一名资深分析师表示，AMD能够推出新款A-series芯片，可能表明这种代号为Llano的32纳米芯片的短缺状态已经结束。但AMD与英特尔竞争态势的较大转变将出现在2012年，届时这两家厂商都将推出其下一代产品。
“这款新器件基本上是减速块。AMD能够出货速度更快的A-series型号，我认为这表明他们可能能够改善供应情况，” Insight64(美国加州)的首席分析师Nathan Brookwood表示，“由于产量有限，Newegg和亚马逊等零售商根本搞不到早期版本的该款芯片。”
AMD与英特尔的竞争态势保持不变。
“在给定的价格水平，任何关注x86性能的人都可能看出来，英特尔Sandy Bridge CPU内核的性能强于AMD Llano内核，后者是K10内核。K10内核10年来一直是AMD的主力。”
但是，“在图形方面，二者几乎不能相提并论，”因为AMD的集成Radeon显卡优于英特尔Sandy Bridge GPU内核。此外，AMD可以把它的嵌入与分立Radeon内核连接起来以增强性能，而英特尔则无法利用Nvidia显卡来做到这点。
在2012年的下一回合竞争中，上述情况可能发生变化。明年英特尔将推出图形性能得到改善的Ivy Bridge处理器，而AMD将推出Trinity芯片。Trinity芯片将搭载代号为Pile Driver的升级版Bulldozer CPU。
以前，英特尔总是在1月举行的消费电子展上推出其下一代处理器的首款台式机版本。Brookwood认为今年不会这样。
Ivy Bridge的发布“可能推迟大半个季度”，他说，“我不确定，这种22纳米制程是否没完全准备就绪，还是芯片组没有准备好，因为他们需要首次(支持) PCI Express Gen 3和USB 3.0”。
至于AMD的Trinity，“传言称其准备得相当充分，AMD应该在2012年初开始投产，” Brookwood说道，“Trinity和Ivy Bridge可能在2012年大致相同的时间内推出。”
编译：
Luffy Liu
本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载
参考英文原文：Analyst: Shortage may be over for AMD Llano, by Rick Merritt
相关阅读：
• AMD支持Android移植PC， 英特尔谷歌反对
• 经济不景气，Globalfoundries推迟阿布达比建厂计划
• 传AMD将更换代工厂，并变更28nm APU蓝图4Yzesmc
{pagination}
Analyst: Shortage may be over for AMD Llano
Rick Merritt
The fact that AMD was able to refresh its A-series line may indicate the shortages are over for the 32-nm parts also known as Llano. But a bigger shift in the battle between AMD and Intel will come in 2012 when the two roll out their next-generation offerings, said one top analyst.
"The new parts are basically speed bumps, and I am taking the fact AMD can ship faster versions of A-series chips as an indicator they may be able to improve their availability," said Nathan Brookwood, principal of Insight64 (Saratoga, Calif.) "Retailers such as Newegg and Amazon couldn’t get their hands on early versions of the chips because they were so production constrained," he said.
The competitive stance of AMD and archrival Intel remains unchanged.
"Anyone focused on x86 performance at a given price point may find the Intel Sandy Bridge CPU cores outperform the AMD Llano cores which are the K10 cores that have been an AMD workhorse for a decade," said Brookwood.
However, "in graphics, there's almost no comparison" because AMD's integrated Radeon parts surpass what Intel can offer with its Sandy Bridge GPU cores. In addition, AMD can link its embedded and discrete Radeon cores to bolster performance, something Intel cannot do using Nvidia parts.
That all could change in the next iteration in 2012 as Intel rolls out Ivy Bridge processors with improved graphics and AMD rolls out Trinity parts with an upgraded version of its new Bulldozer CPU called Pile Driver.
In the past, Intel rolled out the first desktop versions of its next-generation processors at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. Brookwood does not expect that this year.
The Ivy Bridge release "is probably pushed off by the better part of a quarter," he said. "I'm not sure if it’s the 22-nm process technology is not quite ready or the chip sets are not ready because they require [support for] PCI Express Gen 3 and USB 3.0" for the first time, he said.
As for AMD's Trinity, "the rumors are the design is pretty much baked, and AMD should have wafers going into the oven in early 2012," said Brookwood. "It's likely we could see Trinity and Ivy Bridge come out in similar time frame in 2012," he added.
责编：Quentin
扫码分享到好友
