AMD’S BID FOR 64-BIT COMPUTING

Advanced Micro Devices recently announced a series of desktop and notebook processors powered by 64-bit technology. AMD is betting heavily on the new chips to push itself forward in the competitive processor race.

The new processors anticipate upcoming 64-bit programs, can handle larger RAM pipelines and offer unparalleled processing speed to high-end users.

32-Bit Today, 64-Bit Tomorrow

The recently released AMD Athlon 64 FX processor runs on AMD64, a revolutionary technology that allows the processor to run 32-bit applications at full speed while enabling the coming wave of powerful, 64-bit software applications.

AMD is hoping that users will adopt the new standard as an investment in future computing. Apple Computer launched its G5 desktop earlier this year that also runs on a 64-bit IBM processor. Industry leader and key competitor Intel offers 64-bit processors but only in its high-end Itanium workstation and server lines and not in its desktop or consumer lines that will be predominantly 32-bit for years to come based on their roadmap.

AMD64 technology is geared toward professional users and enthusiasts, gamers and users that need a lot of processing power and speed. Adopters of AMD’s new processors can explore the full potential of AMD64 technology while enjoying outstanding performance on today’s PC software. The three lines to be available from AMD are the AMD Athlon 64 FX, the Athlon 64 for desktops and the Athlon 64 processor for notebooks.

The availability of an Athlon 64 processor for notebooks and portables is a very significant offering since users can expect powerful desktop performance in a portable form factor. Since notebooks are quickly outselling desktops due in part to the Wi-Fi revolution and cheaper components, powerful 64-bit notebooks will most certainly fly off the shelves once they are made available. One concern that should be addressed is what sort of cooling system is required to maintain a 64-bit processor within a laptop’s enclosure.

Big Performance Gains

AMD’s Athlon 64 FX processor features several technology innovations for an immersive, cinematic computing experience. The AMD64 architecture doubles the number of general purpose and SSE/SSE2 registers for improved performance and enhances multimedia processing with 3DNow! professional technology and SSE2 technology.

HyperTransport technology increases overall system performance by reducing I/O bottlenecks, increasing system bandwidth, and reducing system latency. A 128-bit integrated DDR memory controller, together with industry standard DDR memory technology, provides extreme bandwidth – up to 6.4GB per second – and significantly reduces memory latency, improving performance for virtually all applications.

The AMD Athlon 64 FX processor boasts of the industry’s largest on-die, high-performance cache memory system for PC processors, enhancing performance for many applications, especially for large workloads. Users who work in digital photography, animation, design and video production will benefit from the increased performance which the processors offer.