AMD Tigris Notebook Platform is Good at Video
If you like to transcode video from your laptop, Tigris will do it rather well.
Along with the launch of the new Vision branding initiative and the ultrathin mobile platform Congo, AMD today also debuted its new mainstream notebook platform codename Tigris.
Of course, the mainstream segment covers all AMD-powered notebooks outside of the ultrathin products – from the low-cost entry level all the way up to the full desktop replacement models.
AMD's new processors for the Tigris platform start at the bottom with the Sempron M100, which runs with a single core at 2.0 GHz, 512 KB of L2 and a 25W TDP and end at the top with a Turion II II Ultra dual-core M640 2.6 GHz with 2 MB of L2 and a 35W TDP.
AMD's entire line of new processors feature AMD-V, giving them the virtualization technology necessary to run XP Mode with Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate. Check out the full list of the new processors here.
Of all the new characteristics that Tigris brings to the table, AMD VP of Advanced Marketing Pat Moorhead seems most impressed with the new muscle brought by the integrated ATI Radeon HD 4200 GPU.
Referring to an MSI Tigris-based notebook, Moorhead noted in his blog, "The most amazing and new feature of this Tigris-based notebook for me was the GPU-assisted video encoding. … Of the 15 videos I tested, when I was using the GPU, I got nearly twice the performance … This is accomplished through the graphics card’s ATI Stream Technology and using the ATI Stream-enabled Cyberlink Espresso software application."
On the gaming front, the integrated Radeon HD 4200 manages to get most modern 3D games running decently (it scores 1,800 base in 3DMark 06), but AMD still says that it would recommend that gamers opt for a full discrete card.
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hmm i wonder the price
Too bad I don't watch movies. The gaming power sounds good though.
That is good news, I'm happy I didn't buy my laptop yet. Now the HD4200 (Which most probably will be the base gpu in any laptop with AMD in it, will be able to encode videos) will help me encode my Animes to my PSP on the go, that is good news.
It looks to me like AMD may have caught up to Intel on the notebook platform, and Intel won't have an answer anytime soon. Nehalem was designed for servers, it just requires too much electricity to make an effective notebook CPU at a sufficient clockspeed, whereas Pentium M was designed specifically for notebooks, and then became Core2 later.
"The most amazing and new feature of this Tigris-based notebook for me was the GPU-assisted video encoding. … Of the 15 videos I tested, when I was using the GPU, I got nearly twice the performance … "
Twice the performance of what?
hmm i wonder the price
knowing ati it will be a good value probably affordable and definitely less than nvidia
I'm really excited about all the things they are bringing to the table recently. There's a new competition that will be created between Intel and AMD and that's great since we need lower prices on new technologies... I'm tired of seeing only slower CPUs from Intel in the Mobile market... and the 1 or 2 faster ones cost nearly 1k to add up...
It looks to me like AMD may have caught up to Intel on the notebook platform, and Intel won't have an answer anytime soon. Nehalem was designed for servers, it just requires too much electricity to make an effective notebook CPU at a sufficient clockspeed, whereas Pentium M was designed specifically for notebooks, and then became Core2 later.
So what is the upcoming Calpella platform featuring notebook Nehalem cpu's?
jayayess: Yeah, and the clockspeeds are way down from the previous generation, it looks to be no better than Core2 was at this point, it may do more work per clock, but not enough.
I'd like to see how it compares to an Ion based system.
jayayess: Yeah, and the clockspeeds are way down from the previous generation, it looks to be no better than Core2 was at this point, it may do more work per clock, but not enough.
Yes, but will have a X4500 on die. Witch by the way, is still based on the old..old...i740. With GPGPU rising, we will see. Honestly, nowadays CPU is overrated.
IHMO I think it's one of the best marketing decision AMD has done for a while. Netbooks and UMD are going to take more and more importance.
At least AMD tries to create a good netbook, unlike Intel which puts a slow processor, with a battery eating bridge controller, waits for 2 years until the fab made enough profit,before they go over to the real deal for netbooks!
i would hope a laptop can play games/movies
otherwise why else buy one?
I still prefer my home theater system.
i would hope a laptop can play games/moviesotherwise why else buy one?
Every single integrated graphics laptop (besides AMD/ATI) is on par with a mid-level AGP card from 2004. In a word, useless for gaming.
i would hope a laptop can play games/moviesotherwise why else buy one?
The HD 4200 graphics mean they're using the 785G chipset, so check reviews (like Tom's) for gaming benchmarks if you want an idea of how it'll do under best-case scenarios. I reckon the laptop will be a bit weaker though, due to the processor limitations and tweaks made to conserve power.
I was sooo disappointed about the Puma platform that I find it hard to trust their promise anymore...
If you want to watch movies this is good.Only thing missing is the price.
But with only one CPU under 35W TDP, and that's a single core at 2.0GHz, you're going to have to compromise quite a bit. Performance, battery run-time, or weight? Pick any two.
Intel has Core 2 Duos up to 3.06GHz @ 35W TDP, Core 2 Duo's up to 2.66GHz @ 25W TDP and even Core 2 Duo's @ 2.13GHz at 17W TDP. Combine it with the Nvidia 9400M (MCP79) chipset (2x the 3Dmark 06 score of the Radeon HD4200) and you've got performance (CPU and GPU), battery run-time, and low weight. I'm sure AMD's get the price advantage, but to me performance, battery run-time and low weight (due to less battery) are more important than a few hundred dollar price difference.
Prior to the Pentium-M/Core release, AMD was kicking Intel's butt, but AMD has yet to match Intel in the post P4 era. AMD is not competitive clock for clock, raw performance, or power efficiency. The only areas they are beating Intel is in GPU performance and price.
AMD, we need you back in the game with a really competitive CPU.