The AMD mobile platform is an open platform for laptops from AMD. Though little marketing was done on this platform, it has been competing with the Centrino platform in the segment to gain more marketshare. Each platform has its own specification, catching up the latest technology developments. Since the acquisition of ATI, AMD began to include Mobility Radeon GPUs and AMD chipsets as part of the requirements of the mobile platform; the first of such platforms is the Puma platform.
Open platform approach In February 2007, AMD had announced the "Better by Design" initiative to continue the success of the open platform approach AMD Open Platform Approach from AMD Analyst day presentations, slide 32 for desktop back in early 2003 after the launch of Athlon 64 processors with a lack of chipset being developed by AMD, and open the platform to chipset vendors such as VIA, SiS, NVIDIA and from AMD subsidiary ATI. The initiative also includes platforms succeeding the Kite Refresh mobile platform.
Under the "Better by Design" initiative, AMD introduced a three-cell arrow sticker to identify mobile platform products, which the top cell being the processor (as Turion 64 X2). The middle cell for graphics accelerators as NVIDIA or ATI (as a result of retaining the use of "ATI Radeon" branding for graphics Retaining the ATI brand from AMD Analyst day presentations, slide 7), including onboard graphics (IGP), while the last cell representing the wireless (Wi-Fi, IEEE 802.11 standard) or LAN solutions, provided by one of the following companies: Airgo, Atheros, Broadcom, Marvell, Qualcomm, and Realtek.
The stickers to be used will be further classified by the system performance according to the processor performance, and into five classes, each having different colours as well as different logos for each component, listed as follows:
Class Processor Sticker Related brands Other components Border BackgroundGood Single-core Mobile Sempron grey white none Graphics: ATI (Mobility Radeon/Radeon Xpress), NVIDIA (GeForce/nForce IGP)Wireless connectivity and management: Broadcom, Qualcomm, Atheros,Airgo, Marvell, Realtek Good Dual-core Athlon X2 grey white Better Dual-core Turion 64 X2 Silver Silver Best Dual-core Turion 64 X2 Gold Gold Best Dual-core for digital media Turion 64 X2 Silver Silver w/ AMD Live! logo AMD Live! AMD Live! Ultra Notebook PC (Puma) AMD Financial Analyst Day 2007 presentation , presented by Rick Bergman, page 14 of 22. Retrieved December 14, 2007 Turion Ultra Black Silver
Market analysis According to AMD figures in December 2007, AMD mobile platform gained 19% unit share in the market and about 23% revenue share of the firm during Q3 2007 while competing with the Intel Centrino platform. Figures for Q1 and Q2 2007 are 15% and 17% unit share, accounting for 14% and 16% of the company's revenue respectively.AMD Financial Analyst Day 2007 presentation , presented by Mario Rivas, page 7 of 28. Retrieved December 14, 2007
AMD's mobile platform, even as recent as the Turion 64 X2 platform, has been criticized as consistently performing worse than Intel's Centrino in all areas: system speed, heat dissipation, and battery life.
