Advanced Micro Devices is launching two new families of mobile chips today for faster and more power efficient laptops.

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD wants to become more competitive with its larger rival Intel, and it is doing it by creating all-in-one chips dubbed accelerated processing units (APUs) that combine graphics and processing in the same piece of silicon. Those kinds of chips have been built into the newest game consoles from Sony and Microsoft.

These new chips will go into a wide range of computers, from traditional PCs to new kinds of designs. One chip, formerly code-named Temash, will be called the 2013 AMD Elite Memory APU, a quad-core chip built with a 28-nanometer manufacturing process. The chip is aimed at smaller notebook computers, tablets and hybrids, which combine a tablet and a laptop in one device. It is aimed at machines with 13-inch screens and below.

A second chip is the 2013 AMD Mainstream APU, formerly code-named Kabini. That quad-core chip is a quad-core system-on-chip for entry-level and small laptops. The third chip is a low-power version of the 2013 AMD Elite Performance APU, formerly code-named Richland. It is aimed at thin laptops with high performance.

“The worlds of the tablet and PC are colliding,” said John Taylor, vice president of corporate communications at AMD, in an interview with VentureBeat. “These chips will have high-performance and operate on low wattage. We are targeting both PCs and Android devices. With Windows 8 and touchscreens, there is more flexibility in the market.”

“AMD is in its best position in a while with Temash, Kabini and Richland to field a differentiated offering, and doing it in time to hit the back to school selling season,” said Patrick Moorhead, analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. “We won’t know how they do until we can see how they are assorted with OEMs and at retail, which is as vital as having a good product.”

AMD has scored customer deals with big computer makers including Acer and HP.

“The client market has evolved – with greater diversity in the types of mobile form factors and higher performance demands from the software – and AMD is uniquely positioned to deliver the best processors to meet the needs of mobile device users today,” said Lisa Su, senior vice president and general manager of global business units at AMD. “As computing becomes more visual and the graphics processor can be leveraged to do other types of processing, our dedication to the software community and the APU architecture sets us apart from the competition and enables us to deliver the best user experience whether on a tablet, a hybrid device or a notebook.”

The 2013 AMD Elite Mobility APU will be available as the AMD A-Series APUs. It will come with dual-core and quad-core configurations. The core, or main computing brain, will be based on the Jaguar microarchitecture, which combines an x86 central processing unit (CPU) with a Graphics Core Next AMD Radeon 8000 series graphics chip. It will have 172 percent faster CPU performance per watt of power consumed and 212 percent better graphics performance per watt than its predecessor. Computers using it will have up to 12 hours of resting battery life. AMD says it will have 45 percent longer battery life and five times the graphics performance than the closest competing chip from Intel.

The 2013 AMD Mainstream APU will have either two or four Jaguar cores with the AMD Radeon 8000 series graphics. That chip will be 132 percent better in visual performance per watt and 127 percent better on productivity apps per watt, compared with previous generations. It will be 88 percent better at graphics and 33 percent better at gaming than the rival Intel chips.

And the 2013 AMD Elite Performance APU will be used in top-of-the-line chips dubbed the A8 and A10. It will have 12 percent better productivity performance and 20 percent to 40 percent better visual performance than prior chips. It will have 39 percent to 72 percent better gaming performance than rival Intel chips, AMD says.

AMD is packaging gesture-control software with the chips so that developers can use it to do non-traditional computing tasks such as controlling the user interface with hand gestures.

Advanced Micro Devices is launching a new quad-core processor that will be used in embedded markets such as smart TVs, set-top boxes, and digital signs.

The new AMD Embedded G-Series System-on-Chip platform has everything you need for a powerful computer on a single silicon chip for non-PC applications. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based chip maker hopes it will lead to a new generation of smart devices that can display 3D animations and videos quickly and efficiently. Such chips are more important as PC sales begin to decline while other kinds of devices gain momentum.

Rory Read, chief executive of AMD, said in the company’s recent earnings call that 20 percent of AMD’s sales will come from semi-custom and embedded design wins by the fourth quarter. Semi-custom chips include processors for video game consoles such as the PlayStation 4, which will use an AMD APU.

Kamal Khouri, director of embedded products at AMD, said in an interview with VentureBeat that the chip will be able to run Windows Embedded 8 and Linux software.

