AMD Equips HP Laptops With Fusion A-Series Chips

HP and AMD voiced Tuesday a navy of new laptop and cover computers, powered by a new array of AMD processors.

Previously codenamed Llano, AMD's Fusion A-series of chips advance inside any of HP's 11 new cover models - 6 consumer-based devices, 5 is to enterprise. Under the new APU moniker (accelerated estimate unit), the chips are a hybrid of normal CPUs, or middle estimate units , and GPUs, or graphics-processing units .

HP's claims are bold. The firm says with AMD's APUs installed, the new line of laptops will see up to 10.5 hours of battery life, along with a 2x speed up in graphics opening in the Pavillion dv-series of laptops (compared to formerly dv versions).

The quad-core Llano APU chips have been in the tube for AMD given 2008. Since it's tough for AMD to vie with chip-industry hulk Intel in conditions of tender estimate power, AMD opted for a low-power expenditure design.

In conditions of cost and power, AMD's A-Series is more aligned to vie with Intel's Sandy Bridge line of mobile processors. AMD, however, seems to have the corner on graphical opening and updated features that aren't seen on Intel's chips. A-Series chips, for instance, are matching with Direct X chronicle 11, together with USB 3.0-friendly. Intel can't say the same of its Sandy Bridge chips considerably yet.

What Intel has on the horizon, however, is impressive. The firm not long ago debuted its new line of 3-D transistors , that enable is to prolongation of its cheap, more-efficient Ivy Bridge line of stirring chips. The 3-D nomenclature stems from the add-on of a gaunt silicon fin that literally juts out atop the chip. This allows for improved stream manage of the voltage running by the chip, with reduction steam than ever before. Also, more transistors may be full onto the increased aspect area of the chips using Intel's 22-nanometer manufacturing process.

APUs are already shipping, and AMD expects to see the chips in over 150 not similar notebooks by summertime. HP in specific labelled its APU-powered notebooks in the $450 to $700 range, many of that will entrance this summer.