AMD Turion

AMD Turion is the brand name AMD applies to its x86-64 low-power consumption (mobile) processors codenamed K8L.[1] The Turion 64 and Turion 64 X2/Ultra processors compete with Intel's mobile processors, initially the Pentium M and the Intel Core and Intel Core 2 processors.

Features

Turion 64

Earliest Turion 64 processors are plugged into AMD's Socket 754. They are equipped with 512 or 1024 KiB of L2 cache, a 64-bit single channel on-die DDR-400 memory controller, and an 800 MHz HyperTransport bus. Battery saving features, like PowerNow!, are central to the marketing and usefulness of these CPUs. The newer "Richmond" models are designed for AMD's Socket S1 and have a double-channel DDR2 controller.

Turion 64 X2

AMD Turion 64 X2 engineering sample, 1.6 GHz

Turion 64 X2 is AMD's 64-bit dual-core mobile CPU, intended to compete with Intel's Core and Core 2 CPUs. The Turion 64 X2 was launched on May 17, 2006,[2] after several delays. These processors use Socket S1 and feature DDR2 memory. They also include AMD Virtualization Technology and more power-saving features.

The earlier 90 nm devices were codenamed Taylor and Trinidad, while the newer 65 nm cores have codename Tyler.

Turion X2 Ultra

Turion X2 Ultra (codenamed Griffin) is the first processor family from AMD solely for the mobile platform, based on the Athlon 64 (K8 Revision G) architecture with some specific architectural enhancements similar to current Phenom processors aimed at lower power consumption and longer battery life. The Turion Ultra processor was released as part of the "Puma" mobile platform in June 2008.

The Turion X2 Ultra is a dual-core processor fabricated on 65 nm technology using 300 mm SOI wafers. It supports DDR2-800 SO-DIMMs and features a DRAM prefetcher to improve performance and a mobile-enhanced northbridge (memory controller, HyperTransport controller, and crossbar switch). Each processor core comes with 1 MiB L2 cache for a total of 2 MiB L2 cache for the entire processor. This is double the L2 cache found on the Turion 64 X2 processor. Clock rates range from 2.0 GHz to 2.4 GHz, and thermal design power (TDP) range from 32 watts to 35 watts.[3]

The Turion X2 Ultra processor, unlike earlier Turions, implements three voltage planes: one for the northbridge and one for each core.[4] This, along with multiple phase-locked loops (PLL), allows one core to alter its voltage and operating frequency independently of the other core, and independently of the northbridge. Indeed, in a matter of microseconds, the processor can switch to one of 8 frequency levels and one of 5 voltage levels. By adjusting frequency and voltage during use, the processor can adapt to different workloads and help reduce power consumption. It can operate as low as 250 MHz to conserve power during light use.

Additionally, the processor features deep sleep state C3, deeper sleep state C4 (AltVID), and HyperTransport 3.0 up to 2.6 GHz, or up to 41.6 GB/s bandwidth per link at 16-bit link width and dynamic scaling of HT link width down to 0-bit ("disconnected") in both directions from and to the chipset for four different usage scenarios.[5] It also implements multiple on-die thermal sensors through integrated SMBUS (SB-TSI) interface (replaces and eliminates the thermal monitor circuit chip through SMBUS in its predecessors) with additional MEMHOT signal sent from embedded controller to the processor, and reduces memory temperature.

The Turion X2 Ultra processor uses the same socket S1 as its predecessor, Turion 64 X2, but the pinout is different.[6] It is designed to work with the RS780M chipset.

Given the above enhancements on the architecture, the cores were minimally modified and are based on the K8 instead of the K10 microarchitecture.[6] AMD Fellow Maurice Steinman has said the cores are almost transistor-for-transistor identical to those found in the 65 nm Turion 64 X2 processors .