“This is a key step toward execution of our strategy,” Khouri said. “We have seen a graphics revolution where advanced graphics has moved from the PC into many devices. The next revolution is in the surround computing era.”

AMD’s embedded chips are aimed at smart TVs, set-top boxes, digital signs, information kiosks, slot machines, storage appliances, and industrial applications. These markets will drive demand for Surround Computing, or machines that synthesize data from sensors, gesture controls, and mobile computing devices. Chips like AMD’s new device are the brains of increasingly intelligent web-connected devices.

And this one has a pretty good brain. The G-Series chip has 113 percent better central processing unit (CPU) performance per processor core compared to the prior generation chip. It is also 125 percent faster than a comparable Intel Atom chip, according to AMD. The graphics performance is about 20 percent better over the prior chip and four times faster than the Intel Atom. The AMD chip combines graphics, microprocessor and input-output functions on a single chip.

The new processor family operates at power consumption levels of 9 watts to 25 watts. It includes AMD’s new code-named Jaguar CPU cores.

“As the Internet of Things permeates every aspect of our life from work to home and everything where in-between, devices require high performance, I/O connectivity, and energy efficiency in smaller packages,” said Colin Barnden, principal analyst, Semicast Research, in a statement. “With AMD’s new SoC design, the AMD Embedded G-Series platform offers the perfect mix of high performance, a small footprint, low-energy use, and full I/O integration to enable smaller form factor embedded designs, cool and efficient operation, and simplified build requirements. AMD has leapfrogged the competition by combining the power of an X86 CPU, and the performance of AMD Radeon graphics with the I/O interconnect all on a single die.”

Such devices will make it easy for machines to respond to a user in a natural and fluid way, Khouri said. Eventually, the computer will fade into the background.

“At some point, we won’t even know the computer is there and these devices will help us in our daily life,” Khouri said. “That’s the revolution where AMD will play.”

Advanced Micro Devices chief executive Rory Read said he foresees “continued choppiness” in the PC market for the first half of 2013. In a conference call with analysts, Read said that the company’s fourth-quarter loss was due to a challenging macroeconomic environment and weaker-than-expected PC market.

“As I mentioned on our last earnings call, we are executing a turnaround that will take several quarters,” Read said (pictured above) on the call. “We expect continued choppiness in the PC market in the first half of 2013, and will closely manage the business as we reset, restructure and ultimately transform AMD.”

He said AMD will continue to focus on markets that are adjacent to its PC microprocessor and graphics chip businesses. The specific segments AMD will focus on include dense server, semi-custom, embedded, and ultra-low-power client markets. Those are areas where AMD views Intel, the world’s biggest chip maker, might be vulnerable to competition.

AMD is completing is restructuring, including layoffs of 15 percent of its staff, in the first quarter. AMD said it has its graphics chip in the Nintendo Wii U game console, but it has been mum about rumors that its chips will be used in upcoming consoles from Sony and Microsoft.

Read said that AMD grew sales on Black Friday for AMD-based notebook computers sold at retail. One in three notebooks sold in the U.S. in the fourth quarter had AMD chips, Read said. During the quarter, AMD added TV and PC maker Vizio as a new customer. Vizio’s first AMD products included two touchscreen laptops and a Windows 8 tablet.

During the quarter, AMD began shipping its code-named Richland accelerated processing unit (APU), which combines graphics and microprocessor functions on the same chip. AMD also had design wins for its Kabini APU and ultra=low-power Temash APU. Both of those chips are going through final internal testing and are expected to ship in the first half. Kabini and Temash target the market for notebook computers, tablets and convertibles, which are laptops that can also be used as a touchscreen tablet.

Read said the company will launch strong new APU and graphics chips in the first half of 2013 that will help grow its business.

“This is an unprecedented time in the PC industry,” Read said.

As we noted earlier, the chips, code-named Trinity, are accelerated processing units (APUs) that combine graphics and computing functions on a single chip. Now the second-largest maker of PC processors is announcing prices, ranging from $53 to $122.

With the new Trinity-based chip designs, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is refreshing its entire line of A-Series APUs for the first time since it launched the code-named Llano chips in 2011 and its first generation of Trinity chips earlier this spring. It goes up against Intel’s widely used Ivy Bridge combo chips, and it should hit the sweet spot for gamers who want PCs with cool 3D graphics at an affordable price.

