Right after Dell's sudden decision to get rid of its XPS gaming systems, Alienware quickly announced that it will bring out a relatively low-cost game PC with dual ATI graphics chips within the next two weeks. The $1,699 system will come with an ASUS high-end motherboard based on the AMD 790FX chipset, 4GB of DDR2 800MHz memory, a quad-core 9550 (2.2GHz) Phenom X4 processor, and an ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 graphics card, said Marc Diana, Alienware product marketing manager for desktops. He also added,

It's not your granddaddy's AMD system. We're talking top-of-the-line quad core.

AMD today announced several organizational and executive changes as part of the company's ongoing efforts to re-architect its business for sustained profitability. "We are accelerating AMD's transformation, reshaping the organization and bolstering our management team to lead in our x86 microprocessor and graphics businesses," said Dirk Meyer, AMD president and COO.

AMD today introduced the industry's first energy-efficient x86 server processors with four processing cores and an integrated memory controller all in a low 55-watt ACP thermal envelope. Blade and rack systems based on five new low-power Quad-Core AMD Opteron HE (Highly Efficient) processors are now widely available from global OEMs and solution providers.

In a briefing today AMD disclosed a conservative road map for 45nm server processors using six and twelve cores that will gradually start to ship starting from Q1 2009. The new processors will be manufactured in a 45 nm process that will be introduced with the Shanghai quad-core later this year. Shanghai will deliver performance boost of about 20% over Barcelona thanks to the new process, the doubled overall cache size and the 800MHz DDR2 memory controller. In the second half of 2009, AMD intends to ship a single-die 6-core Socket F (1207) processor code-named "Istanbul". Offered for two- and four-socket systems, the chip will likely utilize AMD's HyperTransport 3.0 technology and increased shared L3 cache from 2MB to 6MB. In two years time from now AMD is promissing a completely new platform. Called the "Maranello" platform, it will bring new 6-core "Sao Paulo" CPUs with 6MB of L3 cache, as well as the dual-die 12-core "Magny Cours" processor with 12MB L3 cache. Both processors will be built in 45nm, with DDR3 memory support and HyperTransport version 3.0 interconnect. AMD will couple these CPUs with motherboards that use its own RD890S and RD870S northbridges as well as the SB700S southbridge.

AMD today announced the availability of three new AMD Phenom X3 triple-core processors that, when combined with the AMD 780 series chipset, can give consumers a full HD experience and visually stunning gaming and digital performance. As the world's only triple-core x86 processor, AMD Phenom X3 processors bring multi-core technology to a broader audience in search of desktop processors that easily handle today's multi-threaded digital entertainment workloads.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) today silently released two more energy-efficient Athlon desktop processors with a TDP of 45W. Both the Athlon X2 4450e and the Athlon X2 4050e are dual-core Socket AM2/AM2+ processors clocked at 2.3GHz and 2.1GHz respectively. They are built on 65nm technology and feature 1MB of L2 cache.

Shanghai, the 45nm core from AMD, is likely to debut late this year. It will be similar in many aspects to the currently-availabe B3 stepping of the Socket 1207 Opteron (Barcelona) shipping today. Unlike Barcelona however, which has its HyperTransport 3.0 clock generator fused off, Shangai should utilize HyperTransport 3.0 for inter-CPU communication. Also, AMD has a new "native six-core" Shanghai derivative in store, currently codenamed Istanbul. This processor is clearly targeted at Intel's recently announced six-core, 45nm Dunnington processor. AMD plans to utilize 2 Istanbul cores to create a 12-core CPU, where both cores will communicate with each other via HyperTransport 3.0. A quad-channel memory controller may also be possible. All new Shanghai CPUs should be backwards compatible with existing Socket 1207 motherboards.

Shanghai is currently taped out and running Windows at AMD.

AMD today reported first quarter 2008 revenue of $1.505 billion, a net loss of $358 million, or $0.59 per share, and an operating loss of $264 million. These results include an impact of $50 million, or $0.08 per share, from ATI acquisition-related charges. First quarter revenue decreased 15 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2007 and increased 22 percent compared to the first quarter of 2007. In the fourth quarter of 2007, AMD reported revenue of $1.770 billion, a net loss of $1.772 billion, and an operating loss of $1.678 billion. In the first quarter of 2007, AMD reported revenue of $1.233 billion, a net loss $611 million, and an operating loss of $504 million.

