On Wed, Jan 28, 2009 at 4:39 AM, Sameer Verma <sve...@sfsu.edu> wrote:
> On Tue, Jan 27, 2009 at 5:14 PM, Mitch Bradley <w...@laptop.org> wrote: > > On Wed, Jan 28, 2009 at 12:04 PM, Carlos Nazareno <object...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > > >> > AMD sees no Geode chip replacement in sight > >> > AMD on Monday said it has no replacement for the aging Geode low-power > >> > chips that are used in netbooks and set-top boxes. > >> > > http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/274414/amd_sees_no_geode_chip_replacement_sight > >> > > > > The cost of developing and supporting a processor family is staggering. > > > > AMD bought the Geode business from another company. Often, when a > company buys a business unit, that unit withers on the vine. The "new kids > on the block" have a difficult time establishing a strong place within the > established "pecking order", so in the competition for resources, the new > group often comes up short. When there is an economic downturn, the new > group is often the first to go. > > > > AMD barely has the resources to maintain a competitive stance in the part > of the market that has traditionally been their core, especially now that > the economy is bad. > > > > I'm sure that AMD would be very happy if they had enough money to go > after the low power market, but they just don't. > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Devel mailing list > > Devel@lists.laptop.org > > http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/devel > > > > Somebody on Slashdot (yeah!) has a good write-up pointing to the fact > that AMD isn't halting production. Its just not going to develop Geode > further. http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1105799&cid=26623857 > > From the comment: > > > <begin quote> > > AMD is NOT halting production of the Geode. They are not leaving the > market (RTFM!). They have decided that it serves it's niche AS IS and > will be kept AS IS. That's a very different statement. They're saying > that it is a mature product (a rare thing in IT). > > Currently, the Geode is good enough for many applications and would be > a step up for others. The embedded world tends away from the shiny > object model of upgrades. If it worked last year, it works this year, > and it'll work next year. Changes in the product are considered > undesirable. > > AMD's statement doesn't even mean there won't be a die shrink or even > a faster Geode in the future, just that they won't be updating it's > architecture. > > It's not a bad decision either. There is a significant niche for the > Geode between the Atom (too hot, too power hungry) and things like the > Dragon Ball and mips (not enough power). > > Geode isn't in trouble until Intel comes out with an x86 that doesn't > need a heatsink (or at least doesn't need a fan). This is also referred to, in another thread, but the Atom draws very little power. I already referred that you can get an Atom that has a 0.65W TDP, not 3.whatever like in the Geode LX. These are the Z series and they draw very little power, top of 2.4W for the 1866MHz model. The other low-end chip(also $20), the Z510, has a TDP of 2W - any one of these can run without an "heatsink", mostly a small metal plate that allows the silicon core to dissipate heat, since it's a fliped-chip design. The Z500 is obviously very very good for embedded applications. The Z series use a lower power CMOS bus, instead of the power hungry GTL+, which when paired with Poulsbo it should make for a remarkable package. The next iteration will also have the graphics core and some other stuff embedded, for further savings. Best regards, Tiago Marques
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