The chips have four cores based on AMD’s Piledriver core design, along with Radeon HD 7000 graphics. The chips have a whopping 1.3 billion transistors, or tiny electrical switches. That enables the high-end quad-core A10 APU to run at a frequency of 4.2 gigahertz, compared to the similarly priced Intel Core i3 2120/3220 processor with two cores running at 3.3 gigahertz.

AMD is also introducing other versions — dubbed the A8, A6, and A4 chips — at different performance levels and prices. AMD says the high-end APU can be overclocked, or run at faster than recommended specifications (at a risk of melting down) up to speeds of 6.5 gigahertz, gaining a 68 percent increase in processor performance. The APUs can run games at anywhere from 77 percent to 107 percent faster than the same games running on a system with an Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics chip set.

In another cool feat, the AMD A10 can run the PC game Torchlight II at 32 frames per second — even with all graphics settings turned on — across three connected screens. That’s pretty badass. The products will be available today (Oct. 2).

AMD APU users can use the AMD AppZone and a list of accelerated applications that leverage the full power of the APU. AMD says the A-Series APU is ideal for anyone looking for a new desktop or home theater with the leading performance per dollar, said Leslie Sobon, the corporate vice president of desktop and component products at AMD. Supporting customers include MSI, ECS, Gigabyte, Asus, and others.

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Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is introducing a new generation of chips that combine graphics and processors on a single integrated circuit. Code-named Trinity, the new chips are supposed to stop Intel from dominating the consumer Ultrabook laptop and all-in-one desktop chip markets.

The A-series accelerated processor unit (APU) chip family is speedy, and so it goes to show that five brains are better than one. AMD also intends to show that its hybrid chips are better than Intel’s latest hybrid processor-graphics chips, code-named Ivy Bridge. The timing of both families of chips arriving at the same time is a coincidence and a happy one for consumers shopping for PCs.

The new chips have double the performance-per-watt of power consumed. They enable high-performance laptops with as much as 12 hours of battery life.

Trinity has two dual-core processors embedded in it for a total of four processing brains. It also has a high-end graphics core that is more capable than the Ivy Bridge graphics, said John Taylor, director of global product marketing at Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD. The central processing unit (CPU) portion of the chip is 29 percent faster than last year’s Llano-based APUs while the graphics render 56 percent faster.

“We’ve boosted the CPU and graphics architecture over last year’s Llano chips,” Taylor said. “This is the best-in-class, all-in media performance from gaming to high-definition video.”

While Llano chips had 1.178 billion transistors, or basic computing components, Trinity has 1.303 billion. The Trinity chips are slightly bigger at 246 square millimeters, compared to 228 for Llano. And they operate on about the same amount of wattage, from 35 to 100 watts. A dual-core version of the A series chip family runs on 17 watts, while a quad-core version runs on as little as 25 watts.

Like Intel’s Ivy Bridge chips, which were formally unveiled last month, the AMD chips are aimed at high-performance but thin laptops. Intel calls these laptops Ultrabooks, and it is spending hundreds of millions of dollars marketing them this year in the hopes of staving off the encroachment of smartphones and tablets on the PC market. AMD believes that laptops based on Trinity will be less expensive than the $700 to $1,000 prices that computer makers are charging for Ivy Bridge-based Ultrabooks.

“We’ve got a clear value leadership position in this ultrathin category,” Taylor said.

Trinity also represents a threat to Nvidia, which makes stand-alone graphics chips. AMD is trying to make the hybrid graphics in its APUs so good at running 3D graphics that consumers won’t see the need for the extra Nvidia chips anymore. The AMD graphics core is based on the AMD Radeon Northern Islands graphics technology. On games such as Crysis, AMD’s graphics will render 40 percent faster. Games will run 20 percent to 50 percent faster on AMD compared to Intel, Taylor said.

From May 15 through the launch of Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system this fall, AMD believes more than 100 computers based on Trinity will debut. Trinity chips will compete head to head against Intel’s Core i7 and Core i5 microprocessors. Taylor contends that AMD chips will provide laptops with a couple of more hours of battery life in some usage scenarios. AMD’s chips will be priced below Intel’s Core i7 chips.

Rory Read (pictured), chief executive of Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD, was appointed the new boss of the company in August. In his first appearance before analysts, he said the company is now focused on where the market is going. AMD is a strategic company in the semiconductor industry, as it supplies an alternative to Intel for PC microprocessors. Now it is trying to reach beyond PCs to super-thin devices such as tablets.