Pictures of the first prototype AMD 790GX motherboard with integrated Radeon HD 3300 IGP started sufracing yesterday. The upcoming AMD 790GX chipset not only supports CrossFire X and Hybrid CrossFire, but it also adds 3-way Hybrid CrossFire in the loop. 3-way Hybrid CrossFire combines an integrated graphics with two PCI-E 2.0 x8 slots that can be used in CrossFire mode. Just an example, imagine two HD 3870 X2 cards working in CrossFire X helped by an AMD Radeon HD3300 IGP graphics. When in 2D mode only the integrated graphics will be used and thus save power, but if the system is running at full throttle all three cards will be operating. Yes, the HD3300 IGP graphics won't give any significant boost in games and 3D apps, but at least it'll be built into the motherboard and will be working without requiring any additional interventions, so why don't use it? The AMD 790GX based products are expected to go on sale in May.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) said Phil Hester has resigned as senior vice president and chief technology officer effective Friday. As CTO Phil Hester was responsible for setting the architectural and product strategies and plans for AMD's microprocessor business. The official reason for his departure from AMD is that he's "looking to do new things." Phil Hester joined the chip maker in 2005. Before joining AMD, Hester was co-founder and chief executive officer at Newisys, a Sanmina-SCI company, and spent 23 years as IBM employee. AMD said Hester will not be replaced.

Delivering new levels in performance scalability, virtualization performance and energy efficiency, AMD announced customers can get the Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor today in systems from HP as well as other system providers. The recently-launched HP ProLiant G5 platforms represent the first of many systems that are expected to be available in the coming weeks from global OEMs and system builders based on the Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor.

At the Storage Networking World conference AMD today announced availability of the first Reference Design Kit (RDK) for the Storage Bridge Bay (SBB) 2.0 Specification based on the AMD Athlon processor. This RDK can simplify the design process and provide a standardized platform powered by AMD's unrivaled Direct Connect Architecture. AMD expects to help storage vendors deliver low power, high performance, entry-level networked storage systems while helping reduce time-to-market, allowing them to focus more on specific innovations that their customers require. AMD also today announced an expansion of its embedded product offerings with three new, low power AMD Athlon X2 Dual-Core processors for embedded system designs.

AMD today announced it is advancing application performance with stunning imagery through the introduction of the first commercially available 3D workstation graphics card with DisplayPort support. The ATI FireGL V7700 professional graphics accelerator provides superior rendering speed, 3D performance and color fidelity for Computer Aided Design (CAD), Digital Content Creation (DCC) and Medical Imaging professionals.

AMD today announced the availability of the world's first energy-efficient desktop quad-core processor, providing customers with a cool and quiet digital media workhorse. With AMD Phenom X4 9100e quad-core processors, digital media enthusiasts and performance-hungry users can experience the powerful computing capabilities of a true multi-core architecture with a processor operating at a maximum of 65-watts.

AMD today announced immediate availability of four new high-performance AMD Phenom X4 processors for PC users in search of the Ultimate Visual Experience. Led by the AMD Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition processor, each CPU features true quad-core design, and when matched to AMD 790 series chipsets supports up to four award-winning ATI Radeon HD 3800 series graphics cards. This enthusiast PC platform, codenamed "Spider," energizes the latest PC gaming titles, speeds high-definition video playback, and delivers amazing performance for advanced productivity and multi-tasking.

AMD today announced the availability of AMD Phenom X3 8000 series triple-core processors, providing gamers and digital media enthusiasts with exceptional performance at mainstream price points. AMD Phenom X3 processors are designed to improve multi-threaded application performance over dual-core processors at the same clock speed. As the world's only triple-core x86 processor, AMD Phenom X3 processors bring multi-core technology to a broader audience in search of desktop PCs that easily handle today's digital entertainment workloads.

Zotac has jumped the gun on this one a little bit, pre-announcing its new motherboard based on NVIDIA's upcoming nForce 750a chipset. This will be the first AMD chipset from NVIDIA since the nForce 590 was released back in May 2006, and will offer features such as Hybrid SLI, Hybrid Power and GeForce Boost. The board won't be capable of running triple SLI as there are only two PCI-E slots, but Quad SLI with two GeForce 9800 GX2 cards will be supported. The board should work with past, current and future AMD CPUs, provided that AMD maintains compatibility between AM2+ and AM3 processors. Zotac reckons it will be able to sell the motherboard for less than $150, which wouldn't be a bad price for someone wanting to use high-end AMD processors and NVIDIA graphics.

AMD is planning to phase out its single-core Sempron LE-1150 processor by the end of this month and will launch a higher-end Athlon LE-1660 (2.8GHz) for its single-core CPU lineup, DigiTimes report. In addition to the Athlon 64 X2 6400+, 6000+ and 5600+, the company has also informed customers that final orders for its Athlon 64 X2 4200+ will be taken at the end of this month.

