AMD's 45nm Phenoms Ride 'Dragon'

AMD has unveiled a new gaming PC platform designed to provide "elite-level computing performance for under $900."

Dubbed "Dragon," AMD's chip-chipset-graphics combo is anchored by the struggling outfit's first 45nm desktop processor: the quad-core Phenom II X4. Both the chip and the Dragon made their official debut this morning at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The Phenom II comes in two flavors: the 3GHz AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition and the 2.8GHz AMD Phenom II X4 920. The Black Edition sells for $275, the un-Black Edition for $235. Both include 6MB of L3 cache, 2MB of L2 cache, and a memory controller that plays nicely with DDR2 and DDR3 memory.

In addition to the new 45nm chip, Dragon includes ATI Radeon HD 4800 graphics card and an AMD 7 series chipset. According to the company, HP, Dell, and Alienware will animate Dragon machines in the first quarter of 2009. Dell's Dragon-based XPS 625 desktop is already on sale for $1500 (without monitor).

AMD boasts that a Dragon consisting of a 2.8GHz Phenom II X4, an ATI Radeon HD 4870 with a GB of graphics memory, an AMD 790GX motherboard, and 4GB of DDR2-1066 memory can be had for under $900 - $1200 less than an Intel-based platform delivering comparable performance on a single benchmark test carefully chosen by AMD.

Dragon also includes several AMD-built software packages, including a handful of tools for optimizing performance and a media browser for juggling music, photos, movies, TV, and something called social media. In other words, this browser includes a built-in button that lets you upload photos directly to Facebook. ®

AMD Introduces New Mobile GPUs at CES 2009

Las Vegas—AMD is beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel. At CES 2009, soon after launching its netbook-like Yukon platform, the manufacturer's graphics division unveiled an assortment of graphics chipsets for laptops. The ATI Mobility Radeon 4000 series will eventually replace the current 3000 series, although AMD hasn't officially named any partners who plan to use these chipsets yet.

For gamers, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4850 and 4870 are high-end graphics cards, with a thermal envelope of 35 watts. So yes, you'll probably find them in gargantuan gaming systems like the Alienware M17 or any other laptop frame with a 17-inch screen or larger. These particular models can be used in a CrossFireX configuration, meaning they can be paired with each other, similar to Nvidia's SLI brand.

The ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4670 and 4650 are mid-range graphics cards aimed at casual gamers and HD video enthusiasts alike. These cards dissipate less heat than the 4800 line, and thus will work for thin-and-light systems and portable desktop replacements. They, too, can be arranged in a CrossFireX configuration.

Lastly, the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4500 and 4300 series will start making their way into thin-and-light, mainstream, and ultraportable laptops. The cards work with small form factors because their thermal envelopes are particularly low, ranging from 10 to 20 watts. (full Story)