| Advanced Micro Devices Inc. on Monday revamped its line of low-power processors. It is targeting the growing market for thin and light electronics that run standard software like Microsoft Windows. It is adding the high-performance embedded solution AMD Geode NX processors to compliment its current extremely low-power AMD Geode GX family.
AMD snapped the Geode processors line which National Semi Conductor had tried to dump for years last August for an undisclosed price.
The AMD Geode NX 1500 at 6W processor & Geode NX 1750 at 14W processors are the two new high performance/low power embedded solutions. In addition to introducing the AMD Geode NX processors, AMD is renaming the current AMD Geode GX2 processor to AMD Geode GX 533 at 1.1W processor. AMD also offers Geode GX 466 at 0.9W processor and the AMD Geode 500 at 1.0W processor. The new naming system is based on the Performance-Power Rating that emphasizes the importance of the balance between performance and power for the embedded x86 processor market.
The Geode NX, which can run without needing a fan to cool it, is designed for thin form-factor computers, high-end printers and networking equipment, AMD said.
The chips place AMD in competition with Transmeta Corp., Taiwan's VIA Technologies Inc. & Intel Corp., Its main rival, also has a line of low-power chips, The XScale processors.
"The model numbers have been designed to provide a quick view of the performance and power capabilities of each processor in the AMD Geode Solutions product line," Iain Morris, group vice president, AMD Personal Connectivity Solutions Group said in a statement. "Using the model numbers, customers can determine if they need an extremely low-power solution as offered by our AMD Geode GX line, or a high-performance low-power embedded solution that is now addressed with our AMD Geode NX product offering."
With the new Performance-Power Rating, AMD is setting out to assist customers to understand the benefits of power consumption in the embedded market. The PPR drives a new, more accurate measure of embedded processor performance for standard applications. The PPR benchmark suite was developed and validated by Synchromesh Computing, Austin, Texas.
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