AMD Starts to Talk About Bulldozer 2 Micro-Architecture

From X-bit Labs: Advanced Micro Devices recently released its conceptual server roadmap for the next several years. Apparently, the company's next-generation server platform will not only support both Bulldozer and Bulldozer NG central processing units (CPUs), but will also "fuse" microprocessors with input/output controllers, essentially killing the market of server core-logic. In addition, in three to four years server chips will feature heterogeneous cores.

The upcoming Bulldozer micro-architecture from AMD will be the base for the company's servers chips for many years. But the company sees its future not only from a CPU micro-architecture perspective, but wants to gradually integrate more and more functionality into its chips. the holy grail of such integration will be heterogeneous multi-core microprocessors that will contain both x86 processing cores as well as high-performance stream-processors akin to those found inside graphics processing units (GPUs).

AMD's forthcoming Bulldozer microprocessors for servers - code-named Interlagos and Valencia - are projected to hit the market in the second half of 2011, a little later than originally expected, and will be drop-in compatible with the current G34/C32 server platforms that utilize various AMD chipsets.

Sometime in 2012, around two years from now, the Sunnyvale, California-based chip designer will launch a completely new server platform currently known as G42/G44. The next-generation platform will continue to utilize Bulldozer micro-architecture initially, but microprocessors will absorb I/O functionality of chipsets, thus, further simplifying the server platforms. Obviously, there still will be external I/O controllers, but there will be no more central hub in servers. Around the same timeframe AMD also plans to release GPUs seriously optimized for server needs. Around 2013 - 2014 the world's second largest maker of chips will introduce the so-called Bulldozer NG micro-architecture (Bulldozer 2) and new processors on its base. The first Bulldozer NG-powered chips will be compatible with G42/G44 infrastructure.

The most revolutionary change of AMD's server platform will take place in 2014 - 2015 - 2016 when the company introduces microprocessors with integrated Bulldozer x86 cores, high-speed stream processing units and input/output functionality. Later on the company will also switch from Bulldozer NG cores to a future micro-architecture, which can be called post-Bulldozer NG.

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