"Empty Overclocking" is a term we just made up, to describe unreal overclocking headroom that does not translate into any performance improvements, with AMD's A8-3850 APU. This chip can be set to run at base clock multiplier value above 29x on some motherboards, that will increase clock speed being reported to you, but that "increased" clock speed will not translate to any performance improvements at all.

This means that the multiplier is ineffective in driving the clock above its maximum default value. So the next time you see screenshots screaming something like "6.00 GHz" on air with the base clock at its default 100 MHz, don't be fooled, trust only those overclocking feats in which the multiplier is set at the maximum default (29.0x) or lesser, and in which the overclocker has increased the base clock among other things.Update: It seems like AMD is aware of the issue, and forewarned reviewers about it. Apparently a glitch in the BIOS code allows the users to "set" higher multiplier values than the chip can respond to, even as the chip doesn't run at those values. Utilities like CPU-Z read those BIOS-set values and display the effective clock speed, even as the actual clock speed doesn't budge. AMD recommends only the base clock increase method for overclocking. As always, AMD warned that overclocked chips are not covered by product warranties. Perhaps future BIOS updates by motherboard vendors will fix this bug.

CyberPower Inc., a leading manufacturer of custom gaming PCs, today announced a series of desktop gaming PCs based on AMD's new A-series desktop platform featuring all new APUs (Accelerated Processing Units), which integrates the CPU along with the fastest onboard GPU and memory controller into one die to offer low power consumption and high performance at a low cost.

The new A-series APU boasts twice the cache of previous AMD hardware in its class and features integrated the Radeon 6000 series graphics, for a powerful processing unit on a single die. The Radeon HD graphics found on the new APUs are also the first to incorporate Microsoft's DirectX 11 technology for an ultra-realistic gaming experience. Other performance features on the new APUs include the AMD Turbo Core and VISION Engine graphics technology to help digital content like videos, games, and photos look their best, as well as offer native multi-monitor support.

Microsoft's leap of faith into the tablet OS market which is dominated by Apple iOS and Google's Android OS, with Windows 8 operating system will be driven by two distinct hardware platforms - x86, led by Intel and its Clover Trail Atom platform, and ARM, and its swarm of client manufacturers such as Samsung, Qualcomm, etc. The third player out to claim its share of the pie is AMD, with its Brazos-T platform. Similar to Intel's Clover Trail, Brazos-T is an x86-based platform, it uses an ultra-low power accelerated processing unit (APU), codenamed "Hondo".

Hondo is a low-wattage, low-footprint APU that packs two x86-64 "Bobcat" architecture cores, an AMD Radeon HD 6250 DirectX 11 compliant graphics core, single-channel DDR3 IMC, and integrated PCI-Express. Like Clover Trail, it is a 2-chip solution, with the other chip being the "Hudson" M2T chipset, which provides an array of display connectivity options, SATA and USB connectivity. The key feature with Hondo APU is its low power consumption of just 2W, and TDP of 4.5W. The chipset is designed to consume just 1W. Both the APU and chipset are built on the 40 nm process. The platform is slated for Q2 2012, just in time for Windows 8 tablets to hit the market.

AMD released a new Catalyst hotfix driver update, 11.6a. This release comes 15 days after the month's main version, 11.6 WHQL, was released. The updated driver otherwise has the same exact feature-set as 11.6 WHQL, but adds support for graphics processors embedded into AMD's new Vision A-Series accelerated processing units, namely Radeon HD 6550D inside A8-3800 series, and Radeon HD 6530D inside A6-3600 series. Available for Windows XP, and Windows 7/Vista in both x86 and x86-64 forms, the Catalyst 11.6a Hotfix update can be downloaded from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: AMD Catalyst 11.6a Hotfix Update

AMD announced two of its first Vision A-Series accelerated processing units (APUs) for desktops today. Built in the socket FM1 package, the A6-3650 and A8-3850 are fabricated on the 32 nm HKMG process. Both pack four x86-64 cores, and while the A6 has 320 stream processors in the GPU component, the A8 has 400 of them. Both chips have 4 MB of cache, dual-channel DDR3-1866 MHz IMCs, and PCI-Express 2.0 hubs to drive discrete graphics.

The AMD A8-3850 has its four x86-64 cores clocked at 2.90 GHz, with the Radeon HD 6550D GPU engine clocked at 600 MHz. This chip has a TDP of 100W, it is priced at US $135. The AMD A6-3650 has its CPU component clocked at 2.60 GHz, and Radeon HD 6530D GPU engine clocked at 443 MHz. This chip goes for US $115. With these two, AMD is targeting higher models of Sandy Bridge-based Pentium Dual-Core and Core i3 Sandy Bridge chips. Both will be available in stores by July 3.

TechPowerUp released the latest version of GPU-Z, our popular graphics hardware information and monitoring utility. Version 0.5.4 packs a large number of changes, beginning with faster start-up, support for the entire line of NVIDIA GeForce 500M series GPUs, new models of Intel Sandy Bridge processor graphics, a number of AMD Radeon HD 6000M series GPUs, improved support for AMD APUs, and a number of bug fixes.

