AMD Athlon Neo: The New Ultra-thin Platform - bit-tech.net Forums

Tim S · 6th Jan 2009, 07:50

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...hin-platform/1

AMD introduces its new Yukon platform with its latest CPU: The Athlon Neo. Squeezing between the popular and cheap netbook platform and expensive ultra portables - AMD hopes to score some "ultra thin" wins. We pick through the details to decide whether AMD has enough to make a new market.

p3n · 6th Jan 2009, 08:11

So they made really low TDP cpus that have stats that wouldn't worry a celeron? What please?

lewchenko · 6th Jan 2009, 09:49

p3n... that is pretty much what this market is about. Low TDP cpu's that offer low to medium CPU processing grunt. Look at Intel's Atom... its about as powerful as my ancient Pentium M that I bought 3.5yrs ago.

Yet it can still surf the web and be used to write documents, watch media etc.. Just like my ancient Pentium M chip.

So if those graphs are to be believed, then AMD could have a hit on its hands. Much better performance than an Atom, with low power ratings.

If you were expecting a core i7 competitor from this preview then your expectations where far out of whack!

Bindibadgi · 6th Jan 2009, 09:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by lewchenko

So if those graphs are to be believed, then AMD could have a hit on its hands. Much better performance than an Atom, with low power ratings.

Yes very true, but adoption is all about COST right now otherwise people will either settle for those 15.4" bricks sold on the cheap, or, a netbook.

steveo_mcg · 6th Jan 2009, 09:56

@lewchenko TBH your ancient P3/ Pentium M is more powerful than the atom/epia thanks to out of order execution even with a lesser clock speed .
@p3n: They have similar stats to my old s939 rig and it still plays all the games i need and copes well enough with all the cpu intensive tasks i need to throw at it.

yakyb · 6th Jan 2009, 10:09

sorry if i missed it but when will this be availible to system builders (i.e. us )

Nexxo · 6th Jan 2009, 10:30

It will all boil down to the TDP of the chipset now. Intel did a sterling job on the Atom but blew it by pairing it with an old, high TDP chipset. If AMD can keep theirs below 5W (unlikely, but we can but dream) it should be a serious competitor to the Atom.

Bindibadgi · 6th Jan 2009, 10:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by yakyb

sorry if i missed it but when will this be availible to system builders (i.e. us )

Depends if board makers use it for mini-ITX - no confirmations yet though.

Xtrafresh · 6th Jan 2009, 10:39

I'm in that market! 15.4" bricks are too big for in the train, but the Atom lacks the grunt that i want. Sadly for AMD, my need has already been fulfilled... by AMD.

I'm a bit suprised that AMD is doing this... I'm reading this article on my HP Pavilion TX2550:
- 12,1" 1280x800
- AMD Puma 2GHz
- HD3200 graphics
- All the stuff normally associated with a 15.4" brick
- 4 hour battery life on power saver profile, still able to watch HD content.
- Touchscreen!
- under 800 euros.

I dont know how this "neo" chip will stack up against that, but unless the price, weight or battery life are dramatically improved, i think they should have spent the money on pushing this existing platform with better marketing. Blow the limp Atom out of the water with performance.

Personally, i think they have their aim off, if anything AMD and Intel should be aiming under the Atom, and start developing some good platforms for PDAs and cellphones. If they don't, they'll be obsolete in 10-15 years.

bowman · 6th Jan 2009, 10:55

A bundle of old stuff, that's a shame. Imagine if they had used new parts instead, as you mentioned. 780G, SB750, single 45nm Deneb core..

tanka12345 · 6th Jan 2009, 11:08

The link doesn't work for me.

It says page not found.

Tim S · 6th Jan 2009, 11:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by tanka12345

The link doesn't work for me.

It says page not found.

Try now.

airchie · 6th Jan 2009, 12:13

What we need is to take this chip, shrink the die and lower its TDP, allow a greater range of clockspeeds and pair it with the ION chipset.
Then we have everything we need for pretty much any (non-gaming/3D design) platform ranging from the cheapest nettops to desktops, workstations, HTPC, car PC, home servers etc.

Xtrafresh · 6th Jan 2009, 12:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by airchie

What we need is to take this chip, shrink the die and lower its TDP, allow a greater range of clockspeeds and pair it with the ION chipset.
Then we have everything we need for pretty much any (non-gaming/3D design) platform ranging from the cheapest nettops to desktops, workstations, HTPC, car PC, home servers etc.

You can forget about the Ion chipset, nVidia and AMD are not really going to join forces anytime soon

The HD3450 is a very strong graphical performer though, so i dont think you'll be left wanting in that department.

steveo_mcg · 6th Jan 2009, 12:26

Don't know my last few AMD motherboards have been nForce, don't see why nVidia couldn't provide the platform and AMD provide the cpu, at least that way both companies are shipping chips versus the massive head start Intel now has on them.

