AMD's Llano Sports Radeon HD 6550 Graphics
As the title indicates, AMD's Llano line of APUs will feature an embedded GPU with the AMD Radeon SKU of HD 6550
Several reports are indicating that AMD's upcoming line of Llano Fusion accelerated processing units (APUs) will feature the Radeon HD 6550 graphics core.
When launched, the Llano line is expected to compete with Intel's current LGA 1155 Sandy Bridge line featuring quad-core chips and Intel's HD 3000 series integrated graphics. But unlike Intel's Sandy Bridge platform where the processor die is fused with an integrated graphics northbridge into a single die, the silicon part of the Radeon HD 6550 will be integrated with the rest of the APU, allowing the GPU to assist the x86 cores with serial processing loads.
In addition to the Radeon HD 6550 core, AMD's Llano chips will include the A8-3550 and A8-3550P quad-core APUs and feature a thermal design power (TDP) of 100W. The Radeon HD 6550 itself will be clocked at 594 MHz, offer 400 Stream processors, and come packed with DirectX 11 support. So far, memory will be shared from the main memory but AMD may reportedly include support for SidePort-based memory before launch.
The Radeon HD 6550 will also reportedly work alongside discrete AMD Radeon HD 6570 and HD 6670 Turks-based graphics cards. This will be accomplished similar to the way AMD's integrated GPUS can work in tandem with entry-level Radeon cards using Hybrid CrossFireX. When the HD 6550 is working with either one of the discrete GPUs, the Fusion-based graphics core will be recognized as "Radeon HD 6690."
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
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.
-
James296 I'm a Fanboi, hear me roAAARRRR :P . joking aside it'll be interest for the laptop/notebook market. maybe I'll pass this along to a friend who is looking to upgrade his c**ppy Dell laptopReply -
neoverdugo An here are the first ones.Reply
Putting that aside, I'm curious about the 6550 included on the llano apu.
Benchmarks please -
lpedraja2002 I dream when I can buy a laptop that can game decently with an IGP. I would be more than happy to play Team Fortress 2 and Street Fighter IV on my laptop without having to go over budget.Reply -
jimmysmitty On the graphics front, it will probably easily beat SB. While HD3K is decent, its not the same as a discrete GPU.Reply
But in CPU power, I don't think it will keep up with SB.
Each will have their strong and weak points. Sounds like a good mix and match.
SB for CPU power and overclocking, Llano for cheaper low end gaming. -
jestersage If they implement the hybrid crossfire properly, I'm getting a 6670 plus this chip and decently game at under 200W. I hope they don't overprice. For the first time in 5 years I am seriously considering an AMD setup because of this.Reply