AMD releases sub 7W embedded Fusion chips

CHIP DESIGNER AMD has introduced two G-series embedded processors based on its Bobcat core.

AMD's G-series embedded chips have been used to showcase just how low the chipmaker can go with its Fusion chips in terms of power draw. The firm's latest chips, the T40E and T40R, bring the thermal design power (TDP) down to 5.5W and 6.4W, respectively, with Chimpzilla claiming that the chips deliver 39 per cent greater power efficiency over an earlier 1.2GHz G-series chip.

It's the first time that AMD has managed to bring the TDP of its Fusion chips down below 7W including the graphics core. The single core T40R and dual core T40E are clocked at 1GHz.

AMD is pitching the low-power T40R and T40E chips at the set-top box and industrial markets, where fanless operation is a must. So even though the GPU in the Bobcat core supports Microsoft's DirectX 11 standard, it's unlikely to power any games, rather it's the OpenCL 1.1 support that opens up a world of embedded GPU possibilities.

Buddy Broeker, director of embedded solutions at AMD said, "We have seen many of our embedded customers deploy fanless systems even with our 15W TDP processors in the past. Today we take the ground-breaking AMD Fusion APU well below 7W TDP and shatter the accepted traditional threshold for across-the-board fanless enablement."

AMD's latest G-Series duo of processors have been picked up by industrial device maker Amtek and Axiomtek has produced a Pico-ITX board. It's just a shame that systems including these chips are unlikely to ever see the light of a retail store shelf. µ