AMD Current and Next-gen

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/amd-carrizo-apu-excavator-processors-cpu,28608.html

Really excited about this, even though I don't plan on purchasing a laptop in the near future. It is no secret that AMD products have lagged behind Intel's in terms of sheer power. AMD has compensated by offering their aging tech at prices that are very attractive to the low-cost builder. The FX-series of AMD processors are done, developmentally, but not over, as prices to continue to drop. (Recently saw a six-core FX-6350 for $89. Are you kidding me?)

The efficiency demonstrated by Carrizo is just the tip of the iceberg, though. Excavator is a development of the Steamroller core, hence not really new. Carrizo, like Kaveri before it, is a test-bed for AMD's REALLY big release, scheduled to come in 2016: the all-new from-the-ground-up Zen core. So, even though Carrizo may not demonstrate enough CPU core improvements to suddenly even the playing field with Intel, it's success should rather be judged on just how successful the technical innovations are (like integrating the South Bridge onto the die). Every single technology, from saving space on the die to Bridge integration to power-saving of the CPU stack - it is all preparation for the Zen core. Of course, Carrizo is not destined for desktops. Desktops will see a Kaveri refresh this summer, code-named Godavari. While a slight boost in clocks is promised, it remains an incremental increase that is all but a stop-gap until Zen arrives.

Not much is really known about the Zen core, other than it will be small (around 14 nm), and incorporate elements from both x86 design and ARM design (and potentially be compatible with both, which would be highly unique). There is a great interview on YouTube with CPU design  guru Jim Keller about the direction of Zen's development, though obviously he cannot be too explicit. There are rumors that the Zen APU will have an 8-core CPU, a GPU with 1024 stream processors and  DDR4 compatibility (salivating...). Still rumors at this point. If the Zen APU delivers at least six cores (or equivalent) and at least 800 stream processors, that will still be a significant stride over the current-gen Kaveri.

Have to say I'm very happy with the direction AMD is going. Hopefully they last long enough to actually make the market splash they need to remain viable for the long-term.

Mid-2016 seems like a long way away...

Update 3/16/2015
AMD releases more specifications of Carrizo:
http://www.amd.com/en-us/press-releases/Pages/amd-discloses-architecture-2015feb23.aspx