-Dozens of leading hardware infrastructure manufacturers
plan to release new products, technologies to support AMD's eighth-generation
processors-
TAIPEI, TAIWAN-JUNE 3, 2002-At Computex Taipei 2002, AMD
(NYSE: AMD) today announced more than 35 leading hardware infrastructure vendors
plan to support its upcoming AMD Opteron(tm) and eighth-generation AMD Athlon(tm)
processors. AMD's next-generation processors are designed to provide
enterprise-class 32-bit and native 64-bit performance.
Market-leading motherboard, chipset, BIOS, memory, clock
generator, socket, voltage and LPC flash manufacturers have pledged support of
AMD's eighth-generation platform. AMD and our partners are committed to
providing customers an enterprise-class 64-bit computing experience.
"AMD and our infrastructure partners are committed to
building innovative technologies based on the next-generation AMD Athlon and AMD
Opteron platform," said Rich Heye, vice president, platform engineering and
infrastructure, Computation Products Group, AMD. "AMD is gaining critical mass
with broad partner support of our eighth-generation platforms, and will help
lead the industry toward an easy-to-adopt 64-bit computing standard."
The AMD Opteron processor is based on the
industry-standard x86 instruction set, providing a compelling 64-bit migration
strategy for enterprise IT customers. Enterprise IT customers can also benefit
from the unified processing architecture, allowing them to use the same
processor technology for front and back office environments. The AMD Opteron
platform is designed to support large, intensive workloads, allowing companies
to develop enterprise solutions and scale up to an 8-way multiprocessing
environment.
"Ever-increasing memory capacities, even for desktop
systems and entry-level servers, will drive the shift to 64-bit computing,"
observed Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight 64, a Saratoga,
California-based market research and consulting organization. "This transition
will play out slowly over a several-year period and as it proceeds, users will
want to mix their old 32-bit packages with newer 64-bit programs. The ability of
AMD's upcoming eighth-generation processors to handle both 32-bit and 64-bit
applications will simplify this migration process and ease support issues
throughout the industry infrastructure."
"As a leading technology solution manufacturer, ASUS
offers a comprehensive motherboard lineup for the most advanced platforms. ASUS
motherboards will enable users to realize the benefits of 64-bit technology,
while incorporating unbeatable value-added features," says Jonathan Tsang, Vice
President of ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
"ECS will support the eighth-generation AMD processors
with the latest motherboard technologies providing native support of both 32-bit
and 64-bit instruction sets," said Mike Chou, senior vice president of ECS
marketing division. "With a unified processing architecture, users will be able
to support mixed 32-bit and 64-bit applications in the same environment."
"Utilizing AMD's X86-64 architecture, FIC motherboard
technology will be ideal for PCs, workstations or multiprocessor servers," said
Gene Sheu, president, FIC networking and information group. "The future AMD
Opteron and eighth-generation AMD Athlon platforms will provide performance and
scalability for even the most intense computing environments."
"64-bit architecture will enable systems using GIGABYTE
and AMD technologies to provide the reliability, scalability and performance for
a full range of customers," said Johnson Lin, senior vice president and general
manager of PCBA product business unit, GIGABYTE Technology. "Gamers through
commercial users, whose profitability depends on computing performance, will be
able to benefit from the powerful new platform."
"With HyperTransportTM technology, the AMD Opteron and
eighth-generation AMD Athlon processors and MSI motherboards will provide
customers with improved performance, eased integration and increased graphics
and data throughput," said Larry Wu, sales VP, MSI. "HyperTransport technology
will also help alleviate memory bottlenecks, improve bandwidth and diminish
latency."
"We believe the performance advances of the AMD Opteron
and eighth-generation AMD Athlon processors combined with Phoenix BIOS
technologies will provide enterprise customers with significantly increased
scalability and performance," said Alan L. McCann, Senior Vice President and
General Manager, Corporate Marketing and Products Division, Phoenix
Technologies. "Upcoming AMD processor-based 64-bit configurations of
workstations and servers with up to eight processors will provide the power and
performance required in the commercial environment."
Shipments of the AMD Opteron processor for servers and
workstations are planned to begin in the first half of 2003. Shipments of AMD's
eighth-generation AMD Athlon processor for desktops are planned to begin in the
fourth quarter of 2002.
About the AMD Opteron(tm) Processor
The AMD Opteron processor is based on AMD's
eighth-generation processor core, which is planned to mark the introduction of
the industry's first x86-64 technology. This technology is planned to preserve
companies' investments in 32-bit applications while allowing a seamless
transition to 64-bit computing, as those companies require. The AMD Opteron
processor is designed to deliver high-performance server and workstation
solutions for today's most demanding enterprise applications. The processor is
designed to be scalable, reliable and compatible, which can result in lower
total cost of ownership. Key AMD Opteron processor innovations include an
integrated memory controller, which reduces memory bottlenecks, and
HyperTransport(tm) technology, which increases overall performance by removing
or reducing I/O bottlenecks, increasing bandwidth and reducing latency.
About HyperTransport(tm) Technology
HyperTransport technology is a high-speed,
high-performance, point-to-point link for integrated circuits, and is designed
to meet the bandwidth needs of tomorrow's computing and communications
platforms. HyperTransport technology helps reduce the number of buses while
providing a high-performance link for PCs, workstations, and servers, as well as
numerous embedded applications and highly scalable multiprocessing systems. It
is designed to allow chips inside of PCs, networking and communications devices
to communicate with each other up to 48 times faster than with some existing bus
technologies.
About AMD's x86-64 Technology
AMD's straightforward approach to 64-bit computing
builds upon the x86 instruction set, one of the industry's most proven and
widely supported technologies. AMD's x86-64 technology is designed to support
applications that address large amounts of physical and virtual memory, such as
high performance servers, database management systems, and CAD tools. AMD's
x86-64 technology seamlessly integrates into the current computing and support
environment, and is designed to enable enterprises to deploy high performance
64-bit capable systems that build upon the billions of dollars already invested
in 32-bit software.
About AMD
AMD is a global supplier of integrated circuits for the
personal and networked computer and communications markets with manufacturing
facilities in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Asia. AMD, a Fortune 500 and
Standard & Poor's 500 company, produces microprocessors, Flash memory devices,
and support circuitry for communications and networking applications. Founded in
1969 and based in Sunnyvale, California, AMD had revenues of $3.9 billion in
2001. (NYSE: AMD).
AMD on the Web
For more information about today's announcement, please
visit
www.amd.com/8thgenerationnews.
Additional press releases are available at
www.amd.com/news/news.html.
Cautionary Statement
This release contains forward-looking statements, which
are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are generally preceded
by words such as "plans," "expects," "believes," "anticipates" or "intends."
Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements in this release
involve risks and uncertainty that could cause actual results to differ
materially from current expectations. Forward-looking statements in this release
include the risks that AMD Opteron processors and/or 8th-generation AMD Athlon
processors will not ship on schedule, will not perform pursuant to their design
specifications, and will not achieve customer and/or market acceptance; and that
third parties will not provide infrastructure solutions to support these
processors. We urge investors to review in detail the risks and uncertainties in
the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission.
AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, AMD Athlon, AMD Opteron, and
combinations thereof, are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
HyperTransport is a trademark of the HyperTransport Technology Consortium. Other
product names are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their
respective companies.
