AMD picks up speed in low power chip race

Chip maker moves towards more energy efficient processors

Tom Sanders in California, vnunet.com 18 May 2006

AMD has unveiled its roadmap for energy efficient desktop processors that will enable the creation of new small form factor computer designs, the company said.

The forthcoming Athlon 64 X2 dual-core, Athlon 64 and Semprom processors will be based on the AM2 socket and promise significant increases in performance per watt.

A standard Athlon processor is expected to achieve a 37 per cent boost in performance per watt, the company predicted. The X2 model boasts improvements of up to 154 per cent. The chips are scheduled for availability later this month.

Energy consumption has become a significant factor in microprocessor design. As advances in chip design allow for increased transistor density, processors have started to consume more power and produce more heat.

The push towards energy efficient chips has mainly focused on mobile systems and enterprise servers, where power savings lead to increased battery life and lower energy bills.

For desktop systems, low power chips will allow system builders to create fanless and small form factor units.

Eliminating fan noise is considered an essential requirement for PCs to gain a hold in the living room. Lowering utility bills comes into play for enterprises managing multiple desktop systems.

Intel stared to swap out the micro-architecture for its desktop and server processors last year, replacing it with the more energy efficient architecture from its mobile processors.

The chip giant's first energy efficient desktop processors are scheduled for availability this summer.

AMD also has unveiled its new AMD Turion 64 X2 mobile technology, marking the industry's first 64-bit dual core processor for mobile systems. The chip is currently available to manufacturers.

Intel is expected start shipping a competing model later this summer.

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