Beijing -- Advanced Micro Devices is planning a future version of its Hammer processor family to support DDR-II memory, the JEDEX Conference here was told this week.
Fred Weber, AMD vice president and chief technology officer, told the JEDEC-sponsored IC meeting that a new processor core with on-die memory controller will be developed to support DDR-II. The initial Opteron Hammer chip for servers and the desktop Claw Hammer version have on-die controllers supporting only the present DDR generation.
The AMD executive also clarified confusion on when the first systems using the desktop Hammer processor will come to market. Two weeks ago in an AMD conference call with financial analysts, officials had claimed the initial market push would be on the Opteron server version with systems available in the first half of 2003.
Even so, Weber said some systems with desktop Hammer processors will also come to market in the same time frame.
"But AMD has Barton (the next member of the Athlon XP series) coming up with greater on-die cache and higher performance that will meet the demands of the desktop market for much of 2003," he added.
Weber disclosed that both the desktop and server Hammer processors will have up to 1Mbit of L2 on-die cache. Opteron will support up to 8Gbytes of single channel memory or 16Mbytes dual channel. A special version can support 32Gbytes memory.
AMD hasn't yet disclosed the clock frequency of Hammer. However, Weber described benchmark tests of an Opteron chip that he said showed 2GHz frequency. He said the benchmark results showed Opteron achieved the highest SPECint results of any server processor.
RSS
Digital
10 emerging technologies to watch:
EE Times has compiled a list of emerging technologies that we think will be worth watching out for in 2010. Biofeedback or thought-control of electronics are among the contenders.
Hot applications in 2010:
We've compiled a list of 10 technology applications you should watch for in 2010, ranging from e-book readers to 3-D TVs. We examine the features that make these apps so compelling as well unresolved issues.
Top 25 predictions for semis in 2010:
2010 is just beginning to unfold in the electronics industry. Looking into our crystal ball, we have released our own chip forecasts--and other predictions--for 2010.
Seven things to fix in 2010:
The editors of EE Times came up with their own informal list of things we hope engineers fix in 2010, spanning everything from nano-lithography to space travel. What do you want to see get done this year?
'09 moves that are shaping the future:
This was a brutal year, but the industry gets a nod for showing grace under fire. Here's our Top 10 guide to the coming year, illustrating what to expect in 2010.
10 CEOs out in 2009:
It's been a tough year for the global electronics industry and CEOs. We survey the dismissal of 10 industry CEOs during the first three quarters of 2009 and what's ahead for the rest of the year.
Notable women in microelectronics:
There is no better time than a global economic recession to examine the keys to successful corporate governance. So, EE Times has compiled an international list that celebrates women who are business and technology leaders in semis.
EE Times updates Silicon 60:
Seventeen companies have been added to the lastest version of our Silicon 60 list of emerging startups. Forty-three companies survived as emerging companies that are still worth watching.
RSS| 
Digital| 
Mobile
