AMD will give consoles a Die-shrink first

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As you guys probably know, console APUs have become big business for AMD. Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo are all using one. These are still based on a 28nm fabrication process. However TSMC is getting its 20nm fabrication node up and running. 



Now everybody expected AMD to die-shrink their APUs for the PC market first, but it's the console SoCs that will be favored. As TPU reports today:

Unlike NVIDIA, which may use the new process to shrink its GPUs, or launch bigger chips based on its "Maxwell" architecture, AMD will treat its console SoCs with optical-shrinks to the new nodes first, so the company could immediately eke out better margins, as console gamers upgrade to Xbox One or the PlayStation 4. AMD's SoC for the Xbox One, could be the first in line for this optical shrink to 20 nm. This chip features a transistor count of 5 billion, and houses eight 64-bit x86 CPU cores, and a 768 SP GPU based on the Graphics CoreNext architecture; 48 MB of on-die cache, and a quad-channel DDR3 IMC. The chip also features an integrated core logic. AMD's chip for the PlayStation 4 features design inputs from Sony. The chip features the same CPU component, but a 1152 SP GPU, and a 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface, wired to 8 GB of memory that's virtualized for both system- and graphics-memory. The 20 nm shrinks of both chips are expected to lower not just manufacturing costs, but also step up energy-efficiency, which could then let Microsoft and Sony save additional costs on other components, such as power and cooling.

Via TPU and Expreview.

AMD will give consoles a Die-shrink first


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