AMD Restructures Entire CPU Lineup
AMD is nuking the current processor brands and splitting its entire CPU portfolio into three classes.
AMD may halt processor branding once the company completes its Llano and Zambezi processor lineup. The reason is that AMD reportedly wants to emphasize its corporate AMD Vision trademark and focus consumer attention to its corporate brand.
The news arrives by way of a mysterious document received by X-bit Labs. Although the site didn't provide a scanned copy for all to see, the document supposedly reveals that AMD will divide its processors into three different classes of its Vision platforms including FX-Series, A-Series and E-Series. That means we may not see another Phenom, Athlon or Sempron-related branding on our AMD CPUs ever again. Really, it will be ok.
The AMD document supposedly indicates that the FX-Series will consist of "Zambezi" processors based on Bulldozer micro-architecture with four, six or eight cores. These will be sold using the AMD Vision Black and AMD Vision Ultimate labels.
The A-Series processors will consist of the "Llano" APUs (accelerated processing units). These will have two or four cores and an ATI Radeon HD 6000-class graphics core. These will be sold on AMD Vision Ultimate and AMD Vision Premium platforms.
As for the E-Series, this group will serve the low-end market with APU's using one or two cores and a basic Radeon HD 6000-class "Zacate" graphics core. This series will be sold simply as AMD Vision.
"What you saw AMD do with APUs on the 'Brazos' platform is get component-level branding out of the way so that our OEM partners can imbue their products with branding of their choosing without sub-brands cluttering things up," said Damon Muzny, a spokesman for AMD, in a previous statement. "Vision is AMD's contribution, which comes with the intention of simplifying the purchasing for folks who know what they want to do with their PC and don't care to learn the intricate sub-component technical nuances to make a buying decision. Will we do the same with Llano and Zambezi? You'll have to wait and see."
Currently there's no indication of when this re-branding will take place.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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Richeemxx The new naming scheme 'should' eliminate some of the confusion that is out there now. The only problem is that all the chips we have now will still be on the market and there will be some overlap as always in terms of performance.Reply
To bad we can't go pack to the simple Athlon days. The xp1700 is fast, xp1800 is faster xp2500 is even faster. None of this 3-4 different series of chips being outed crap! -
retrig ReplyThe reason is that AMD reportedly wants to emphasize its corporate AMD Vision trademark and focus consumer attention to its corporate brand.
I wonder if AMD is throwing in the towel as far as consumer processors go... -
burnley14 Replytwo or four cores and an ATI Radeon HD 6000-class graphics core
Uhh, this should be an "AMD Radeon" correct? Didn't they drop the ATI naming scheme? With that said, simple typo or is this claim bogus? -
Who cares what they name the end product I just want to know if Bulldozer is going to end up being as fast as an i7 core to core.Reply
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pelov retrigI wonder if AMD is throwing in the towel as far as consumer processors go...Reply
No, they're not. What this does, though, is divide the upcoming technologies we're going to be seeing from AMD.
The new APUs sound very intriguing :) -
tntom It is confusing now but this will simplify things down the road. The idea is to take more of the thinking and research out of the equation for the common consumer. Right now a Phenom, depending on which model could fall into at least two of those categories.Reply