Implementations
Initial platform (2003) Launched in 2003, the initial platform for mobile AMD processors consists of: AMD mobileInitial platformMobile processorProcessors - Socket 754 Mobile Sempron single-core 32-bit processor (codenamed Dublin, Sonora, Roma), or Mobile Athlon 64 single-core 64-bit processor (codenamed ClawHammer, Odessa, Oakville), or Turion 64 single-core 64-bit processor (codenamed Lancaster)Mobile chipset D-sub and HyperTransport 1.0 DDR-400 SO-DIMM
Kite platform (2006) Introduced in 2006, the Kite platform consists of: AMD mobileKite platformMobile processorProcessors - Socket S1 Mobile Sempron single-core 64-bit processor (codenamed Keene), or Turion 64 single-core 64-bit processor (codenamed Richmond), or Turion 64 X2 dual-core 64-bit processor (codenamed Taylor, Trinidad)Mobile chipset DVI and HyperTransport 1.0 DDR2-667 SO-DIMMMobile support Wireless IEEE 802.11 b/g mini-PCIe WiFi adapter
Kite Refresh platform (2007) AMD used Kite Refresh as the codenamed for the second-generation AMD mobile platform introduced in February 2007. AMD mobileKite Refresh platformMobile processorProcessors - Socket S1 Turion 64 X2 dual-core 64-bit Hawk family processor 65 nm (codenamed Tyler), or Mobile Sempron single-core 64-bit processor 65nm (codenamed Sherman)Mobile chipset HDMI, HyperTransport 1.0 and PCI Express 1.0 DDR2-800 SO-DIMMMobile support Wireless IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/draft-N support, mini-PCIe Wi-Fi adapter Hybrid hard drives Alert Standard Format (ASF) 2.0 Trusted Platform Module (TPM)
Puma platform (2008) The Puma platform introduced in 2008 with June 2008 availability for the third-generation AMD mobile platform consists of: AMD mobileInitial platformMobile processorProcessors Dual-core 64-bit codenamed Griffin of processors, named "Turion X2 Ultra", or Mobile Sempron single-core 64-bit processor (codenamed Sable), with the following: Split-power planes and linked power management support Support for possible low voltage processorsMobile chipsetAMD M780 series chipset Mobility Radeon HD 3000 series GPU on 55 nm process ATI Hybrid Graphics Hybrid CrossFire PowerXpress HyperFlash - memory modules on motherboard with ReadyBoost DisplayPort, HyperTransport 3.0 and PCI Express 2.0 support DDR2-800 SO-DIMMMobile support Wireless IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n mini-PCIe Wi-Fi adapter Hybrid hard drives Desktop and mobile Architecture for System Hardware (DASH) 1.0 support Trusted Platform Module (TPM) support
Yukon platform (2009) The ''Yukon platform was introduced on January 8, 2009, with expected April availability for the first AMD Ultrathin Platform targeting the ultra-portable notebook market. AMD mobileInitial platformMobile processorProcessors Single-core 64-bit codenamed Huron of processors, named "Athlon Neo", or Mobile Sempron single-core 64-bit processor (codenamed Huron), with the following: 27 mm (W) × 27 mm (D) × 2.5 mm(H) BGA package, named "ASB1" low voltage processorsMobile chipsetAMD 690E series chipset + SB600 southbridge Mobility Radeon HD 3000 series GPU on 55 nm process (as option) DDR2 SO-DIMMMobile support Wireless connectivity with 3G (as option) Wireless IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n mini-PCIe Wi-Fi adapter
Congo platform (2009) The Congo platform 2nd Gen AMD Ultrathin Platform was introduced in September 2009, as the second AMD Ultrathin Platform targeting the ultra-portable notebook market. AMD mobileInitial platformMobile processorProcessors Single or Dual-core 64-bit processors codenamed Conesus, with the following: made on 65 nm process 15W (single-core) or 18W (dual-core) TDP 27 mm (W) × 27 mm (D) × 2.5 mm(H) BGA package, named "ASB1" low voltage processors DDR2 SO-DIMMMobile chipsetAMD RS780M series chipset + SB710 southbridge Mobility Radeon HD 3000 series GPU on 55 nm process (as option) RV610 graphics core DirectX 10.0 UVD
