With the release of Windows 8 in sight, it's more important than ever for AMD to compete with Intel's Atom processors and ARM chips. The efficient APUs that the manufacturer currently offers are performing exceptionally well in the notebook segment, but aren't quite as popular in tablet devices. AMD's new low-power architecture, codenamed Jaguar, is supposed to change that.
Starting next year, Jaguar will be implemented in both tablets and energy efficient notebooks in the form of a dual-core processor named Tamesh. The most prominent aspect is that the architecture will be more efficient, partly thanks to the new 28 nm production process. In theory, this allows AMD to gain an advantage over Intel, as the Clover Trail Atom processors, to be launched later this year, will be based on 32 nm transistors. As usual, AMD's processor will feature a better integrated GPU than its competitors.
The low-power Jaguar chip will be revealed during the Hot Chips conference, late August. It's likely that more information will be released on the Steamroller core as well, which will be featured in mid-range laptops next year.
