AMD Debut Tigris 2009 Notebook Platform & 2nd-Gen Ultrathin Platform

AMD have revealed their latest attempt to corner the market in notebook hardware, with the launch of the 2009 AMD Mainstream Notebook Platform "Tigris" and the Second-Generation AMD Ultrathin Platform.  Both combine AMD's latest CPUs and ATI-range GPUs, and promise up to 42-percent improved performance in the mainstream range and ultraportables that "visibly outperform" rival systems (such as Intel's CULV, we presume) when it comes to 3D gaming, media processing and more.

The 2009 Mainstream Notebook Platform supports HD visuals, Blu-ray playback and DirectX 10.1 3D gaming.  Full benchmarking will obviously depend on the actual specifications of each machine – processors range from Sempron, Athlon II, Turion II and Turion II Ultra with clock speeds up to 2.6GHz – but AMD are saying that with their Stream Accelerated plugin for the Sony Movie Studio 9 Platinum video processing app, jobs are completed up to 75-percent faster than on rival mainstream notebooks.  As for battery life, that's estimated at 1 hour 55 mins in "active use" or 4 hours 55 mins when "resting".

Looking at the Second-Generation AMD Ultrathin Platform, the dual-core chips can apparently manage 2 hours 26 minutes of active use on average, or 5 hours 34 minutes "resting".  Windows Movie Maker is apparently up to 43-percent faster than on rival systems, while gaming and 3D apps are up to 77-percent faster.

Meanwhile the company is rolling out a new VISION scheme for marketing their notebooks and ultrathins, which now categorizes functionality into "basic", "premium" and "ultimate" depending on whether you want an entry-level system, one capable of HD playback, or one ideal for video editing and 3D gaming.  More on VISION here.

Systems using the two new Tigris platforms are either already on the market or launching over the next few months, many with Windows 7, and from manufacturers including Acer, ASUS, HP and MSI.  AMD's own media guy has been playing with an MSI C-series mainstream notebook using the Turion II X2 and Radeon HD 4200 as well as an MSI ultrathin based on the Athlon Neo X2 and Radeon HD 3200; while he's obviously biased toward the company in his feedback, it's still promising reading if you ever do video processing while mobile.

AMD DVD upscaling:

Press Release:

AMD Unveils VISION Technology, Launches Next-Generation Mainstream and Ultrathin Notebook Platforms

—Look to notebooks powered by Vision Technology for a gorgeous visual experience, more features with Windows® 7, and dynamic entertainment capabilities on the go —

SUNNYVALE, Calif. — September 10, 2009–AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced the 2009 AMD Mainstream Notebook Platform and Second Generation AMD Ultrathin Platform, combining VISION technology from AMD with sleek, powerful, long-lasting notebooks. With next-generation HD graphics technology and multi-tasking processing power, the 2009 AMD Mainstream Notebook Platform transforms today's notebook PC into a personal HD entertainment system for rich, vivid HD video and photos, Blu-ray playback, support for amazing lifelike DirectX 10.1 3D games, and blazing fast video transcoding.1,2 The new platform also provides superior performance on popular entertainment applications that consumers use to enjoy, share and create photos, videos and music. Notebooks based on the 2009 AMD Mainstream Platform enable the ultimate high-definition computing experience—all designed for mobility with a platform that has been shown to provide more than one hour of additional battery life than the 2008 Mainstream Platform.3

For consumers who want full-featured PC performance in a highly-mobile notebook, the Second Generation AMD Ultrathin Platform for notebooks is designed to deliver superior HD entertainment and highly responsive, balanced multi-tasking performance in a surprisingly small, light and affordable ultrathin notebooks. Notebooks based on the Second Generation AMD Ultrathin Platform have demonstrated over one hour of additional battery life than that of notebooks based on the First Generation AMD Ultrathin Platform for notebooks.5

Details on the 2009 AMD Mainstream Notebook Platform:

 The 2009 AMD Mainstream Notebook Platform enables up to 42% better performance than the 2008 AMD Mainstream Notebook Platform when using

entertainment applications such as Windows® Expression® Encoder, Quicktime and Apple iTunes. 2

 With the ATITM Stream Accelerated Plug-in for Sony® Movie Studio 9 Platinum, the 2009 AMD Mainstream Platform converts video up to 75% faster than the competition.4

 Taking full advantage of the superior GPU power of the 2009 Mainstream Notebook Platform, the SimHDTM Plug-in for ArcSoft's TotalMedia TheatreTM, utilizes ATITM Stream to deliver a near-HD viewing experience when watching standard definition content.1

 The 2009 AMD Mainstream Notebook Platform demonstrates an active battery life of nearly two hours (1 hour, 55 minutes) and a resting battery life nearly five hours (4 hours, 55 minutes).6

 Notebooks featuring the 2009 AMD Mainstream Notebook Platform became available on Sept. 2, 2009 in certain Asian countries; broad global availability of more than 50 platform designs are scheduled to coincide with the forthcoming release of the Microsoft Windows® 7 Operating System.

Details on the Second Generation AMD Ultrathin Platform:

 The Second Generation AMD Ultrathin Platform for notebooks visibly outperforms the competition's ultrathin platform on popular entertainment applications such as Windows® MovieMaker (up to 43%), productivity applications (up to 17%) and gaming or 3-D applications (up to 77%).7

 With a superior HD visual experience and balanced dual-core performance, the Second Generation AMD Ultrathin Platform for notebooks demonstrated an active battery life of nearly two and a half hours (2 hours, 26 minutes) and a resting battery life of over five and a half hours (5 hours, 34 minutes).8

 Ultrathin notebooks based on the Second Generation AMD Notebook Platform are now shipping from Acer and Asus with broader availability of more than 20 platform designs scheduled to launch before or with the launch of the Windows® 7 operating system.