Nosotros got our outset wait at AMD's Fusion series earlier this year when nosotros reviewed the visitor's dual-core Zacate 18W processor, formally known equally the E-350 APU. Fusion is the marketing proper name for a series of APUs (Accelerated Processing Units) that AMD has been developing since 2006 when information technology caused ATI.

As yous should know by at present, Fusion is all about combining full general processor execution along with 3D geometry processing and other functions of modern GPUs into a single chip.

The E-350 we examined in February was part of AMD's "Brazos" platform and combined a pair of Bobcat cores with a Radeon HD 6250 graphics unit to deliver some truly impressive performance. Not just was the E-350 more powerful than Intel's Atom when information technology came to raw processing power, but the GPU was as well much faster than annihilation we had seen paired with the Atom before, including Nvidia's Ion.

Following in the footsteps of Brazos, AMD is now ready to unleash its bigger brother. Codenamed "Llano," the new arrival resides in AMD's "Lynx" platform and packs iv Husky cores (very similar to what's within Athlon Ii processors -- more on that later on), along with a robust GPU based on the Evergreen family'due south Redwood architecture.

As a refresher, the Evergreen GPUs powered AMD's last-generation Radeon HD 5000 graphics cards. Llano's graphics core characteristic anywhere from 160 to 400 stream processors, which should make them considerably more than powerful than any other integrated graphics solution we take seen to engagement.

Because the Llano APUs are function of an entirely new mainstream desktop platform (Lynx), they require a new socket. Dubbed "Socket FM1," new format will support A-Series processors and uses a PGA (Pin Grid Array) packaging with 905 contacts.

AMD has plans to ship many different A-Series APUs, which are broken downwardly into three cardinal families. Loftier-cease models will belong to the A8-Serial and will be quad-core processors that utilise the Radeon HD 6550D graphics core operating at 600MHz. The A8-3850 runs at 2.9GHz and the A8-3800 does its work at 2.4GHz, merely that speed is boosted via AMD's Turbo Cadre technology and tin therefore operate at up to 2.7GHz. The A8-3850 has a TDP rating of 100 watts, whereas the A8-3800 is rated at just 65 watts.

At the mid-range point we have the A6-3650 and A6-3600 APUs -- as well quad-core processors. These take been downgraded to a Radeon Hd 6530D which is around 40% slower on paper. The A6-3650 operates at 2.6GHz without support for Turbo Cadre technology and yet receives a 100-watt TDP rating, while the A6-3600 runs at 2.1GHz with a 2.4GHz Turbo Core frequency and receives a humbler 65-watt TDP. All of the quad-core chips feature 4MB of L2 cache.

The A6-Series will as well house a triple-core A6-3500 that runs at two.1GHz with dynamic boosts of up to 2.4GHz, 3MB of cache and a 65W TDP. Farther downward the line, AMD's budget dual-core A4-3400 and A4-3300 APUs operate at 2.5GHz and 2.7GHz (neither supports Turbo Cadre). Both take 1MB of cache and a Radeon Hard disk drive 6410D, with the former clocked at 600MHz and the latter at 443MHz.

Now that yous're upwards to speed with Llano'south desktop lineup, let's dissect the new compages and greet AMD's new flagship APU with our customary battery of tests.