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Advanced Micro Devices has added a slew of new processor code names to its road map, timed to coincide with a meeting with Wall Street analysts Thursday morning.
While AMDs May 14 roadmap indicated that AMD was introducing three new processors for 2004 – “Athens,” Opteron designed for servers and workstations; “San Diego,” a version designed for the desktop; and “Odessa,” a version for laptops—AMD has added an additional six processors for 2004. The company has also extended its public roadmap out through the end of 2005, adding an additional six new chips in that year alone.
Unfortunately, the roadmap also indicates that AMD has delayed its shift to manufacturing its chips on 90-nm processes that use silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology until the second half of 2004.
AMDs offerings for the first half of 2004 will include the introductions of two microprocessors. According to the roadmap, AMD delayed the launch of the mobile Athlon 64, and now expects to ship a 130-nm SOI mobile version of the Athlon 64 in the first half of 2004, and not late this year, as originally planned. Odessa will ship in the second half of 2004, on a 90-nm SOI process, the roadmap indicates.
In addition, AMDs roadmap indicates it will ship “Newcastle”, a 130-nm SOI Athlon 64 for the desktop, in the first half of 2004. Outwardly, the chip will use the same 130-nm production line and SOI processes of the current Athlon 64. According to AMD executives speaking at the analyst conference, however, the die will be approximately 150 sq. mm. Newcastle will be a new processor optimized for the desktop platform, an AMD spokeswoman said. She declined to comment further.
AMD will initiate a major refresh of the Athlon and Athlon 64 line in the second half of 2004. In the server and workstation space, AMD will release the “Athens”, a previously disclosed 90-nm processor for 1 to 8-processor servers, which will fall within its 800-series of products. “Troy” and “Venus” will be updates to the 200 and 100-series, respectively. All three chips will be available in “full” and “low power” versions, the roadmap indicates.
Desktop customers can expect three new chips: “San Diego,” an update to the AthlonFX line, “Winchester,” the successor to Newcastle, and “Paris,” a new 32-bit Athlon XP. The Duron brand will continue to hang around “as the market requires,” the roadmap says. In the mobile space, “Odessa” will provide improvements to the mobile Athlon 64, while “Dublin” will be designed as an upgrade to the 32-bit Athlon XP-M. Save for “Paris” and “Dublin,” the 32-bit processors, all of AMDs new chips will be manufactured on 90-nm linewidths.
Only one chip is planned for the first half of 2005: “Oakville”, a 90-nm refresh of Odessa, likely featuring a similar die shrink as the Athlon64-Newcastle transition.