“We have a huge opportunity in front of us,” Read said. “How the world is using processors is changing rapidly. This is about stepping out of the shadows and leading.”

In the past, AMD’s chips haven’t had the combination of low-power consumption and processing power. Instead, AMD created fast and brainy chips that could be used in everything from laptops to desktops and servers. But the chips ran too hot to be used in the tiny enclosures of tablet computers.

The first tablet chip coming this year is code-named Hondo. It will combine a microprocessor and graphics in the same chip in a solution that AMD calls an accelerated processing unit, or APU. The Hondo chip will be made with a 40-nanometer manufacturing process and will feature ultra-low-power consumption.

Read said that AMD is in the midst of rebuilding trust with customers and executing on its plan. Lisa Su, head of global products at AMD, said that Windows 8-based tablets will appear this year with AMD chips in them.

“We’re entering an inflection point in the market,” Read said. “We’ve got to see the opportunity in the market and execute on it. We have to build trust, change the architecture, and capture where the puck is going.”

AMD has been chasing Intel for a long time and now it faces competition from ARM-based rivals in tablets. But AMD is in a much healthier financial state than it has been in the past; the company has more than $2 billion in debt, but it generates more than $500 million in free cash flow,  so that it can continue to pay down that debt, said Thomas Seifert, chief financial officer.

AMD laid off 10 percent of its employees in the fall, but Read, who was previously the No. 2 executive at AMD customer Lenovo, said the company still has 10,000 employees, including 7,000 engineers. Those engineers will be key to ensuring that AMD does not get stuck between Intel at the high end of the market and the low-end ARM-based chips that are already entrenched in the smartphone and tablet market.

In the past, AMD focused on the PC, server, discrete graphics and the embedded (appliance) market.

“We’ve been in this model of an unhealthy duopoly (a reference to Intel) and we’ve been pulled along in the gravitational force,” he said.

AMD will also refresh the reset of its line-up with its code-named Brazos 2.0 chip with a faster TurboCore and universal serial bus 3.0 capability in a 40-nanometer solution. AMD will also launch Trinity, a second-generation APU built with a more-advanced 32-nanometer process. That will feature significant performance and power improvements. And AMD will also debut this year its Southern Islands stand-alone graphics chip, which has a next-generation graphics core and other cool features. It will be built with AMD’s most advanced 28-nanometer process.

Read and his team also revealed the company’s line-up for 2013. In 2013, AMD will launch Temash, a second-generation APU as a successor to the Hondo tablet chip. It will feature the new Jaguar processing core.

AMD is also creating Kabini, a chip for laptops with Jaguar cores and other low-power features. For the performance segment, it will launch Kaveri, a third-generation APU with Steamroller cores. And it will also launch in 2013 a new graphics chip, code-named Sea Islands.

The Trinity mobile chip coming this year will run at about 35 watts and have low-voltage capability at 17 watts to 25 watts. The chips will have two to four cores under the Piledriver code name and will feature a second-generation DX11 graphics core. Su said that thin low-power laptops will appear this year with Trinity chips. She said that Trinity-based products will be available in the market this summer.

For the desktop in 2012, AMD will launch Vishera, which will have four to eight Piledriver cores. It will also launch a version of Trinity for desktops.

In the mid-range mobile market, AMD will have its Brazos 2.0 chips with two Bobcat processor cores and DirectX 11 graphics. The same kind of chip will be used in desktops.

And for tablets, AMD will launch Hondo with one to two Bobcat cores. Hondo will run at 4.5 watts. In 2013, everything gets faster and better. Kaveri will have two to four Steamroller cores. Kabini will have two to four Jaguar cores. And Tamesh will have two Jaguar cores. All will also have next-generation graphics.

In servers, AMD will also have a series of chips ranging from four to 16 cores.

This set of chips is the second major launch of AMD’s accelerated processing units, or APUs, which combine graphics and a computer processor on a single chip. These chips go head-head-to-head with Intel’s popular Sandy Bridge combo chips, but they have much more graphics computing power than the Intel devices that launched earlier this year. If they catch hold, AMD could capture more of the multibillion-dollar market for mainstream laptop chips. AMD has 145 design wins for the chips, said John Taylor, director of client product and software marketing at Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD.

