CeBIT: AMD demos 45nm quad-core processors

AMD, the beleaguered processor manufacturer, has given its first public unveiling of its 45nm parts at CeBIT in Hannover, Germany.

The simple demo consisted of an AM3 Phenom processor running Windows Movie with all four cores loaded. The parts are quad-core chips and have been manufactured in AMD's Fab 36, based in Dresden, Germany.

The company's current product line up is manufactured on a 65nm process. Moving to a smaller process will enable it to produce more chips on a given wafer and fit more transistors on each die, vital for improving on the key 'performance per watt' metric.

AMD's 45nm process technology makes use of ultra-low-k dielectrics and immersion lithography, developed in conjunction with IBM. Moving forward, AMD's 45nm process may also employ ultra-low-k Dielectrics and high-k metal gates.

The 45nm parts will consist of 'Shanghai' products for server and 'Deneb' for desktop platforms. These will ship under the Phenom and Opteron brands respectively.

Leslie Sobon, director of product marketing for AMD, told IT PRO that AMD was on schedule with its 45nm road map. "We are meeting all of the milestones we set in place and are on track to begin shipping in the second half of this year."

Sobon confirmed that the demo part featured the increased 6MB of level 3 cache, but would not reveal any clock speeds for the product.

She added that it the move to 45nm would deliver key benefits for both the company and its customers. "Moving to 45nm enables us to drive costs down and deliver more features in our processor technology, delivering increased level 3 cache, improved instructions per clock (IPC), enhanced energy efficiency and increased hyper transport speeds," she said.

AMD rival Intel launched its 45nm processor 'Penryn' part in November last year.

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