New details have emerged about the 28nm followups to AMD's successful E-Series and C-Series processors. The “Deccan” platform will reportedly include “Wichita” and “Krishna” chips that include quad cores, support for 1666MHz DDR3 memory, and a “secure asset management unit” that offloads DVD and Blu-ray decryption from the x86 cores.

AMD announced its first "Fusion" APUs — which incorporate x86 CPUs and HD video-ready graphics processing units (GPUs) on a single die — in January with single- or dual- "Bobcat" cores on board. The company's "2011 low power platform," formerly codenamed "Brazos," combines an E-Series (formerly "Zacate") or C-Series (formerly "Ontario") processor with the A50M "Hudson" controller hub, a southbridge based on the previously released SB800.

Both the C-Series and E-Series have now shown up in a plethora of portable computers (and tablets, too), including, to name just some, the Asus Eee PC 1015B and 1215B, the HP Pavilion dm1z, the Lenovo ThinkPad X120e, the MSI's U270, and Toshiba's Satellite C655D. (We reviewed the Pavilion dm1z in March, noting laudable battery life and decent performance, and have since discovered that the machine records HD TV programs capably, with the aid of Windows Media Center software and a USB tuner.)

In a July 21 conference call, AMD called the Brazos devices an "unqualified hit" and among the fastest-ramping devices it has ever released. Building on this success, the company now offers embedded-oriented G-Series and tablet-oriented Z-Series versions, which yet again provide dual cores and are fabbed using a 40nm process by TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company).

And now, the second act …

Apart from the above, AMD has already revealed — first at a November 2010 analyst event and then again at a June press conference — its plans to replace the E-Series, C-Series (and presumably, Z-Series) with 28nm chips. These new versions will be released in 2012, providing even longer battery life, the chipmaker has said.

On Aug. 16, the Turkish website Donanimhaber chimed in with details of a "Deccan" platform packing Zacate and Ontario successors, code-named "Wichita" and "Krishna" respectively. Information is provided by what appear to be slides from an official AMD presentation. (Both that and the fact that Donanimhaber has been the source of so many other AMD leaks makes us think the website's mole actually enjoys some sort of official sanction.)

Wichita and Krishna will provide quad cores and enhanced performance
Source: Donanimhaber
(Click to enlarge)

According to the slides, the new parts will provide a 25-30 percent improvement in CPU performance, plus graphics performance that's at least 25 percent better. It's said they'll also come with quad cores, up to 2MN of L2 cache, a "bi-directional turbo" feature, and support for 1666MHz DDR3 memory.

The slides also suggest that Wichita and Krishna will sport new "secure asset management units," specifically designed to decrypt copy-protected video from DVD or Blu-ray sources. This is promoted as extending battery life when such material is being viewed.

A "secure asset management unit" will extend battery life during video playback
Source: Donanimhaber
(Click to enlarge)

Donanimhaber says the chips will be accompanied by a new I/O controller variously referred to as "Hudson2" or "Yuba." Among other enhancements, this will apparently provide devices using the chipset with USB 3.0 support.

Further information

Several slides not reproduced above can be viewed on the Donanimhaber website.

Jonathan Angel can be reached at [email protected] and followed at www.twitter.com/gadgetsense.

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