
Prototypes generally don't emphasize industrial design. However, our Kabini-based ultra-thin notebook with an A4-5000 in it is surprisingly svelte.

Although we used a number of different notebooks for our benchmarks, we used the same hard drive and memory in all of them to keep our comparisons as valid as possible. We want to zero in on platform performance after all, and not the difference between a mechanical disk and SSD.

AMD suggests that Kabini's prime adversary will be low-priced Pentium laptops. To that end, we secured a Pentium B960-equipped notebook for testing as the most inexpensive platform we could find with Intel's CPU inside. It sells for $350 on Newegg.
At the other end of the spectrum, Core i3-3217U is another good match-up. This processor sports a similar power envelope and is available in notebooks starting around $400.
| Laptop Comparison Test Settings | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform | Kabini Prototype Laptop | Acer Aspire V3 | HP Pavillion Sleekbook 15 |
| Processor | A4-5000: 1.5 GHz Base Clock Rate, 2 MB Shared L2 Cache, 15 W (Kabini) | Pentium B960: 2.2 GHz Base Clock Rate, 2 MB Shared L3 Cache, 35 W (Sandy Bridge) | Core i3-3217U: 1.8 GHz Base Clock Rate, 3 MB Shared L3 Cache, 17 W (Ivy Bridge) |
| Memory | Hynix 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3-667 @ CAS 9-9-9-24-1T | ||
| Graphics | Radeon HD 8330 128 ALUs, 500 MHz core | Intel HD Graphics, 6 EUs, 350 to 1,100 MHz core | Intel HD 4000 Graphics, 16 EUs, 350 to 1,350 MHz core |
| Hard Drive | Toshiba MQ01ABD100H 1 TB, 5,400 RPM | ||
| Graphics Driver | AMD Catalyst 13.101_Beta3 | Intel HD Graphics Driver 15.28.15.64.3062 | Intel HD Graphics Driver 15.31.3.64.3071 |
And here are the benchmark details:
| Benchmark Configuration | |
|---|---|
| 3D Games | |
| Metro: Last Light | Version 1.0.0.0, DirectX 10, Built-in Benchmark |
| The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | Version 1.6.89.06, Version 1.5.26.05, 25-Sec. Fraps |
| Tomb Raider | Version 1.04, Built-in Benchmark |
| F1 2012 | Version 1.2, Direct X 11, Built-in Benchmark |
| Audio/Video Encoding | |
| HandBrake CLI | Version: 0.98, Video: Video from Canon EOS 7D (1920x1080, 25 frames) 1 Minutes 22 Seconds, Audio: PCM-S16, 48,000 Hz, Two-Channel, to Video: AVC1 Audio: AAC (High Profile) |
| iTunes | Version 10.4.1.10 x64: Audio CD (Terminator II SE), 53 minutes, default AAC format |
| Lame MP3 | Version 3.98.3: Audio CD "Terminator II SE", 53 min, convert WAV to MP3 audio format, Command: -b 160 --nores (160 Kb/s) |
| TotalCode Studio 2.5 | Version: 2.5.0.10677, MPEG-2 to H.264, MainConcept H.264/AVC Codec, 28 sec HDTV 1920x1080 (MPEG-2), Audio:MPEG2 (44.1 kHz, Two-Channel, 16-Bit, 224 Kb/s) Codec: H.264 Pro, Mode: PAL 50i (25 FPS), Profile: H.264 BD HDMV |
| Productivity | |
| ABBYY FineReader | Version 10.0.102.82: Read PDF save to Doc, Source: Political Economy (J. Broadhurst 1842) 111 Pages |
| Adobe Photoshop CS6 | Version 13 x64: Filter 15.7 MB TIF Image: Radial Blur, Shape Blur, Median, Polar Coordinates |
| Autodesk 3ds Max 2012 | Version 14.0 x64: Space Flyby Mentalray, 248 Frames, 1440x1080 |
| 7-Zip | Version 9.28, LZMA2, Syntax "a -t7z -r -m0=LZMA2 -mx=5" Benchmark: THG-Workload-2012 |
| WinRAR | Version 4.2, RAR, Syntax "winrar a -r -m3" Benchmark: THG-Workload-2012 |
| WinZip | Version 17.0 Pro, Best Method, ZIPX Benchmark: THG-Workload-2012 |
| Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings | |
| 3DMark 11 | Version: 1.0.1, Entry, Performance, Extreme Suite |
| PCMark 7 | Version: 1.0.4, System, Productivity, Hard Disk Drive benchmarks |
| SiSoftware Sandra 2012 | Version: 2012 SP5c-1872, CPU Test = CPU Arithmetic / MultiMedia, Memory Test = Bandwidth Benchmark |
- Temash And Kabini: AMD's Mobile Future
- Jaguar: A Low-Power x86 Core
- The First APUs With AMD's GCN Architecture, Plus Power Management
- AMD's E-Series and A-Series APUs, Along With Their Bundles
- AMD's Kabini-Based Prototype And Our Benchmarks
- Results: Synthetics
- Results: F1 2012 And The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Results: Tomb Raider And Metro 2033
- Results: Media Encoding
- Results: Adobe CS6 Suite
- Results: Productivity
- Results: Compression
- Power Consumption
- The Kabini-Based A4-5000: Mediocre Performance, But Great Efficiency
This was a poor review because of the choice made there. I think a lot people were curious about how improved it was over the Bobcat. No data. How about the Atom? No data. Let's just compare it with chips the Piledriver competes with, instead of those it does. It makes no sense.
