AMD delays desktop Trinity one quarter

Unlikely to be for technical reasons UPDATED

It looks like AMD is going to delay the desktop version of Trinity until September. No technical reasons were given to SemiAccurate about the delay, but there are a few technical hints about it.

The short version is that OEMs have been told recently that the Trinity CPU, desktop variant only, is going on a 1Q walkabout. That confirms earlier rumors floating around about a delay, but today marks the first hard confirmation. This is quite odd because the mobile version is shipping now in volume without any problem. For those not following changes on the silicon level, mobile and desktop are the same chip, just different bins.

To make matters more confusing, SemiAccurate’s moles are not indicating any yield problems. Last time they migrated past our office, the songs they were singing had to do with yields being higher than Llano, but that isn’t a very high bar. Since then, nothing has indicated a radical change in Globalfoundries output, so that leaves one other culprit.

At the current time, all indicators point toward demand, not supply, for the delay in Trinity. The chip is the same silicon as the shipping laptop SKUs, higher wattage parts are if anything easier to build, and the packaging for desktops is much easier to produce. If AMD delays desktop Trinity at this point, it is extremely unlikely to be for technical reasons. That said, Computex is sure to reveal a few more secrets as to what is going on behind the scenes.S|A

Updated: June 4th, 2012 9am.  AMD has responded with the following.  So we’re confirming that we’ll have OEM Trinity desktops on shelves this week.

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Charlie Demerjian

Roving engine of chaos and snide remarks at SemiAccurate
Charlie Demerjian is the founder of Stone Arch Networking Services and SemiAccurate.com. SemiAccurate.com is a technology news site; addressing hardware design, software selection, customization, securing and maintenance, with over one million views per month. He is a technologist and analyst specializing in semiconductors, system and network architecture. As head writer of SemiAccurate.com, he regularly advises writers, analysts, and industry executives on technical matters and long lead industry trends. Charlie is also available through Guidepoint and Mosaic. FullyAccurate