AMD C-70 socket: Socket FT1

What the C-70 is

AMD C-70 is a dual core Bobcat APU that AMD released in September 2012 for small laptops with soldered boards. It uses the Bobcat core design on a 40 nm process, running at 1 GHz with burst to 1.33 GHz. The cache is 1 MB L2 (512 KB per core). Power is 9 W. Graphics come from AMD Radeon HD 7290 (276 MHz to 400 MHz).

The two cores have no Hyper-Threading, so threads equal cores at 2. The Cedar graphics block with 80 shaders covers video playback and light games of the era. The package integrates the single channel DDR3 controller on die, which keeps board cost and power low.

At 9 W the C-70 belongs to the Ontario small notebook group. The clocks suit browsing, office and video playback with minimal cooling. Boards pair it with soldered or SODIMM DDR3 and small SSDs or hard drives. The How to find your CPU socket type guide shows how to confirm the package before ordering parts.

Socket and motherboard compatibility

The C-70 solders to Socket FT1 with 413 balls and cannot be moved to another board. Netbook and tablet makers qualify each model with a specific board and BIOS, so even another Bobcat part is not a drop in upgrade. Boards follow small notebook and tablet layouts with soldered memory in most designs.

Power and firmware decide service results. The 9 W envelope sizes the heat pipe or spreader and fan curve, and the board BIOS must list the exact C-70 string. The CPU cooler compatibility by socket guide notes that soldered parts have no desktop mount pattern. Socket vs chipset: what decides whether a CPU works covers AMD pairing basics.

Memory, PCIe and cooling

Memory support is ddr3-1066, single channel. The single 64 bit channel feeds both cores and graphics, so capacity matters more than pairing. Many boards solder the memory, so size locks at purchase.

PCI Express lanes come from the APU with a layout that varies by board design. Netbook boards wire lanes to Wi-Fi and storage rather than graphics slots. There is no graphics card slot to consider.

Cooling uses the system heatsink sized for 9 W. A single heat pipe with a small fan covers sustained loads. Dust removal helps more than any setting change.

Upgrade paths

There is no CPU upgrade path on soldered Socket FT1. The C-70 cannot be removed, so a faster Bobcat part means a new board or a new machine. Within the family AMD E2-1800 shows another FT1 option, but boards and firmware rarely mix across makers.

A platform move means a new netbook or tablet. Current AMD mobile lives on newer BGA packages with DDR4 or newer memory and current wireless, which no FT1 board can reach. Recycle the old unit through a proper e waste path once data is wiped.