In case you guys haven't figured it out, Piledriver is the competitor for SB/IB, not Kabini. Two different markets. That you justify this so poorly by saying one particular notebook would cost x amount of dollars, is borderline insane. From one notebook, which are based on things other than the cost of the processor as well, you would assume all will cost the same? Strange.
The comparisons with SB/IB aren't worthless, but they should have been in addition to the processors in their market, and also with AMD's Trinity line. Maybe four or five processors, instead of just two that are addressing a higher performance market, and architecturally quite close.
You lost this one to other sites. Normally, especially when Chris writes them, Tom's ends up having the best information. Not this time. Not even close.
AMD Kabini sleekbook. I am just drooling at the idea of that.
Given that the AMD Temash and Kabinis are priced in the range of Atoms, it is illustrative that the Tom's reviewer used two Pentium and i3 CPUs that cost over $130 and $200 respectively.
To see the Intel chips utilizing dramatically more watts than the Kabini brings up issues discovered by other reviewers. Just look at the graph of the i3-3217u rated at "17 watt TDP" playing F1-2012 at what is 100% or nearly 35 watts! This means that AMD Kabini A6-5200 which is being released in June will outperform Intel's $225+ i3-3217u for price-performance per watt, you can be on it.
While running the range of applications, the AMD Kabini remained cool while the Intel chips heat up dramatically. This heat has to be dissipated from the laptop and it takes a toll on both the machine and user.
HP just announced 10 point touchscreen laptops that utilize AMD Jaguar Kabinis for a breakthrough price of $399 and that is just a start of a flood of good old competition (hello AMD Kaveri APU Xmas).
This is because the i3-3217u is not an SOC, it's just an ULV dual core Ivy Bridge. Many of the controllers and other supporting hardware are located off die on the mother board, which increases power consumption over the CPU/GPU's rated 17W TDP.
Kabini will have to compete with Intel's upcoming ULV Haswell, which will go as low as ~10W TDP and will be an SOC. This is why I said in my previous comment that I feel AMD has a rare advantage right now and a narrow window of opportunity to make an impact. Jaguar will overlap Silvermont on the low end of its TDP range, and Haswell on its upper end. Both will likely outperform it in their given segments.
AMD told us the Kabini laptop they gave us would be priced $500 on the market, and that cheaper versions would be as low as $350.
We used the cheapest comparison laptops we could find. The only thing it illustrates is that we were trying to give Kabini the best chance of strutting its stuff.
AMD Kabini sleekbook. I am just drooling at the idea of that.
No, Kabini competes in the Intel Atom price range like its predecessor, AMD Brazos.
Sure they compete in a similar TDP range, but you wouldn't expect people to compare the chips that go into $999 ultrabooks with chips that will (ultimately) go into the same form factor as them, but are priced at <$400.
ULV processors from Intel are priced at a premium - because Intel is unchallenged in that space. AMD would be insane to try and price Kabini anywhere near IVB or Haswell ULV parts, because AMD will never win by overpricing their products.
"There's no such thing as a bad product, just a bad price point"
Edit: Not entirely sure why my comment got cut off, but here it is. Please note this comparison was made about the ultraportable area of the market, where the main concerns are weight, screen size and battery life. If we start comparing a CPU designed for primarily 11.6" or 10.1" screens with say 35W CPUs in a 15" form factor, you've lost the whole point of the comparison you're doing ultraportable vs. desktop replacements. Sure, if a manufacturer wants to put Kabini in a 15" form factor then it's fair game, but for the majority of Kabini chips, we'll see them in ultraportables, not desktop replacements.
This was a poor review because of the choice made there. I think a lot people were curious about how improved it was over the Bobcat. No data. How about the Atom? No data. Let's just compare it with chips the Piledriver competes with, instead of those it does. It makes no sense.
In case you guys haven't figured it out, Piledriver is the competitor for SB/IB, not Kabini. Two different markets. That you justify this so poorly by saying one particular notebook would cost x amount of dollars, is borderline insane. From one notebook, which are based on things other than the cost of the processor as well, you would assume all will cost the same? Strange.
The comparisons with SB/IB aren't worthless, but they should have been in addition to the processors in their market, and also with AMD's Trinity line. Maybe four or five processors, instead of just two that are addressing a higher performance market, and architecturally quite close.
You lost this one to other sites. Normally, especially when Chris writes them, Tom's ends up having the best information. Not this time. Not even close.
TDP defines the possible form factor's a processor or SOC can occupy. In this upcoming generation both Intel and AMD will share many of the same mobile form factors, from tablets to ultrabooks. They will be competing. AMD might be forced into lower price points by Intel's upcoming products, but that doesn't change the fact that they're competing for the same market. And as Don pointed out, price points can overlap more than you might assume.
And umm, what were you going to say?
No, Kabini competes with what it's priced similar to. That will be low end pentiums and Core i3s. This is by AMD's own admission.
Temash will be priced lower, in the Atom/Brazos and Tablet range.
I know lets compare this low powered cpu vs the flagship intel architecture. that makes all the sense in the world.
this seems like the worthy successor of the successful brazos socs. power efficient and well-performing.
now it's up to amd to push the arch to oems for competing in the portable computing arena.
I don't see what is so mediorce about it. How will the same i3 fair against A8 and A10 Richland APU's when they are released (Mobility only).
Once again, please read carefully: ****AMD*** TOLD US TO COMPARE IT TO $300 - $500 LAPTOPS.
Once again, please read carefully: ****AMD*** TOLD US TO COMPARE IT TO $300 - $500 LAPTOPS.
+100.