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TSMC to Benefit From AMD's APU Shipment Boom

2011/08/31 | By Ken Liu

Taipei, Aug. 31, 2011 (CENS)--A major contract supplier of Advanced Micro Devices' (AMD's) C and E families of accelerated processing unit (APU), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is likely to win contracts to make updated versions of the two AMD chip series, which are developed for latest computing devices.

AMD recently announced rollouts of next-generation versions of C and E series, which are codenamed as Ontario and Zacate, respectively, for ultra-thin laptops, netbooks, and all-in-one desktops. Their precedents are being built by TSMC using 40-nanometer process.

Sales of the two processors have been robust since they were introduced late last year, with shipments reaching five million units in the second quarter and total shipments for the first half of this year estimated at eight million units. Excessive demands have prompted AMD to increase the contracts to TSMC and begin placing contracts with No.1 pure-play foundry for making its Desna APUs for tablet computers this quarter.

Brisk APU sales have provided the company the ground to estimate its revenue for the third quarter to rise 8-12%, high above the median 8% forecast by industry executives.

Next-generation versions of the two accelerated processing units feature improved high-definition graphics functionality and memory efficiency. Also, they are outfitted with DisplayPort ++ functionality, which allows the chips to plug in any DisplayPort-enabled TV and computer.

The newest series are equipped with the designs that support DDR3 1333MHz memory chips and boost memory bandwidth, allowing them to upgrade video display quality. Their HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) 1.4a firmware allows viewers to 3-dimenstion images and home videos on 3D TVs and computers.

AMD also puts in some efficient power-management designs to enable 12 hours of PC battery life on an electric charge with C processors and 10.5 hours with E processors.

PC retailers said manufacturers as Acer Inc., Asustek Computer Inc., Dell, Inc., Compal Electronics, Inc., and Quanta Computer Inc. have begun developing products on the latest AMD APUs.