AMD goes after Atom with embedded system on a chip

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Wednesday, AMD launched its G-series platform, codenamed eBrazos, for embedded systems. In calling the G-series an "embedded" part, AMD is using the term the same way that Intel does: to designate systems that fall outside the scope of the traditional PC market. (Examples include point-of-sale terminals, slot machines, kiosk systems, digital signs, industrial controls, and so on.)

eBrazos is fairly powerful for such applications, and given AMD's low prices it could help the company hold its own against Intel in this market.

At the heart of eBrazos are two of AMD's "Bobcat" cores, paired with a DirectX11-class GPU on the same die. Bobcat is an out-of-order design, which makes it higher performance and higher power than Intel's Atom. But for many of the applications at which AMD is aiming the design, Atom's low-power advantage may not matter as much, especially if an AMD solution can keep the total bill of materials cost lower. The eBrazos GPU has a video decoder that can do hardware-accelerated decoding of H.264, VC1, and DivX/Xvid formats, and the chip also comes with a pair of digital display outputs that can be externally configured as either HDMI, DVI, or DisplayPort.

The G-series is already in use in the new Surface product that Microsoft showed off at this past CES. This is a pretty important design win for AMD, not because Surface has volume, but because it's a relatively performance-intensive, high-profile application for the company's Fusion technology. AMD is also touting design wins from a list of companies that includes Fujitsu, Wyse, and a number of less familiar names.

Incidentally, given that there are 9W and 18W versions of the chipset (CPU/GPU plus controller hub chip) available, the G-series would probably be a lot better fit for the MacBook Air than the ancient Intel hardware that's currently in there. It would certainly be better than what's in the current Mac mini. Don't hold your breath for Apple to go AMD, though—not with the prospect of Sandy Bridge upgrades coming later this year.

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