AMD unveils Fusion

 

Gallery

By Matthew Sparkes

Posted on 19 Sep 2008 at 11:20

AMD has released its long-awaited Fusion product, but surprisingly it is not the expected combination of CPU and GPU.

There has been speculation over what exactly the product would be, with some expecting a new graphics card that blended a CPU and GPU on a single die.

However, the reality is that AMD unveiled a new marketing campaign called Fusion. Instead of a new chip, gamers will have to make do with a new tagline in adverts. "The Future is Fusion" will now replace "Smarter Choice", which will do little to boost customers' frame rates.

"At the heart of the campaign is the "Fusion" brand concept: a unique energy created by connecting AMD people and technology with those of its partners," says an AMD press release, which fails to clear matters up.

As well as the "unique energy", Fusion is also an application it seems. The company unveiled its new Fusion for Gaming utility, which temporarily shuts down any background processes to provide better performance in games.

However, AMD claims that it is still working on the combined CPU and GPU product, which is codenamed R800 internally but expected to also bear the Fusion trademark.