DigiTimes, citing unnamed industry sources claims that somewhere between April and May, we should expect ATI to launch new Radeon HD 3830 graphics card. The 3830 will have 128-bit memory interface, 320 stream processing units, 16 texture filtering units and 16 ROPs, and will support memory capacities of up to 256MB. The card will be positioned between AMD's Radeon HD 3850 and HD 3650 and will target the gap between NVIDIA's GeForce 9600GT and 8600GTS with a price lower than US$129. The release of Radeon HD 3830 may also lead to price reduction of several other members of the HD 3 series, the Radeon HD 3870 and HD 3850. AMD didn't comment on the story.

AMD today announced the appointment of Nigel Dessau as chief marketing officer (CMO). He brings 22 years of technology sales and marketing leadership experience at IBM and Sun, and will be responsible for AMD's global marketing, image and campaign strategies.

Today it was announced AMD was extending its visual computing leadership with the first availability of products that conform to the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) first DisplayPort certification. The certification has been awarded to the ATI Radeon HD 3400, ATI Radeon HD 3600 and ATI Radeon HD 3800 graphics products, and the AMD 780G integrated graphics chipset. As the next generation of PC display connection technology, the DisplayPort interface delivers twice the output capacity of DVI, moving the industry forward to a new generation of brilliant display capabilities.

The first systems running Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s new quad-core Barcelona chip are expected to hit the market in April, AMD executives said today. Pushing the delayed processor out into the market will give the company a boost in what has been a lagging competition with rival Intel. Kevin Knox, vice president of AMD's commercial business reported that a series of hardware vendors, including Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM, Sun Microsystems Inc. and Dell Inc., will be launching Barcelona-based servers between now and the end of the second quarter. "We're pretty excited about that because it opens us up to a market we hadn't played heavily in before," said Knox, acknowledging that Barcelona is four to six months late because of the Transition Lookaside Buffer (TLB) bug in all Barcelona and Phenom chips. Now after the B3 stepping is finally starting to ship, AMD is gradually starting to place Barcelona chips in major server brands.

AMD is planning to launch B3 stepping quad-core Phenom 9050 series CPUs including 9850, 9750, 9650, 9550 and 9150 within the next 1-2 weeks, however the top-end 9850 will only reach a core frequency of 2.5GHz, instead of the original goal of 2.6GHz. The company expects to be able to deliver higher core frequencies in the third quarter this year, according to DigiTimes citing sources at motherboard makers. AMD will later launch triple-core Phenom 8750, 8650 and 8450 CPUs with power consumption of 65W scheduled for April. Prior to that, the company will launch the Athlon 64 X2 5800+ to fill the gap in the mainstream market. For the dual-core CPU market, AMD will launch the Athlon 64 X2 5600+ Black Edition and 4600+ by the end of March and will follow with Phenom-based Athlon 6250 and 6050 CPUs by the end of the second quarter. The company has also informed customers that final orders for Athlon 64 X2 6400+, 6000+ and 5600+ (89W versions) will be taken till the end of March.

An unofficial source is claiming that AMD plans to reduce the prices of its current processors in early April, which could suggest that new models are on the way. According to the information, prices on just about all Phenom and Athlon 64 X2 CPUs will fall, along with the company's low power Athlon 64 processors and budget Sempron processors. If this is true, that would hint at an April launch for AMD's upcoming Phenom 9550, 9650 and 9750 CPUs. No information about how much we can expect prices to drop by has been released, but the introduction of new Phenom models should help AMD compete better with Intel's Core 2 Quad range.

ComputerBase has revealed AMD's notebook processor roadmap for 2008, which list four "Griffin"-based chips. "Griffin" CPUs are part of the upcomnig "Puma" notebook platform. The roadmap shows AMD Turion 64 Ultra and AMD Turion 64 dual-core models, with 2MB and 1MB of L2 cache respectively. Both CPUs support DDR2 800MHz memory and have clock speeds ranging from 2GHz to 2.4GHz. Their power consumption ranges between 32 Watts and 35 Watts. There is also a single core Athon 64 chip with 1MB of L2 cache, DDR2 667MHz support, clock speeds starting from 1.9GHz, and a power consumption of 31 Watt. AMD also lists a range of "Sable" Sempron single-core chips with 512KB of L2 cache, 25W power consumption, and clock speeds starting from 2GHz. Codename "Sable" stands for the lower-end "Griffin" CPUs. Along with the new CPUs, "Puma" will deliver the RS780 mobile chipset with the DirectX 10 ready HD3200 integrated graphics and the Unified Video Decoder (UVD). In addition, the RS780 includes PowerXpress technology for dynamic switching between integrated and discrete graphics to extend battery life, as well as PCI Express 2.0 and HyperTransport 3.0 technologies. AMD has announced that the "Puma"/"Griffin"-powered laptops will start shipping at the end of the second quarter of 2008.