AMD Stars processor roadmap

AMD’s latest roadmap outlines plans for second-generation Stars quad, dual and single-core processors. Five second-generation Stars processors are in the pipeline for 2H’2008. The five variants include quad-core Deneb FX and Deneb, dual-core Propus and Regor, and single-core Sargas. The new processors drop into new Socket AM3 and AM2+ motherboards for backwards compatibility.

All second-generation Stars processors have new memory controllers with DDR3 and DDR2 memory compatibility. Taking advantage of DDR3 memory requires the use of a Socket AM3 motherboard. Socket AM2+ users can upgrade to second-generation Stars processors with a memory bandwidth penalty.

Second-generation Stars processors introduce AMD’s 45nm fabrication process. AMD plans to make a quick move to 45nm. The entire product lineup will move to 45nm within 2H’2008, unlike the move to 65nm, which began Q4’2006 and is still in process.