GPU-Z has overcome the slow start-up issue on AMD Radeon GPUs, it loads slightly faster on NVIDIA GPUs, too. ROP count reading on AMD Radeon HD 6790, Turks & Whistler was fixed; along with sensor count on Caicos, Whistler, Turks. OpenCL detection on some NVIDIA drivers was fixed. The ability to read UMA-shared memory on AMD APU systems was added. GPU-Z has better ability to detect and warn of spurious graphics cards with faked IDs. GPU-Z 0.5.4 is available in both its standard form and the ASUS Republic of Gamers themed variant.DOWNLOAD: GPU-Z 0.5.4 | GPU-Z 0.5.4 ASUS ROG Themed

A complete list of changes with this version follows.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, today launched its latest series of motherboards supporting the new AMD A75 series chipsets, and the latest AMD A-Series APUs (codenamed Llano) that are set to take the world by storm with the best graphics performance ever seen on an onboard graphicsprocessor. GIGABYTE A75 based motherboards offer DIY PC builders and integrators a new world of 3D and multimedia performance with the most scalable, and best value upgrade path imaginable.

"At GIGABYTE, we are delighted to bring to market this new and exciting motherboard range, delivering our renowned durability and exceptional feature support to AMD's ground breaking APU technology," commented Henry Kao, VP of Worldwide Service and Marketing at GIGABYTE. "As well as bringing AMD A-Series technology to DIY users who demand excellent gaming and multimedia performance on a budget, these motherboards also offer a compelling upgrade path that includes Dual Graphics configurations."

World famous mainboard and graphic card manufacturer MSI today officially announces their brand new AMD A75-Series mainboard A75MA-G55 with Military Class II components to equip the mainboard with the best quality and highest stability. The amazing graphical performance of the A-Series APUs is complimented by the implementation of USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s ports to give the fastest performance when you're playing games, video editing, transferring files from mobile devices. With support for HDMI, DVI and 7.1 channel audio, the A75MA-G55 in its small MicroATX form factor is the perfect choice whether it is as a complete and powerful desktop PC or a versatile and efficient HTPC. MSI's A75MA-G55 is truly the best choice in high quality, high performance and high convenience.

ASUS today announced the launch of their new AMD A75 chipset-based F1A75 Series motherboards. Designed specially to optimize performance for the AMD Llano APUs, the F1A75 Series motherboards have exceptional overclocking capability for the versatile APU with a variety of integrated graphics built directly on the same die. This new series is also equipped with the latest ASUS-exclusive technologies and features, including the Dual Intelligent Processors 2 (DIP2) with DIGI+ VRM for precise power control, a graphical and mouse-controlled UEFI BIOS and the easy-to-use auto tuning for better performance.

Years ago, AMD's integrated graphics chipsets offered users the ability to pair integrated graphics processors with entry-level discrete graphics cards to work in tandem, and increased performance ideally by 50%, this technology was called Hybrid CrossFire. With the latest AMD A-Series APUs, AMD is packing much more powerful GPU components, and in the process, giving users the ability to pair the GPU component with a discrete graphics card. In the discrete graphics sphere, AMD CrossFireX already allows the pairing between two graphics cards that use the same ASIC, even if they're different models (for example, you can pair a Radeon HD 5770 with a HD 5750).

The GPU component inside A-Series APUs are essentially similar to lower mid-range discrete GPUs from AMD's current generation, in having 400, 320, or 240 stream processors, giving you the ability to pair them with discrete graphics cards based on Turks (HD 6500 and HD 6600 series) or Caicos (HD 6300 and HD 6400 series). Unlike with Hybrid CrossFireX, AMD gave marketing names to the resulting dual-GPU setup between an APU and a discrete GPU. For example, pairing an A8-3850's APU with a discrete Radeon HD 6670 GDDR5 will give you a configuration "called" Radeon HD 6990D2. We see what you did there, AMD. So the next time you're buying a pre-assembled PC and you see "HD 6990D2" in the specs sheet, and the entire PC is priced under $800, you have no reason to jump through the roof in joy. Refer to the table below for more amazing configuration names.

AMD's officially launched the new Llano APU platform for market availability in July worldwide, and BIOSTAR is releasing three mainboards that support this new platform at the same time; the "TA75A+", "TA75M+" and "TA75M". The advantages of the new AMD A75 chipset based motherboard include native support of USB3.0, DX11 graphic core for greater 3D performance, and BIOSTAR exclusive features (BIO-Remote2, Charger Booster, and etc.).

The new AMD A75 chipset series mainboards, "TA75A+", "TA75M+", "TA75M", all using AMD Hudson-D3 A75 single-chip design, "TA75A+" with ATX form factor and the other two are with micro-ATX form factor. With a brand new heat sink design that also gives a better outlook and better thermal efficiency.