Turbo core and North bridge, A4, A6 and A8

Turbo Core

A feature that you guys know from AMD's Hexacore processors is of course AMD Turbo Core. Llano now has AMD Turbo Core embedded and that means that the processor can throttle the clock frequency of the CPU cores independently above the base clock frequency for a short period of time.

The APU constantly measures factors like threaded workload, power limitations, voltages and heat levels for both the CPU and GPU. Based on algorithms the clock frequency of the CPU cores will change. If you are using Photoshop and apply a filter, then for a short burst the Turbo Core mode will kick in and accelerate the CPU cores' clock frequency a little higher. Should you use the GPU in Photoshop (creates more load/heat) then that Turbo mode forfeits and makes sure the processor cores remain at their reference clock frequency.

Northbridge

We explained that the Llano architecture has a lot more inside of it than just the CPU and GPU, there's core logic for the UVD engine but also high-level Northbridge functionality including a PCI-Express 2.0 controller and a dual-channel DDR3 memory controller.

That memory controller is again based on the Phenom/Athlon II architecture but optimized to support higher frequency memory. This was needed to give the GPU harbored inside the A8 APU as much memory bandwidth as possible. 

So, straight out of the box higher memory DDR3 frequencies are supported. The Llano dual-channel memory controller as such supports DDR3 memory up-to 1866 MHz, and that's quite a gain from the previous 1066/1333 MHz support. Hey, for graphics the generic rule is simple; the faster the frame buffer memory the better.

Integrated into Llano's Nortbridge is also a PCI-Express 2.0 controller that comes with 24 available lanes. You can use 16 for a dedicated graphics card.

Four PCI-Express lanes will be used for connections to the A75 FCH chipset, the data that has to be sent back and fourth between the Llano APU and the FCH (SouthBridge Fusion Controller Hub) uses a so-called UMI link which is basically a fourth PCI Express x4 interface that provides 2GB/s worth of bandwidth in each direction. The residual four links can be used for extra controllers like audio, Ethernet or USB 3.0.

A4, A6 and A8

Though today AMD launches the A8 series APUs primarily; in our introduction we already quickly briefed you on how AMD is going to position the Llano processor line in the A4, A6 and A8 segments.

AMD applies their Vision marketing at this new launch and is trying to simplify their naming and branding. Similar to Core i3, i5 and i7 from Intel, AMD is defining their 'performance' levels in an easier to understand scheme as well: A4, A6 and A8.

And yes, it is funny to see how AMD on all levels increased the number a little, Core i3 -> AMD A4.

Now from A4, A6 to A8 the Llano processor architecture is completely the same. Underneath that heat spreader however AMD did clip out some features that do not just relate to clock frequencies.

For the A8 series everything is enabled, that means four CPU cores, and 400 shader processors for the GPU. The A6 series will get four CPU cores as well, yet only 320 shader processors for the GPU. For the A4 series we see just two activated processor cores and 240 shader processors for the GPU.

Let's organize that a little:

• A8 = 4 CPU-cores, 400 GPU-cores (Radeon HD 6550D) released today
• A6 = 4 CPU-cores (3 cores for the A6 3500), 320 GPU-cores (Radeon HD 6530D)
• A4 = 2 CPU-cores, 240 GPU-cores (Radeon HD 6410D)

The Llano Lynx processors:

AMD's A4 series
The A4 series A4-3400 is a 65W processor with 2 cores that run at 2.7GHz. There will also be an A4-3300 65W processor with two cores at 2.5GHz. These A4 models have 160 Radeon (shader processor) Cores with an integrated Radeon HD 6410D. The L2 cache is 1MB and the graphics GPU clock is 600MHz for the A4-3400 and 443MHz for the A4-3300.

AMD's A6 seriesThere are three processors to be found in the A6 Series, the first is the A6-3650. It is a 100 Watt 4 core processor running at 2.6GHz. The A6-3600 is a 65W 4 core APU running at 2.4/2.1GHz (Turbo Core). The third APU is the A6-3500; it will be launched at a later stage, as a 65 Watt 3 core 2.4/2.1 (Turbo Core) APU. These processors have 4MB L2 cache pool except the A6-3500 which has 3MB (one core less). All three models have 320 Radeon (Shader) Cores at 443MHz. The graphics class is HD 6530D.

AMD's A8 series
The leading Lynx series processors will be injected into the A8 series. There are two APU models to be found in A8 series, the A8-3850 rated at 100W running at 2.9GHz - a Quad Core processor. The other model is the A8-3800 rated at 65W, 2.7/2.4GHz (Turbo Core). Both APUs have a 4MB L2 cache and pack no less than 400 Radeon Cores with that embedded GPU running at 600MHz, comparable to a Radeon HD 6550D.

All A series APUs have a TDP of either 65 or 100 Watts and the integrated IGP runs 600 MHz at maximum.