X-bit labs

AMD Readies Sempron Processors.

Category: CPU

by Anton Shilov

[ 06/07/2004 | 12:31 PM ]

Advanced Micro Devices announced Monday that it would come out with new central processing units geared towards value personal computers later this year. The chips are expected to redefine the performance delivered by inexpensive computers.

Mysterious Chips Transpire

“AMD Sempron processors are being developed to meet the evolving day-to-day needs of home and business PC users. Basic computing is no longer just about e-mail, Web browsing or word processing. Today it's also about downloading and playing music, or sending pictures to family and friends. This full-featured product line is designed to deliver best-in-class performance for the growing segment of PC users who want more from their PCs,” the Sunnyvale, California-based processor maker said.

Officials from Advanced Micro Devices declined to comment on specifications of Sempron microprocessors, but confirmed that the company is projected to launch desktop and mobile processors.

New Socket 754 Products Shaped

Unofficial sources said that AMD Sempron processors are likely to feature AMD Athlon 64 core, but with disabled 64-bit capability. Formerly such chips were code-named Paris and Victoria. “Paris” will be made using 130nm process and is expected to have 256KB of L2 cache, whereas the size of L2 of the code-named “Victoria” processor produced using 90nm technology is not known.

Among advantages of the AMD Sempron microprocessors integrated single-channel PC3200 memory controller, SSE2 technology, better pre-fetch mechanism and generally revamped architecture over AMD Athlon XP chips should be mentioned.

The new products will come in PGA754 packaging compatible with widely available mainboards, which mean that Advanced Micro Devices is not going to have problems with infrastructure of its new microprocessors. Additionally, this is likely to allow AMD to promote its AMD64 platform that will sport affordable and high-end chips.

Sempron – New Value Brand-Name?

For some reasons, AMD decided not to use its well-advertised AMD Duron brand-name for its new value processors, though, still decided not to use its Athlon trademark for inexpensive chips. It is not clear whether the Sempron will be AMD’s new lineup of processors for customers in budget that will compete with Intel’s Celeron lineup from now on or will be something that will only exist for a couple of years to sell chips with lower potential.

AMD did not comment on the story.