AMD launched its 9-watt and 18-watt C series and E series combo chips for the smallest and lightest laptops and netbooks in January. Those earlier chips ran on low power, preserving battery life, but they were relatively weak on computing power. The new A-series chips coming out today can be used in larger mainstream laptops, all-in-one desktops, standard desktops and embedded devices. The chips are about three times bigger than the earlier AMD combo chips — with more than a billion transistors, or basic computing components, per chip — and they run on 35 to 45 watts of power.

The Llano-based chips can deliver much better graphics performance than Intel’s Sandy Bridge chips can, AMD says. Roger Kay, an analyst at Endpoint Technologies, verifies those claims. The Intel chips have a relatively small graphics component, accounting for maybe 20 percent of the chip with only about 12 graphics computing engines. By contrast, the Llano chips consist of more than 50 percent graphics and they have hundreds of graphics engines. The AMD chips can run DirectX 11 graphics, making them compatible with Microsoft’s highest level graphics standard. But the Intel chips can only handle DirectX 10.1.

A number of computer makers are shipping laptops today with the AMD chips, which will be on display at AMD’s first-ever Fusion Developers’ Summit in Seattle. HP said it was launching 11 new Llano-based laptops at prices starting at $399. That’s a pretty broad level of support from the world’s biggest computer maker. Toshiba also said that it is launching its Satellite P700 series, Satellite L700 series and Satellite C600 series laptops with AMD Llano-based chips.

AMD’s A4 chip is targeted at machines that cost $499. The A6 is targeted at $599 machines, while the high-end A8 is targeted at the $699 price point.

Last week, AMD said that it won the deal to supply Radeon graphics chips to Nintendo for its new Wii U console coming next year.

HP’s line-up isn’t just a pile of me-too computers. They are well-designed machines that have the latest features, from the latest Intel processors to touchscreen displays. HP typically adds new features to one machine and then rolls them out across the line-up over time. That’s what it’s doing with this launch.

Based on HP’s line-up, it looks like both Intel and Advanced Micro Devices have scored a lot of design wins in HP machines. That’s a big deal since HP is the world’s largest computer maker.

The top of the line is still the HP Envy 17 (pictured), a laptop designed for enthusiasts who want something that can compete favorably with Apple’s thin MacBook Air laptops. HP has been making this model for a few years and the latest has CoolSense cooling technology, new Intel Core processors, and newly released AMD Radeon switchable graphics (which can put the machine into a power-saving mode when advanced graphics aren’t needed).

The CoolSense feature measures heat levels and cools the machine off to your preferred temperature. It has HP’s Beats by Dr. Dre audio, a 17.3-inch high-definition display, and the Intel Wireless Display, which allows you to view your laptop’s screen on your TV via a wireless connection. The Envy models will include a stereoscopic 3D screen that you can view with 3D glasses. Pricing and availability are to be determined.

HP has also relaunched a bunch of consumer laptop, netbook, and desktop models. All feature cool exterior designs. The new HP Mini 210 netbooks (pictured) feature a plaid design with matching accessories. With models such as these, HP isn’t going after just geeks. It’s going after women and others who appreciate how a machine looks. The HP Mini 210 will be available on Jan. 9 in “iceberry” for $349 while the raspberry version will be on sale on Jan. 23 for $329 at Best Buy stores only.

The HP Pavilion dm1 is a functional laptop in a compact case. It has an 11.6-inch display and measures less than an inch thick. The dm1 is one of the first machines to use Advanced Micro Devices’ Fusion Accelerated Processing Unit, or APU. That chip combines a microprocessor and a graphics chip on a single piece of silicon, allowing for both fast 3D graphics and power efficiency. The Fusion chip goes up against Intel’s Sandy Bridge combo chips. The results are pretty good; this machine can display DirectX 11 3D graphics (based on Microsoft’s most-advanced 3D standard) and can run up to 10.75 hours on battery. The HP dm1 will be available Jan. 9 in the U.S. for $449.

Starting Jan. 9, a number of HP’s touch-enabled machines will be able to download a new version of HP’s TouchSmart touchscreen user interface, which features a “carousel” design that lets you browse through apps by swiping your finger sideways across the screen. HP has some new business TouchSmart all-in-one computers (pictured), but it updated most of its TouchSmart consumer PCs in the fall. HP has adopted an update center modeled after the Apple App Store, where you can download an app at a touch and get regular updates without hassle.