Xtrafresh · 6th Jan 2009, 12:53

the man has a point... aight, we'll sit tight and see what happens then

tanka12345 · 6th Jan 2009, 12:58

Thanks Tim!

It makes for an interesting read, and I really hope AMD can gain some market share over Intel.

perplekks45 · 6th Jan 2009, 13:02

I'm definitely in the market for a netbook/ultraportable and now even for an ultrathin... just have to figure out which way to go. This [AMD's] seems like a great idea in general but I doubt it'll be as successful as they hope.

Still, I'll do as Xtra said: Sit tight and see what happens.

Grimloon · 6th Jan 2009, 14:46

I'm definitely in the market for something like this as a 10" screen isn't quite large enough yet a 15" luggable isn't what I want either. Highly portable, reasonable performance (both CPU and GPU) as well as respectable battery life put this right in the sweet spot. The price point they're aiming for is just the icing on the cake ;D

Cupboard · 6th Jan 2009, 15:32

In your opening spiel, you essentially describe my laptop. It was £550, has a 12" screen, can run Solidworks (well enough) and can get a 5 hour battery life. Intel have already got chips in that area, its called a Core 2 duo! I only hope this works out better that it sounds.

A slight aside, but what is Intel Menlow? I can't find anything obvious, though I haven't spent ages looking.

6th Jan 2009, 07:50	#1
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	AMD Athlon Neo: The New Ultra-thin Platform http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...hin-platform/1 AMD introduces its new Yukon platform with its latest CPU: The Athlon Neo. Squeezing between the popular and cheap netbook platform and expensive ultra portables - AMD hopes to score some "ultra thin" wins. We pick through the details to decide whether AMD has enough to make a new market. __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

6th Jan 2009, 09:56	#5
steveo_mcg What owl? Join Date: May 2005 Location: Edinburgh Posts: 3,979	@lewchenko TBH your ancient P3/ Pentium M is more powerful than the atom/epia thanks to out of order execution even with a lesser clock speed . @p3n: They have similar stats to my old s939 rig and it still plays all the games i need and copes well enough with all the cpu intensive tasks i need to throw at it. __________________ No boom today, boom tomorrow... there's always a boom tomorrow.

6th Jan 2009, 10:09	#6
yakyb CK is God!!! Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 1,066	sorry if i missed it but when will this be availible to system builders (i.e. us ) __________________ Gaming Box:: q6600 @3.0 :: 9800gtx :: Abit IP35 :: 4gb :: 1.4TB :: akasa eclipse :: Win7 Development:: PhenomII 955BE @3.2 :: 4200 :: asus M4A785 M Evo :: 1.25TB ::Win7 Media Centre :: q6600 @3.0 :: x1950pro :: asus p35 epu :: 8gb :: 320 GB :: Lc17B :: Win7 server:: I7 860 :: p55 gd65 :: 3450 :: 8 TB :: 8gb :: Rebel 12 :: server 2008 R2

6th Jan 2009, 10:30	#7
Nexxo ...like a geek! Moderator Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Birmingham, UK Posts: 15,092	It will all boil down to the TDP of the chipset now. Intel did a sterling job on the Atom but blew it by pairing it with an old, high TDP chipset. If AMD can keep theirs below 5W (unlikely, but we can but dream) it should be a serious competitor to the Atom. __________________ "You actually hope to achieve your ideals, I just use mine as an excuse to hate everything" --specofdust "There is no Real Life, only Away From Keyboard" --gpw111 "...my wife says I can't have any trolls, cause they argue with the dog and eat the fish" --KayinBlack

6th Jan 2009, 10:39	#9
Xtrafresh Blame it on the Boogie Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Nijmegen, Holland Posts: 1,909	I'm in that market! 15.4" bricks are too big for in the train, but the Atom lacks the grunt that i want. Sadly for AMD, my need has already been fulfilled... by AMD. I'm a bit suprised that AMD is doing this... I'm reading this article on my HP Pavilion TX2550: - 12,1" 1280x800 - AMD Puma 2GHz - HD3200 graphics - All the stuff normally associated with a 15.4" brick - 4 hour battery life on power saver profile, still able to watch HD content. - Touchscreen! - under 800 euros. I dont know how this "neo" chip will stack up against that, but unless the price, weight or battery life are dramatically improved, i think they should have spent the money on pushing this existing platform with better marketing. Blow the limp Atom out of the water with performance. Personally, i think they have their aim off, if anything AMD and Intel should be aiming under the Atom, and start developing some good platforms for PDAs and cellphones. If they don't, they'll be obsolete in 10-15 years. __________________ AXGS Blog: A fresh look at P55. Fresh Fusion: Unfinished \| FFF: Name change and text update 19-11

6th Jan 2009, 08:11	#2
p3n Hypermodder Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 736	So they made really low TDP cpus that have stats that wouldn't worry a celeron? What please?

