AMD Hypertransport Consortium

AMD, API NETWORKS, APPLE, CISCO, NVIDIA, PMC-SIERRA,
SUN MICROSYSTEMS,

TRANSMETA FORM HYPERTRANSPORT(tm) TECHNOLOGY CONSORTIUM



- Consortium Founders Drive Development, Manage Specifications of

HyperTransport(tm) Technology -



- HyperTransport Technology Designed to Increase Performance of Network,

Communications,

and High-Performance Compute Devices -





SAN JOSE, CA-JULY 24, 2001-A coalition of high-tech industry leaders today

announced the formation of the HyperTransport(tm) Technology Consortium, a

nonprofit corporation that supports the future development and adoption of

AMD's HyperTransport I/O Link specification.



Technology leaders AMD (NYSE: AMD), API NetWorks, Inc., Apple®, Cisco

Systems, NVIDIA Corporation, PMC-Sierra (NASDAQ: PMCS), Sun Microsystems,

Inc., and Transmeta have joined together as promoters of HyperTransport

technology, and will now manage the development and evolution of the

technology's specifications. More than 180 companies throughout the computer

and communications industries have been engaged with AMD in working with the

HyperTransport technology.



HyperTransport technology is an innovative solution that enables the chips

inside of high-performance compute devices, and networking and

communications devices - such as those that power the Internet - to

communicate with each other up to 24 times faster compared with existing

technologies.



"The consortium represents the commitment of its members to develop

industry-wide adoption of HyperTransport technology, and to drive this

state-of-the-art technology into the market," said Gabriele Sartori, newly

elected president of the HyperTransport Technology Consortium.

"HyperTransport technology is a popular new chip-to-chip communications

technology that is endorsed by major industry players. It is designed to

provide a smooth transition from existing technologies and to support the

necessary scalability and bandwidth for future product innovations."



The consortium was formed to promote the adoption and deployment of

HyperTransport technology, manage and refine its specifications, and

proliferate an infrastructure of test and verification tools to speed up

market delivery of devices enabled with this technology. Product samples

using HyperTransport are currently available, and other components are

planned to be in volume production by the end of the year.



"The HyperTransport Technology Consortium is a good example of
collaboration

between AMD and its partners responding to industry needs, and promoting a

new standard for improving overall system performance," said Richard Heye,

vice president of AMD's Platform & Infrastructure Engineering &

Microprocessor Business Management.



"As a major contributor to the development of HyperTransport technology,
API

NetWorks was the first company to have HyperTransport technology in silicon,

and recently introduced the industry's first HyperTransport-to-PCI bridge

chip, the AP1011. This announcement marks a significant milestone for the

industry and its lead promoters, as we deliver on the promise of

HyperTransport technology-based products today and address the bandwidth and

performance issues of the future," said David Rich, API NetWorks' general

manager of HyperTransport product development.



"Apple is delighted to participate as one of the leaders in the

HyperTransport Technology Consortium," said Jon Rubinstein, Apple's senior

vice president of Hardware Engineering. "HyperTransport
represents a great

technology with exciting future potential."



"By participating as a promoter of HyperTransport Technology
Consortium,

Cisco Systems expects to play a leading role in bringing to market a new

generation of intelligent, high-performance, processor-based networks,"
said

John Wakerly, vice president and CTO for Cisco's Enterprise Line of

Business.



"NVIDIA was one of the first to incorporate HyperTransport technology into

the market with the introduction of its new nForce platform processing

architecture. As founding members of the consortium, we are committed to

continue utilizing HyperTransport technology," said Dan Vivoli, vice

president of marketing at NVIDIA.



"As the leading supplier of high performance MIPS processors for
networking,

PMC-Sierra has incorporated HyperTransport technology into our RM9000x2

Gigahertz multiprocessor to offer higher inter-connect bandwidth," said Tom

Riordan, vice president and general manager, MIPS Processor Division for PMC

Sierra.



"Sun is committed to driving open standards and delivering the most
advanced

technologies to our customers. HyperTransport technology will represent
the

next level of bus performance and functionality for workstations and

servers. Sun is delighted to be a leader in the HyperTransport Technology

Consortium," said Pete Rado, vice president of Engineering, Volume System

Products, Sun Microsystems, Inc.



"Transmeta believes that HyperTransport technology is the right choice for

the next generation of lower power PCs, networking and communications

devices. By joining the leaders in the HyperTransport Technology

Consortium, and cooperating together on this exciting new technology,

customers will be the winners," added Doug Laird, executive vice president

of product development of Transmeta.



For more information about joining or participating in the HyperTransport

Technology Consortium, please fill out the membership application available

online at the following Web link: www.hypertransport.org.



Platform Conference 2001



The HyperTransport Technology Consortium announcement coincides with

Platform Conference 2001, which is taking place July 24-25, 2001, at the San

Jose Convention Center. As a co-sponsor, AMD will deliver the keynote

address and join several HyperTransport partners in technical sessions at

the conference.



Platform Conference 2001 introduces comprehensive information on new and

emerging technologies delivered firsthand by engineers and technical experts

in specialized sessions that facilitate debate and interactive discussion.

For more information on the sessions, please go to the Platform Conference

2001 Web site.: www.platformconference.com.



About HyperTransport(tm) technology



HyperTransport interconnect technology is a new high-speed,

high-performance, point-to-point link for integrated circuits, developed to

enable the chips inside of high-performance compute devices, networking and

communications devices to communicate with each other faster than with

existing technologies. HyperTransport technology's bandwidth of 12.8GB/sec

represents up to a 48-fold increase in data throughput, compared with

existing system interconnects that typically provide bandwidth up to

266MB/sec. HyperTransport complements externally visible bus standards like

the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), as well as emerging

technologies like InfiniBand and 10Gb Ethernet.





About the HyperTransport Technology Consortium



The HyperTransport Technology Consortium is a nonprofit corporation

controlled by its members. The consortium promotes the common business

interests of providers to the networking, telecommunications, computer and

high-performance embedded applications through the conduct of a forum for

the future development and adoption of the HyperTransport specification.



AMD, API NetWorks, Apple Computers, Cisco Systems, NVIDIA, PMC-Sierra, Sun

Microsystems, and Transmeta are the charter members that comprise the

Executive Committee of the HyperTransport Technology Consortium.



Companies interested in the HyperTransport specification are invited to join

the consortium. Members of the consortium have access to technical

specifications and may attend consortium meetings.



Companies can apply to become members of the HyperTransport Technology

Consortium at one of two membership levels, Contributors or Adopters, based

on how actively they choose to participate in various technical and

marketing activities.



To become a member, visit the consortium Web site at www.hypertransport.org.

Please review the Bylaws of the HyperTransport Technology Consortium, and

complete the online membership application.



AMD is a trademark of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. HyperTransport is a

trademark of the HyperTransport Technology Consortium.