Multiplier Unlocked Fusion-A8 3870 APU On it's Way

[..::ABSOLUT::..]

According to the article Fusion-A8 3870 will be released in Q4 2011.There is no certain info about clock speed but it's speculated to have a clockspeed of 3.10Ghz.Certain is that the TDP is 100watts,it sports 1MB L2 cache for each core (4Mb total) and integrated Radeon HD 6550D graphics.





Source: http://www.donanimhaber.com/tm.asp?m=50858785 (of course )

[xBanzai89]

This would be fun to mess around with. Lots of reviewers thought this CPU is being held back from being locked.

[Alex-Ro]

Amd needs to improve process in order to scale with voltage.Since my 3850 needs 1.4V for 3.4 ghz,it's voltage limited not BLCK.So an unlocked version with same overclock capacity would mean nothing.We need LLANO to make 4.0 at least for daily use in order to be competitive.

[Lightman]

Amd needs to improve process in order to scale with voltage.Since my 3850 needs 1.4V for 3.4 ghz,it's voltage limited not BLCK.So an unlocked version with same overclock capacity would mean nothing.We need LLANO to make 4.0 at least for daily use in order to be competitive.

I think one of the reasons we don't have unlocked parts from the get go is that AMD is aware they are process limited at the moment. Black edition will probably have either new stepping or improved process to allow better clocks. Ideally both!

[Miwo]

That's a good point Lightman. Releasing an unlocked part in the current state of Llano would probably be more harm than good. As it is, power consumption, clocks, voltage could all be better on desktop. As the 32nm process matures, I'm sure we'll start seeing better clocking chips... just like we saw in Phenom II launch (720BE/940BE) vs today's parts. Amazing what AMD was able to squeeze out of 45nm

[mattkosem]

Amd needs to improve process in order to scale with voltage.Since my 3850 needs 1.4V for 3.4 ghz,it's voltage limited not BLCK.So an unlocked version with same overclock capacity would mean nothing.We need LLANO to make 4.0 at least for daily use in order to be competitive.

Agreed. While 1.4v is the stock voltage, and OCing with it seems to yield you something, it doesn't leave much room to move up. Mine does 3.5 with ~1.475v, but I'm not too comfortable with moving past that at this moment. If these chips came stock at 1.1v or 1.2v and were still comfortable with 1.4v+ that might be a game changer.

As far as unlocked parts go, it's sort of a waste unless they unlock the GPU multi too (which isn't even exposed on my bios/uefi). Pushing up the ref clock unlocks the magic of this cpu since it moves the graphics up too. TBQH, I'd be happy with just a PCI-E multi to adjust. Fortunately, I can still use the x1 slot on my mobo, since it doesn't seem to run at insano speed with the ref clock at 150. The x16 slots seem pretty much useless at that clock.

--Matt

[hyc]

TBQH, I'd be happy with just a PCI-E multi to adjust. Fortunately, I can still use the x1 slot on my mobo, since it doesn't seem to run at insano speed with the ref clock at 150. The x16 slots seem pretty much useless at that clock.

--Matt

Sounds like clock skew/jitter; with a single lane there's only one signal so nothing to worry about. With 16 lanes running at insane speed, a "minor" variance in propagation in any of those lanes will probably be larger than an individual bit-time.

[chew*]

This would be fun to mess around with. Lots of reviewers thought this CPU is being held back from being locked.

Those reviewers would find out quickly an unlocked multi gains them little to nothing.

[vitaminc]

AMD: no longer the cheaper choice for more fun. They had design problem as an IDM and its even worse after they spin out Global Foundry.

[mattkosem]

Sounds like clock skew/jitter; with a single lane there's only one signal so nothing to worry about. With 16 lanes running at insane speed, a "minor" variance in propagation in any of those lanes will probably be larger than an individual bit-time.

I just figured it's probably furnished by the FCH and that the FCH must have its own clockgen for the lanes it provides. The other onboard devices all work fine so it makes sense. Who knows for sure though.

--Matt

[eXa]

The first Phenom II's didnt clock very vell either but now they clock fairly well.

[PatRaceTin]

it would be more fun

[FlanK3r]

yes, Im looking forward for my first APU BE :-).

[informal]

The only reason why this model may be an actual improvement over 3850 is higher starting clock. OCing is already possible via base clock with 3850 and its multiplier is high enough for maximum stable OC on air(air cooling is what most buyers will use).