6th Jan 2009, 09:49	#3
lewchenko Supermodder Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 322	p3n... that is pretty much what this market is about. Low TDP cpu's that offer low to medium CPU processing grunt. Look at Intel's Atom... its about as powerful as my ancient Pentium M that I bought 3.5yrs ago. Yet it can still surf the web and be used to write documents, watch media etc.. Just like my ancient Pentium M chip. So if those graphs are to be believed, then AMD could have a hit on its hands. Much better performance than an Atom, with low power ratings. If you were expecting a core i7 competitor from this preview then your expectations where far out of whack!

6th Jan 2009, 10:55	#10
bowman Multimodder Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 249	A bundle of old stuff, that's a shame. Imagine if they had used new parts instead, as you mentioned. 780G, SB750, single 45nm Deneb core..

6th Jan 2009, 11:08	#11
tanka12345 Minimodder Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 37	The link doesn't work for me. It says page not found. __________________ Intel Core i7 920 OCed to 3.2GHz \| CoolerMaster V8 \| Patriot Viper 3x2GB DDR3-1333MHz \| MSI Eclipse X58 \| LG W2261V 22" 16:9 \| Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB \| MSI ATI 4870 1GB \| Enermax Revolution 85+ 1050W PSU \| CoolerMaster HAF 932 \| ASUS DRW-22B1LT \| Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme \| Logitech X-540 \| Razer Carcharias \| Razer Lachesis \| Razer Destructor \| OCZ Alchemy Elixir

6th Jan 2009, 12:26	#15
steveo_mcg What owl? Join Date: May 2005 Location: Edinburgh Posts: 3,979	Don't know my last few AMD motherboards have been nForce, don't see why nVidia couldn't provide the platform and AMD provide the cpu, at least that way both companies are shipping chips versus the massive head start Intel now has on them. __________________ No boom today, boom tomorrow... there's always a boom tomorrow.

6th Jan 2009, 12:53	#16
Xtrafresh Blame it on the Boogie Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Nijmegen, Holland Posts: 1,909	the man has a point... aight, we'll sit tight and see what happens then __________________ AXGS Blog: A fresh look at P55. Fresh Fusion: Unfinished \| FFF: Name change and text update 19-11

6th Jan 2009, 12:58	#17
tanka12345 Minimodder Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 37	Thanks Tim! It makes for an interesting read, and I really hope AMD can gain some market share over Intel. __________________ Intel Core i7 920 OCed to 3.2GHz \| CoolerMaster V8 \| Patriot Viper 3x2GB DDR3-1333MHz \| MSI Eclipse X58 \| LG W2261V 22" 16:9 \| Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB \| MSI ATI 4870 1GB \| Enermax Revolution 85+ 1050W PSU \| CoolerMaster HAF 932 \| ASUS DRW-22B1LT \| Creative SB X-Fi Xtreme \| Logitech X-540 \| Razer Carcharias \| Razer Lachesis \| Razer Destructor \| OCZ Alchemy Elixir

6th Jan 2009, 13:02	#18
perplekks45 BSc... finally Join Date: May 2004 Location: Vienna, Austria Posts: 3,348	I'm definitely in the market for a netbook/ultraportable and now even for an ultrathin... just have to figure out which way to go. This [AMD's] seems like a great idea in general but I doubt it'll be as successful as they hope. Still, I'll do as Xtra said: Sit tight and see what happens. __________________ "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far." Blame it on Cheaps! [now a social group]

6th Jan 2009, 14:46	#19
Grimloon Multimodder Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Licolnshire, UK Posts: 73	I'm definitely in the market for something like this as a 10" screen isn't quite large enough yet a 15" luggable isn't what I want either. Highly portable, reasonable performance (both CPU and GPU) as well as respectable battery life put this right in the sweet spot. The price point they're aiming for is just the icing on the cake ;D

6th Jan 2009, 15:32	#20
Cupboard I'm not a modder. Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Bury St Edmunds/Durham Uni Posts: 1,843	In your opening spiel, you essentially describe my laptop. It was £550, has a 12" screen, can run Solidworks (well enough) and can get a 5 hour battery life. Intel have already got chips in that area, its called a Core 2 duo! I only hope this works out better that it sounds. A slight aside, but what is Intel Menlow? I can't find anything obvious, though I haven't spent ages looking. __________________ i7 920, 8800GTS 512, 6GB Corsair all in an Intel DX58SO; 3*320GB RAID5; CM Stacker Samsung Q45.