI, PCIe or both. DTX motherboards will receive power via 24-pin power connector and auxiliary +12v 4-pin connector as standard ATX motherboards too. Other final mechanical specifications of the DTX form factor are available on AMD's DTXPC website.

The R600 is set to become AMD/ATI's flagship product as they move into the DirectX 10 era, and the company has now announced the final details of the R600 GPU. Although there are still contradicting reports concerning the existence of a 12" OEM version of the card, it is now clear that the first X2x00 series cards will be the X2900 XTX and the X2900 XT, with the XTX version being released on 30th March and the XT about a month later. The R600 will feature 700 million transistors (the X1900 series cards had 384 million), a 512-bit memory interface and support for both GDDR3 and GDDR4. The retail version of the X2900XTX is expected to have 1GB of Samsung GDDR4 memory and a vapour chamber cooler, with the XT using GDDR3 memory. Both cards will have native CrossFire support without the need for an external bridging cable or a master card, and HDMI will feature on both versions of the X2900.

Codenamed lasso, AMD's external graphics solution will use the external PCI-e connection announced last week. This solution is targeted at both desktops and laptops, but obviously will make the biggest difference in the latter. Laptops are not known for their high powered graphical solutions, but with an external unit, you may be able to enjoy high quality, portable graphics without sacrificing battery life when on the go. A crossfire implementation is also said to be in the works. It is not yet known whether these devices will utilize a seperate power supply, but I'd say it's a safe bet.

SUNNYVALE, CALIF. -- February 13, 2007 --AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced a new business focused on developing and licensing leading-edge graphics core technologies to semiconductor manufacturers throughout the handheld industry. This move is a part of the AMD commitment to enable The Ultimate Visual Experience across all devices from handhelds to PCs. As a result, new handheld devices developed with AMD graphics technology inside will reach a large audience of customers who want to enjoy stunning user interfaces, immersive 3D games, and dynamic multimedia content.

AMD today unveiled more industry-defining architectural features for its upcoming native Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors (codenamed "Barcelona") during a presentation to the International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC). In addition to the estimated 40-percent performance advantage native Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors can offer over the competition in benchmark testing, AMD's redesigned microarchitecture will enable new power- and thermal-management techniques, strengthening the industry-leading performance-per-watt AMD Opteron processors currently deliver today. Among the new features are enhancements to AMD PowerNow! technology for dynamic adjustment of individual core frequencies.

AMD has published yet another set of price cuts this time for its mid- to high-end dual-core desktop CPUs, the Athlon 64 X2. The price cuts published on AMD's website today begin with the Athlon 64 X2 5600+, currently the top-end processor in the range, falling in price from US$505 to US$326, while the next highest model, the 5400+ is reduced even further from US$485 to US$267. The 5200+ and the two versions of the 5000+ (based on 90nm and 65nm processes) each see their prices cut by US$63, from US$295 to US$232 for the 5200+ and from US$285 to US$222 for both 5000+ models. Additionally, two single-core models, the Athlon 64 3800+ and 3500+, have also been reduced slightly by US$8 and US$3 respectively. Click here to see the complete processor pricing list effective February 12, 2007.

Delivering on its commitment to industry-leading datacenter performance and performance-per-watt, AMD today announced availability of new AMD Opteron processor models in both highly efficient (68 watt) and mainstream (95 watt) thermal envelopes.

For a long time, we've been nicknaming AMD's next major chip release K8L. In truth, AMD never really called their next generation CPU "K8L". The only time they ever nicknamed this new chip K8L was in imaginary roadmaps that were used a long, long time ago. The "L" in K8L actually stands for "low power", which has been used in the Turion 64 series for a year or two now. AMD has officially stated that their next generation of CPU's has the codename of K10. AMD also assures us that the K10 micro-architecture will be a very large step from what AMD currently offers in the K9 micro-architecture.

AMD has released some information about its Shanghai processors - the next generation of server CPUs after the Barcelona cores. The Shanghai processors will be the company's first 45nm chips, which should bring power consumption and heat benefits over 90nm and 65nm equivilents. They will also have 6MB of L3 cache and use the socket 1207 interface, so should be able to work with current Socket F motherboards providing BIOS updates are released. The Shanghai is likely to compete with Intel's 45nm offering, known as Penryn.

During 2006, AMD's market share continued to grow with regards to home computing, however Intel began to reclaim the server market towards the end. At the end of 2005 AMD was reported to have a market share of 21.4% for chip shipments, however during Q4 2006 the company accounted for 25.3%, the highest it has ever seen. Meanwhile, Intel started the year on 76% and fell to 74.4%. Despite 2006 also being a successful year for AMD in the server market, during Q4 its market share fell to 22.2%, down from 23.6% during Q3. In desktops alone AMD now ships 29.1% of chips and 19.4% of notebook chips.

AMD has released its first Catalyst driver for Vista to feature WHQL certification. The driver works with both 32bit and 64bit versions of the new operating system and is based on the same driver as the 7.1 Catalyst for Windows XP, so it is currently using the same number system. CrossFire multi-GPU support has been enabled but Alternate Frame Rendering is still unavailable, and only the 32bit version can play HD-DVDs and Blu-ray disks. The driver introduces native OpenGL support for Vista and features a redesigned Catalyst Control Center. You can download these drivers here.

Although the AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ wasn't expected until the 20th of February, the company's last X2 high-end processor before it begins to use its next generation architecture is out now. The processor uses a 90nm process and runs at 3.0GHz, with 1MB of L2 cache. It is essentially the socket AM2 equivalent to the FX-74, although this is slightly more expensive at the moment. Newegg is selling the processor for $599 and it is in stock at present, whilst Buy.com has set a price of $685.99 but it is sold out at the moment.

Some new details on AMD's next generation of desktop processing have been released, with three different models to go alongside AMD's Barcelona (the processor for servers). The desktop equivalent of Barcelona, with the codename Agena, will feature four cores and should have clock speeds of 2.4GHz to 2.6GHz, with a 2MB L2 cache and 2MB L3 cache per CPU - it's scheduled for the third quarter of this year. The mainstream processor is called Kuma and should launch with clock speeds of 2.0GHz to 2.9GHz using a dual core architecture, with 1MB L2 cache and 2MB shared L3 cache. Rana, the replacement for the Sempron family, will have clock frequencies of 2.1GHz to 2.3GHz, feature dual core and 1MB of L2 cache, but no L3 cache. The Rana is expected for the forth quarter of this year.

BEIJING -- January 25, 2007 --AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced that TCL Computer Tech. Co. Ltd., one of China's fastest-growing PC manufacturers, will offer customers a range of commercial notebooks and desktops based on high-performing, energy-efficient AMD64 processors.

Although AMD's next generation of server processing hasn't been a complete secret, here are some of the latest details about it. Codenamed "Barcelona", the processor is likely to go head-to-head with Intel's Xeon 5300, both being quad-core processors. However, one key feature of the Barcelona core is that (unlike the 5300) it will natively be a quad-core CPU, not two dual-cores built into one unit. The chip will continue the advance into 64-bit computing, and like the rest of AMD's 64-bit processors it has a memory controller build into it, another difference between this and the Xeon 5300. Despite much higher performance than older models, the processor will still only use 95 watts or 68 watts of power depending on the different designs, which apparently gives a 60% performance increase per-watt over the older generation Opterons. It can also support up to 256TB of memory, now that the memory controller supports full 48-bit addressing. AMD's benchmarks suggest that it performs much better than the Xeon 5300 due to fewer bottlenecks, but this could obviously be biased against Intel.