AMD to stop working on Geodes (Carlos Nazareno)

[Tiago Marques]

On Wed, Jan 28, 2009 at 4:39 AM, Sameer Verma <sverma at sfsu.edu> wrote:

> On Tue, Jan 27, 2009 at 5:14 PM, Mitch Bradley <wmb at laptop.org> wrote:
> > On Wed, Jan 28, 2009 at 12:04 PM, Carlos Nazareno <object404 at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> >> > AMD sees no Geode chip replacement in sight
> >> > AMD on Monday said it has no replacement for the aging Geode low-power
> >> > chips that are used in netbooks and set-top boxes.
> >> >
> http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/article/274414/amd_sees_no_geode_chip_replacement_sight
> >>
> >
> > The cost of developing and supporting a processor family is staggering.
> >
> > AMD bought the Geode business from another company.  Often, when a
> company buys a business unit, that unit withers on the vine.  The "new kids
> on the block" have a difficult time establishing a strong place within the
> established "pecking order", so in the competition for resources, the new
> group often comes up short.  When there is an economic downturn, the new
> group is often the first to go.
> >
> > AMD barely has the resources to maintain a competitive stance in the part
> of the market that has traditionally been their core, especially now that
> the economy is bad.
> >
> > I'm sure that AMD would be very happy if they had enough money to go
> after the low power market, but they just don't.
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Devel at lists.laptop.org
> > http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/devel
> >
>
> Somebody on Slashdot (yeah!) has a good write-up pointing to the fact
> that AMD isn't halting production. Its just not going to develop Geode
> further. http://hardware.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1105799&cid=26623857
>
> From the comment:
>
>
> <begin quote>
>
> AMD is NOT halting production of the Geode. They are not leaving the
> market (RTFM!). They have decided that it serves it's niche AS IS and
> will be kept AS IS. That's a very different statement. They're saying
> that it is a mature product (a rare thing in IT).
>
> Currently, the Geode is good enough for many applications and would be
> a step up for others. The embedded world tends away from the shiny
> object model of upgrades. If it worked last year, it works this year,
> and it'll work next year. Changes in the product are considered
> undesirable.
>
> AMD's statement doesn't even mean there won't be a die shrink or even
> a faster Geode in the future, just that they won't be updating it's
> architecture.
>
> It's not a bad decision either. There is a significant niche for the
> Geode between the Atom (too hot, too power hungry) and things like the
> Dragon Ball and mips (not enough power).
>
> Geode isn't in trouble until Intel comes out with an x86 that doesn't
> need a heatsink (or at least doesn't need a fan).

This is also referred to, in another thread, but the Atom draws very little
power. I already referred that you can get an Atom that has a 0.65W TDP, not
3.whatever like in the Geode LX. These are the Z series and they draw very
little power, top of 2.4W for the 1866MHz model. The other low-end chip(also
$20), the Z510, has a TDP of 2W - any one of these can run without an
"heatsink", mostly a small metal plate that allows the silicon core to
dissipate heat, since it's a fliped-chip design. The Z500 is obviously very
very good for embedded applications.
The Z series use a lower power CMOS bus, instead of the power hungry GTL+,
which when paired with Poulsbo it should make for a remarkable package. The
next iteration will also have the graphics core and some other stuff
embedded, for further savings.
Best regards,
                          Tiago Marques
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