AMD - Piledriver chitchat

[kompukare]

Gigabyte announced/leaked new FM2+ boards for Kaveri:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7227/g...rds-for-kaveri
http://www.guru3d.com/news_story/gig...herboards.html

According to the Wiki FM2+ is backward compatible with FM2 but the reverse is not true? So that's almost like Intel then: a new chipset every 1-2 years. At least AM3+ users had a good run.

[watercooled]

I wonder how exactly the sockets differ? With the AMx updates you had different bus speeds/memory controllers, but chipsets are essentially south-bridges now. I wonder if we'll see different memory options on FM2+, that would be a valid reason?

I'm not going to try to put a positive spin on completely unnecessary socket changes, but sometimes it's a trade-off between keeping backwards-compatibility and adding new features. For example, I remember reading Vishera (maybe Zambezi too?) actually has PCIe interfaces on the die, but they're unused because of the AM3+ socket, relying on the HT bus to the NB instead.

Anyone see the funny side in the anandtech link '...have since confirmed...' which links to an article titled 'AMD denies Kaveri delay rumours'

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Doesn't Kaveri support PCI-E 3.0??

[watercooled]

That could make sense. I wonder if the chipset also supports 3.0, and if they're upping the UMI bus speed to compensate then?

[DanceswithUnix]

Doesn't Kaveri support PCI-E 3.0??

Yes. Rumour says Trinity supported it but was never accredited so the feature was turned off.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Gigabyte appears to be launching some pretty high end FM2+ motherboards:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7227/g...rds-for-kaveri

I wonder if Kaveri is actually pretty decent??

[watercooled]

They do look pretty flashy vs FM2/1 boards!

[DanceswithUnix]

Gigabyte appears to be launching some pretty high end FM2+ motherboards:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7227/g...rds-for-kaveri

I wonder if Kaveri is actually pretty decent??

Cool. ASUS still seem to only list one low end A55 chipset board and one A88 one.
A while back ISTR SA were spreading rumours of Intel back to their old tricks of leaning on motherboard manufacturers to not make AMD boards. Perhaps ASUS bend under pressure, and Gigabyte don't

[watercooled]

Maybe we'll see some more listed nearer to release? If not, then yeah it does seem a bit suspect.

Their flashy animation only seems to show Intel boards though...

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Gigabyte introduces a thin-ITX FM2 motherboard:

http://b2b.gigabyte.com/products/pro...px?pid=4697#sp

[DanceswithUnix]

This article is a month old now, but seems a good round up of Kaveri info. What did we do before google translate?

http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/c...04_606220.html

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

TR compares PD,K10 and some Intel CPUs:

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/piledr...iew-32759.html

[scaryjim]

... Perhaps ASUS bend under pressure, and Gigabyte don't

Given the state of my ASUS P5N32E-SLI, I'm inclined to agree with that
disclaimer: while the board has definitely warped, it still works fine and has just been paired with a 4850 and donated to the step-son to replace his aging AM2 dual-core rig. He is suitably impressed!

Gigabyte introduces a thin-ITX FM2 motherboard: ...

Ooooh, now *that's* nice. Just wonder if anywhere in the UK will stock it... paired with an A10-6700 that'd make one hell of a nice lan box....

[cheesyboy]

Gigabyte introduces a thin-ITX FM2 motherboard:

http://b2b.gigabyte.com/products/pro...px?pid=4697#sp

Doesn't look like its intended for the consumer market

[watercooled]

Why not, there are thin-ITX boards available for other sockets.

[cheesyboy]

Product code, blue PCB, that it's in the B2B section of the Gigabyte website.