- Socket FM2+
- A88X FCH
- 64GB DDR3 Max
- Multiple links of PCIe Gen 2 including mini-PCIe
- 10x USB 2.0
- 4x USB 3.0
- Multiple display support
- Supports 4-lane DisplayPort 1.2, DVI, HDMI 1.4a
- Integrated VGA
- Integrated eDP or 18bpp single channel LVDS
- HD Audio
- SD Card Reader v3.0
- SPI
- SMBus
- LPC
- Consumer IR
- Gb Ethernet
- 8x SATA 6Gbs
- Unused GPIO routed to headers
- M.2
Future versions of the CPU modules may have use the mobile Carrizo APU, AMD ARM64, Ultra mobile APU's or other ARM SOC's (Tegra132) etc
The chipset is nice, however for me a few questions remain:
1. Is it suitable for a mobile use? (A88X is normally seen in desktop mainboards)
2. Will Carizzo already have something built in? E.g. Kabini is already quite a SOC and has built in an A68M (or something very similar) on the APU.
3. How many blobs are needed? E.g.: Is the USB3 AMD's own or is it Renesas? Could Renesas be persuaded to open a blob?
Cause I haven't heard about M.2 before maybe other are also interested:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.2
It's a combination of SATA and PCIe, both in one small slot interface.
1. Is it suitable for a mobile use? (A88X is normally seen in desktop mainboards)
Some people want desktop performance and lots of IO in their laptop. This gives it to them.
2. Will Carizzo already have something built in? E.g. Kabini is already quite a SOC and has built in an A68M (or something very similar) on the APU.
Carrizo has it's own FCH. But it has limited IO and performance compared to desktop. If enough people want it we'll make a cpu module based on it.
http://www.extremetech.com/computing/178752-amds-next-gen-carrizo-apu-features-leaked-shows-greater-focus-on-power-efficiency
http://news.softpedia.com/news/AMD-Carrizo-APU-Leaked-Has-DDR4-but-Is-Crippled-in-PCI-Express-Support-433081.shtml
http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/amd-kaveri-successor-carrizo-to-get-ddr4-support-and-fch.html
3. How many blobs are needed? E.g.: Is the USB3 AMD's own or is it Renesas?
Check with coreboot. When given the choice between open and performance most people asked for performance.
If enough people want a totally blob free version we can use an old fam10 cpu and make a cpu module for them.
Could Renesas be persuaded to open a blob?
You can try. Blobs are sometimes used to obscure the hardware design if patents are involved. Most often it's more a psychological problem. Blobs give a little more power and control to those who have the source, this makes them feel slightly better about themselves.
I haven't heard about M.2 before
M.2 is the replacement for mini-PCIe sockets.