On the business side, HP also has a bevy of new desktop computers, thin-client computers, and monitors. The thin clients are especially popular these days in businesses, given the trend toward running virtualization software, which allows a client to tap powerful software running on servers, even though the machine itself is relatively modest in hardware capability. The new HP t5500 series thin clients will go up against the latest machines from Wyse Technology and NComputing.

The Fusion chips represent AMD’s attempt to escape its underdog status in the multibillion-dollar microprocessor market, where Intel has roughly 80 percent of the market share. The company started working on Fusion in 2006 after it bought graphics chip maker ATI Technologies. The company made the announcement this week at CES, the tech extravaganza which traditionally sets the agenda for hot gadgets for the year.

It’s the culmination of the biggest bet that AMD has made in computer and chip design, said Rick Bergman, general manager of the AMD products group which designed the Fusion family of chips.

“As far back as 2005, we saw that the integration of the CPU (central processing unit) and the GPU (graphics processing unit) was inevitable,” Bergman (pictured right) said in an interview.

AMD took a while to get its chips out. Its first attempt to build a Fusion chip using 45-nanometer manufacturing technology turned out to be a false start. The team realized it would have to wait for 32-nanometer manufacturing (which is akin to making a drawing with a finer pencil) to cram all of the circuitry needed into a combo chip.

Now the need for the better 3D performance is pronounced. Desktops and laptops are being used for graphics-rich applications like never before, with features such as stereoscopic 3D, Blu-ray movies, rich 3D games, and 3D features in operating system user interfaces.

Many of the new computers will be available for sale this week, since AMD has been shipping its new Fusion microprocessors for weeks now. The chips are part of AMD’s code-named Brazos platform, which contains all of the chips needed to make the processing part of a computer. Brazos can use either the code-named Zacate or Ontario Accelerated Processing Units (APUs), which are the combo chips. Each Zacate or Ontario chip uses a brand new microprocessor core, code-named Bobcat.

The new chips range in performance, depending on whether they use one or two Bobcat cores, and they generate 9 watts to 18 watts, which is low enough to be used in most laptops. Laptops with the chips will cost $300 to $400 and desktops will likely cost around $700. The machines will have battery life of around 10 to 12 hours.

While Intel’s combo chips have moderate microprocessor performance coupled with weak graphics, AMD’s combo chips have strong graphics performance. AMD’s Fusion chips are thus being used in models that feature strong graphics performance. The APUs are made with a 40-nanometer manufacturing process by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

The Zacate and Ontario chips — aimed at mobile users — are just the first of AMD’s Fusion family of combo chips. More chips based on the Llano code name will be out later in the first half of the year; those chips will target mainstream laptop and desktop users. AMD claims that its best Brazos platform will be able to run graphics 11 times faster than the Intel Atom 550, which was one of Intel’s mainstay low-cost mobile processors in 2010. The more important comparison will concern how much faster AMD’s Fusion chips are than Intel’s combo chip, code-named Sandy Bridge, which is also debuting at CES.

Over time, AMD will make Fusion chips that can be part of any computer, from netbooks and tablets to high-end desktops and laptops.

AMD is also announcing today its newest stand-alone mobile graphics chips, dubbed the AMD Radeon HD 6000M series of graphics chips for notebook computers. AMD has grabbed the No. 1 market share in notebook computers and it expects that to continue, as it has hundreds of design wins for its 6000M graphics chip, which can power multiple screens.

The 6000M is AMD’s second-generation DX11 mobile chip (referring to Microsoft’s most-advanced graphics standard) and it has already shipped more than 25 million DX11 chips to 10 major computer makers. The new version can handle 3D Blu-ray movies and other features. The fastest new mobile chip, the 6900M, is 37 percent faster than its predecessor. The chip has 40 percent faster tessellation, a graphics smoothing feature that Nvidia has proven it can do better in its chips. And the new chips use AMD’s EyeSpeed technology, which uses the graphics chip for non-graphics applications.

Most of the laptops with the new mobile graphics chip are shipping in the first quarter.

Was Fusion the right move for AMD?

“We can compare notes in a year,” Bergman said. “We expect it to grab market share. But to be No. 1 would be a heck of a goal.”

AMD created a promo video for Fusion below. The tough dude at the end is none other than Dirk Meyer, chief executive of AMD.