AMD will launch the first Bulldozer processors in Q2 2011 and we have been told that the performance per clock will be better than current Phenom II processors. Therefore it comes as pleasant news when AMD talks about frequencies over 3.5 GHz with the new processors.
AMD will be talking Bulldozer at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) 2011 and on the agenda for the event it has revealed details on the processor series that was previously unknown.
Bulldozer builds on dual-core CPU modules where the first generationen processors can get up to four modules and 8 physical cores. AMD says that each module will contain 213 million transistors – 2MB L2 cache included – and measure 30.9mm2. Pretty impressive numbers that comes from optimiations on the transistor level and 11-layer 32nm high-k metal gate SOI process.
Through its new design Bulldozer will not only be smaller but also more efficient than current generation processor circuits. It will offer better performance and higher clock frequencies where AMD has spoken of 3.5 GHz+ with between 0.8V to 1.3V. At the same time AMD reveals that its 8MB L3 cache will work at clock frequencies over 2.4 GHz and require a voltage of 1.1V.
With eight cores and clock frequencies over 3.5 GHz AMD’s Zambezi processors is something we really look forward to. The exact performance is of course hard to predict, but that AMD will become a lot more competitive is something we take for granted.
