AMD Geode
In 2002, AMD introduced the Geode GX series, which was a re-branding of the National Semiconductor GX2. This was quickly followed by the Geode LX, running up to 667 MHz. LX brought many improvements, such as higher speed DDR, a re-designed instruction pipe, and a more powerful display controller. The upgrade from the CS5535 I/O Companion to the CS5536 brought higher speed USB.
Geode GX and LX processors are typically found in devices such as thin clients and industrial control systems. However, they have come under competitive pressure from VIA on the x86 side, and ARM and XScale taking much of the low-end business.
Because of the relative performance, albeit higher PPW, of the GX and LX core design, AMD introduced the Geode NX, which is an embedded version of the highly successful Athlon processor, K7. Geode NX uses the Thoroughbred core and is quite similar to the Athlon XP-M that use this core. The Geode NX includes 256KB of level 2 cache, and runs fanless at up to 1 GHz in the NX1500@6W version. The NX2001 part runs at 1.8 GHz, the NX1750 part runs at 1.4 GHz, and the NX1250 runs at 667 MHz.
The Geode NX, with its strong FPU, is particularly suited for embedded devices with graphical performance requirements, such as information kiosks and casino gaming machines, such as video slots.
However, it was reported that the specific design team for Geode processors in Longmont, Colorado, has been closed, and 75 employees are being relocated to the new development facility in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is expected that the Geode line of processors will be updated less frequently due to the closure of the Geode design center.
In 2009, comments by AMD indicated that there are no plans for any future micro architecture upgrades to the processor and that there will be no successor; however, the processors will still be available with the planned availability of the Geode LX extending through 2015.
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