Tigris platform (2009) The Tigris platform introduced in September 2009 for the AMD Mainstream Notebook Platform consists of: AMD mobileInitial platformMobile processorProcessors Single or Dual-core 64-bit processors codenamed Caspian, with the following: made on 45 nm process 25W (single-core) or 35W (dual-core) TDPMobile chipsetAMD RS880M series chipset + SB710 southbridge Mobility Radeon HD 4200 series GPU on 55 nm process RV620 graphics core DirectX 10.1 UVD 2
Nile platform (2010) The Nile platform introduced on May 12, 2010, for the third AMD Ultrathin Platform consists of:
AMD mobileInitial platformMobile processorProcessors Single or Dual-core 64-bit processors codenamed Geneva, with the following: made on 45 nm process support for DDR3 memory 9W, 12W or 15W TDPMobile chipsetAMD RS880 series chipset + SB820 southbridge Mobility Radeon HD 42xx GPU on 55 nm process RV620 graphics core DirectX 10.1 UVD 2
Danube platform (2010) The Danube platform AMD M880G ChipsetThe 2010 AMD Mainstream Platform introduced on May 12, 2010, for the AMD Mainstream Notebook Platform consists of:
AMD mobileInitial platformMobile processorProcessors Single, Dual, Triple or Quad-core 64-bit processors codenamed Champlain, with the following: made on 45 nm process support for DDR3 1066 and 1333 MHz memory 25W, 35W or 45W TDPMobile chipsetAMD RS880 series chipset + SB820 southbridge Mobility Radeon HD 42xx GPU on 55 nm process RV620 graphics core DirectX 10.1 UVD 2
Brazos (Fusion) platform (2011) The AMD low-power platform introduced on January 4, 2011, is designed for HD netbooks and other emerging form factors.AMD Fusion APU Era Begins It features the 40 nm C-Series (formerly codenamed Ontario, a 9-watt APU for netbooks and small form factor desktops and devices) and E-Series (formerly codenamed Zacate, an 18-watt TDP APU for ultrathin, mainstream, and value notebooks as well as desktops and all-in-ones) APUs. Both low-power APU versions feature two Bobcat x86 cores and fully support DirectX11, DirectCompute (Microsoft programming interface for GPU computing) and OpenCL (cross-platform programming interface standard for multi-core x86 and accelerated GPU computing). Both also include UVD 3 dedicated hardware acceleration for HD video including 1080p resolutions. This platform consists of:
AMD mobileInitial platformMobile processorProcessors Single or dual-core 64-bit AMD APU C-Series (Ontario), and E-Series (Zacate) with the following: made on 40 nm CMOS process support for DDR3 1333 MHz memory 9W (C-Series) or 18W (E-Series) TDP Mobility Radeon HD 6xxx GPU on 40 nm process Cedar graphics core with 80 SP DirectX 11 UVD 3Mobile chipset A50M (Hudson-M1)
Sabine (Fusion) platform (2011) The Sabine platform introduced on June 30, 2011, for the AMD Mainstream Notebook Platform consists of:
AMD mobileInitial platformMobile processorProcessors Dual or Quad-core 64-bit AMD APU codenamed Llano, and with the following: made on 32 nm process support for DDR3 1600 MHz memory 35W or 45W TDP Radeon HD 6xxxG GPU on 32 nm process Sumo graphics core with up to 400 SP DirectX 11 UVD 3Mobile chipset A60M, A70M (Hudson-M2, Hudson-M3)
Comal (Fusion) platform (2012) The Comal'' platform introduced on May 15, 2012, for the AMD Mainstream Notebook Platform consists of:
AMD mobileInitial platformMobile processorProcessors Dual or Quad-core 64-bit AMD APU codenamed Trinity, and with the following: Piledriver cores made on 32 nm process support for DDR3 1600 MHz memory 17 W, 25 W or 35 W TDP Radeon HD 7xxxG GPU on 32 nm process London graphics core with up to 384 SP DirectX 11 UVD 3.2Mobile chipset A60M, A70M (Hudson-M2, Hudson-M3)
See also List of AMD mobile microprocessors List of AMD processors with 3D graphics List of AMD Turion microprocessors List of AMD Sempron microprocessors List of AMD Athlon 64 microprocessors List of AMD Phenom microprocessors
References
External links AMD Better by Design page TGDaily: AMD announces details of next-gen mobile processor "Griffin" The Inquirer: AMD Bulldozer to demolish Intel Santa Rosa AMD mobile platform rodamap from AMD Analyst day presentations, slide 29 AMD Better by Design event presentation