Turion II Ultra

Turion II Ultra (codenamed Caspian) is the mobile version of the K10.5 architecture produced using 45 nm fabrication process, also known by its desktop variant Regor. It is a dual core processor, and features clock speeds of 2.5 GHz, 2 MB total L2 cache (1 MB per core), HyperTransport at 3.6 GT/s, and a 128 bit FPU. It maintains a TDP of 35W from its predecessor Turion X2 Ultra (codenamed Griffin).

Turion II

Turion II is identical to Turion II Ultra, except that the Turion II features only 1 MB of L2 cache (512 KB per core), and lower clock speeds ranging from 2.2 GHz to 2.6 GHz.

Model naming methodology

The model naming scheme does not make it obvious how to compare one Turion with another, or even an Athlon 64. The model name is two letters, a dash, and a two digit number (for example, ML-34). The two letters together designate a processor class, while the number represents a performance rating (PR). The first letter is M for mono (single) core processors and T for twin (dual) core Turion 64 X2 processors. The later in the alphabet that the second letter appears, the more the model has been designed for mobility (frugal power consumption). Take for instance, an MT-30 and an ML-34. Since the T in the MT-30 is later in the alphabet than the L in ML-34, the MT-30 consumes less power than the ML-34. But since 34 is greater than 30, the ML-34 is faster than the MT-30.

The release of the Turion II Ultra and Turion II lineups have simplified name methodology; all newly released Turions have the letter "M" followed by a number designating relative performance. The higher the number, the higher the clock speed. For example, the Turion II M500 has a clock speed of 2.2 GHz while the Turion II M520 has a clock speed of 2.3 GHz.

Cores

AMD Turion processor family
Code-named Core Date released
Lancaster
Richmond
Sable		 solo (90 nm)
solo (90 nm)
solo (65 nm)		 Mar 2005
Sep 2006
Jun 2008
Taylor
Trinidad
Tyler
Lion		 dual (90 nm)
dual (90 nm)
dual (65 nm)
dual (65 nm)		 May 2006
May 2006
May 2007
Jun 2008
Griffin dual (65 nm) Jun 2008
Caspian dual (45 nm) Sep 2009
Champlain dual (45 nm) May 2010

Lancaster (90 nm SOI)

model MT-34 (top)
model MT-34 (bottom)

Richmond (90 nm SOI)

The models support the same features available in Lancaster, plus AMD-V.

Taylor & Trinidad (90 nm SOI)

Turion64-X2 for Socket S1

Tyler (65 nm SOI)

Lion (65 nm SOI)

Caspian (45 nm SOI)

Champlain

"Champlain" (45 nm, Dual-core)
Model numberFrequencyL2 cacheFPU widthHTMultiplier1VoltageTDPSocketRelease dateOrder part number
Turion II P5202.3 GHz2 × 1 MB128-bit1.8 GHz 11.5× 25 WSocket S1g4May 12, 2010TMP520SGR23GM
Turion II P5402.4 GHz2 × 1 MB128-bit1.8 GHz 12× 25 WSocket S1g4October 4, 2010TMP540SGR23GM
Turion II P5602.5 GHz2 × 1 MB128-bit1.8 GHz 12.5× 25 WSocket S1g4October 19, 2010TMP560SGR23GM
Turion II N5302.5 GHz2 × 1 MB128-bit1.8 GHz 12.5× 35 WSocket S1g4May 12, 2010TMN530DCR23GM
Turion II N5502.6 GHz2 × 1 MB128-bit1.8 GHz 13× 35 WSocket S1g4October 4, 2010TMN550DCR23GM

See also

References

  1. ↑ The Inquirer report Archived February 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ "AMD Delivers Multi-Tasking Performance On-The-Go With First 64-Bit Dual-Core Mobile Processor". AMD. 2006-05-17. Archived from the original on 12 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-09.
  3. ↑ AMD mobile CPU roadmap at Engadget
  4. ↑ AnandTech review
  5. ↑ PC Watch image
  6. 1 2 The Inquirer report Archived July 5, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
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