What is going on with the AMD CTO notebooks?

The choices seem to get more limited as each week passes. First HP dumps the v3000z and dv2000z, then the dv9000z loses any dedicated graphics option and now the dv6000z w/Go 7200 has a build date of July 16th.

Granted, I'd imagine that the AMD units have less sales than the Intel ones overall but the current pitiful selection will only give more sales to Intel. I can't find any references to refreshed models like a dv9500z (for example), so is HP just phasing AMD out of the consumer line?


Mike

 

well, you can only fault amd....i mean, the turion x2s came out approximately the same time as the core duos....since then, intel has come up with the core 2 duo and santa rosa. amd has done nothing....maybe amd is finally coming up with something new and clearing out stock? one can only hope....

 

Nothing new from AMD except the switch to 65nm and higher clockspeeds and I dont think HP is going to use ATi chipsets in these systems. My guess is that they are waiting for the Nvidia 7150M/630M combo. They have yet to release the updated Santa Rosa V3000t which they announced along with the dv2500t. We have to wait and see..

But until we receive more info, it is just pure speculation.

 

I was hoping that they would start using the 690 chipset and 65nm Turions at the very least (as on the SBO models). I find no mention of this at all when combing the support site though. Either HP is keeping this a secret, or the current CTO's will just drag on as "super-budget" models until they exhaust current parts supply (which is not too far away from the look of things). Definitely depressing for AMD supporters........lol

 

The 65nm Turions seem to be MIA, they were announced a while back and I havent seen them at any OEM. So..that might also be one of the reasons for the delay. As for as the chipsets are concerned the 7150 is touted by Nvidia to be 40% faster and decrease power consumption by 13% over the 6150 series. So, it might end up being better option than the Ati chipsets.

 

The only 65nm X2 available that I'm aware of is the TK-53 (which is estimated to target the Pentium Dual-Core budget market). Other than that, the rest of the lineup does appear to be MIA. lol

I'd definitely take the nVidia 7150 chipset if it was available (with a side order of 65nm X2). Unfortunately, time is not on my side (or AMD's). I will most likely put in my CTO order for an Intel model by June 23rd. I don't want to do this, but AMD has nothing competitive in HP consumer clothing.




Mike

 

Forgot about that one but its branded as an Athlon not a Turion.

I was hoping they would move the mobile processors to the barcelona core next year but it seems like they will still be relying on K8 for Griffin and mostly concentrate on 'power consumption' but I dont think they will be able to effectively compete with 45nm Penryn.

 

Ah, you're right. I never noticed that until you pointed it out. However it does seem a bit misleading, as Athlon64 gives the impression of a desktop cpu (ie. higher performance). Strange.

 

The TK-53 appears to be a renamed and slightly faster Turion X2 TL50. The TK-53 and TL-58 are almost certainly both 65nm as the 90nm cores didn't do half-step clock multipliers and thus couldn't do 1.7GHz and 1.9GHz, respectively. The good news is that this implies that when 65nm TX2's become buyable by end-users you'll be able to flash in the latest BIOS and swap one in (if you're very brave and don't mind voiding your warranty). The other TX2 speed grades could be 65nm, they're just not labeled in a way that allows us to know.

HP used nVidia for the zv5000z, ATI for the zv6000 and dv8000z, switched back to nVidia for the dv9000z... I would be very unsurprised to see them switch back to AMD/ATI for their next-generation AMD notebooks. The 690M looks like a GREAT mobile chipset, very low power consumption, Toshiba already has their notebook based on it out at Circuit City. I like nVidia, they make good reliable stuff, but they've been lousy on power efficiency and I doubt they can give HP a good reason to wait for their next-gen part. I'd bet on HP sticking with nVidia for their desktops where power consumption is less of an issue.

I'm surprised there hasn't been any word in public about new HP AMD notebooks, but by HP's actions they have to be coming. I honestly thought they'd be here by now.

 

I did some browsing on the amd.com support forum and one poster mentioned that he/she had talked to HP, saying refreshed AMD notebook models are due out in a couple of weeks. If this is true, maybe I might wait a bit on my order. *crosses fingers*

As Miner pointed out, some of the refreshed Intel variants have not even made an appearance yet on some models, but we know they exist (given the documentation already available on HP Support). Since I can't find anything for updated AMDs, I wonder if HP has changed the numbering nomenclature on them?

If anyone noticed lately, a good many of the pre-configured V6000z models are suddenly showing up as Presario F555US/F553US instead of the more common V6130US (for example). It seems like an odd designation change, considering the models are identical builds with the current v6xxx line.

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...v1=Compaq&product_code=RZ326UA#ABA&catLevel=2

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/s...v1=Compaq&product_code=RZ327UA#ABA&catLevel=2

 

Maybe someone at HP had a blinding flash of the obvious and realized that nearly identical model names for Intel and AMD notebooks is confusing? ;-)

It's possible that HP wanted to wait until the new ATI 2xxx-series GPUs were ready, or closer to it at least. That would imply that we'll actually be able to get good GPUs in AMD HP notebooks though and that's more optimistic than I dare to be.

 

The new 690 chipset I can see them using (since it is already available), but I'd be shocked to see ATI discrete gpus offered along with it. It would be too perfect of a package, and HP has been on an nVidia kick for a while now (also GeForce 8 gpus are becoming abundant)

I guess we wait impatiently and see.