There's a sucker born every minute - Phineas T. Barnum
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AMD looks to TSMC for 28nm Brazos chip
CHIP DESIGNER AMD will cancel its 28nm Brazos accelerated processing unit (APU) production at Globalfoundries and move to a compeltely new design with chipshop TSMC.
AMD had been planning on shrinking its Brazos APUs down to a 28nm process node with Globalfoundries tipped as its wafer baker of choice. Now Extremetech claims that AMD has pulled the plug on those plans, with a new design in the offing and TSMC to be the chip foundry.
Globalfoundries was the chip fabrication arm of AMD until it was spun off and has remained the fab partner for AMD's CPUs and APUs. AMD ever since its buyout of ATI has used TSMC to fab discrete GPUs, a business that until recently Globalfoundries had said it remained hopeful of winning. Now that hope seems even more distant.
AMD's decision to pull the plug on Wichita - part of the upcoming Brazos APU refresh - was due to either poor design or fab problems with Globalfoundries' 28nm process node, according to Xbit Labs. Given that Extremetech's sources claim a move to TSMC is on the cards with a new design, that suggests both AMD and Globalfoundries could be to blame.
The problem for AMD is that it needs high-yeilding smaller process nodes, and fast. Llano's successor, Trinity, is expected to tip up next year sporting the Bulldozer architecture, but now the firm's plans to replace its Ontario and Zacate APUs are up in the air.
While Trinity sounds like good news for AMD, it desperately needs to curb power draw if it is to compete with Intel, something that comes with smaller process nodes. And, by the end of 2012 it won't be just Intel that AMD will have to worry about, as Windows 8 will bring ARM chips into play as well.
According to reports, AMD will announce its 28nm 'Brazos 2.0' parts during an analysts' call in February.
Update
AMD has issued a statement in which the chip designer confirmed that its Trinity APU and present range of Bulldozer chips will be made by Globalfoundries, all at the 32nm process node.
It said, "Globalfoundries and AMD remain committed as strategic partners across a number of product lines. Globalfoundries produces AMD's 32nm Fusion A-Series APU and will produce the next-generation 32nm APU 'Trinity' that is planned to be available in 2012. Globalfoundries is also producing AMD's 32nm server and desktop processors based on the new Bulldozer Core Architecture."
Of course what is missing from that statement are chips made on the 28nm process node, the very process node at the centre of this rumoured switch to TSMC. AMD's lack of public commitment to Globalfoundries at 28nm given the reports that have surfaced in the past few days should make the folks at TSMC very happy. µ
Tags: Amd
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Switching to TSMC is probably a good move with the production issues GF has had with 32nm. With demand for AMD's Llano and BD based Opterons skyrocketing, AMD needs reliable Fabs to help meet demand. GF needs to sort out their issues and ramp up CPU production because many folks want to upgrade to the FX series also. Overclockers are having great fun with 4.6+ GHz. Zambezi CPUs.
Thankfully for AMD, consumers are voting with their wallet and OEMs are happy to supply AMD powered hardware which provides excellent performance and value.
Same old B.S comments.
Intel is evil they do anti-trust fraud...really Robert? That's your top reason to make people buy PoS Bulldozer?
MS is worse than Intel then...we should stop using Windows & their products too then by your analogy.
Same for Apple let's boycott them too.
You guys need to lay off your pipe...Life is bigger than this garbage.
How does this affect us anyway if Intel does anti-trust or other garbage.
A true enthusiast knows what to buy...people bought AMD during the time of P4 fiasco even with Intel bribing companies.
So cut with this Evil garabage already.
Coming to Trinity? Isn't it based on Piledriver core? then why are you mentioning it as Bulldozer core Mr.Latif?
Coz sildes allover are misleading some say its Bulldozer core with L3 cache turned off some say its Piledriver core?
AMD's marketing team should be punished for misleading us all on so many fronts.
First saying bulldozer is 20-50% better than Sandy Bridge when it can't even beat its own previous generation clock-clock.
17.5w APU? You can dream on...I gurantee the GPU part will be extraordinary but the CPU part at what cost? Bulldozer core needs to run at 3.9GHz to beat a Llano of 2.6GHz? Go check benchmarks.
They need to ditch this Bulldozer architechture altogether...imrpove on k10 like they did for Llano like Intel rehased P3 with Core2Duo series.
Half the time I think you commenters are working for AMD's marketing team posting misleading crappy comments.
Even those who want to game on a laptop still can with Intel CPU & discrete graphics card its not like AMD is bringing some extraordinary.
That new CEO needs to be let go & AMD's entire board should go pretty sure they knew already Global foundries would have problems whats the point of waking up so late!
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20110707PD211.html
SA and Extremetech are wrong. Krishna was always to be produced by TSMC. I would suppose that the changes were made because TSMC cannot produce enough in 28 nm and AMD needs more 28 nm Radeons.
Time to move on and stop blaming all of AMD's problems on Intel
AMD's laptops chippies are just fine thank you. Trinity will be as low as 17.5W which for an APU is fabulous and superior to anything Intel will have for two years.
GloFo needs to sort their act out however. TSMC has had their issues also and both companies have hurt AMD.
Now AMD needs to pull forward their next gen designs and get them to market as many consumers refuse to buy Intel products due to their chronic violations of anti-trust laws and U.S. tax fraud.
AMD and ARM both cannot compete with Intel, as neither has those funny and entertaining blue guys pulling for them. No IT executive would consider hardware that doesn't have the marketing power of the blue men.
And since the the USDOJ court case brought by AMD, where Intel admitted no wrong but vowed to immediately stop doing what it wasn't doing, AMD is on equal footing but still cannot compete. But if Intel were doing what vowed to not do anymore, AMD would be in serious trouble, but lucky for AMD, Intel stopped not doing it.
That's what they get for selling their soul to the devil. A shoddy fab that doesn't work right. Meanwhile Intel is running full steam.
I hope this means Intel slows down a bit.
Intel's engineers/fab workers need a break. I don't work for Intel but I see the zombie dead face creep in at my job and they need slightly slower pace WITHOUT layoffs please.