SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. here today received a major boost, as Microsoft Inc. endorsed the company's yet-to-be-announced, 64-bit microprocessor line, code-named Hammer.
At a press event today, AMD also announced that it has selected "AMD Opteron" as the brand name for the 64-bit processor line. The high-end server/workstation version of Hammer, code-named Sledgehammer, will take on the new "Opteron" brand name. Meanwhile, the desktop/mobile version of Hammer, code-named Clawhammer, will utilize the company's current processor brand name--Athlon.
In the deal with Microsoft, AMD said that the U.S.-based software giant plans to offer versions of its Windows operating system software for Hammer. Microsoft will also develop future versions of Windows XP for Hammer.
AMD also claims that systems built around the Hammer processor are already running applications, based Microsoft's Windows software.
"We are formalizing our relationship with Microsoft in the 64-bit space," said Dirk Meyer, group vice president of AMD's Computation Products Group, during the press event.
The Sunnyvale-based company has not officially announced Hammer, but it has been rolling out details about the chip for some time. It described the first details about processor line at last year's Microprocessor Forum in October.
AMD said it expects to begin shipping the first version of the Hammer family of central processors at the end of 2002. The Hammer processors will compete against Intel Corp.'s 64-bit microprocessor lineup, most notably the "McKinley" chip, which is a follow-on product to the existing 64-bit Itanium MPU.
AMD has emphasized that Hammer bridges the gap between future 64-bit computing applications and today's 32-bit operation system environments.
In February, the company gave its first public demonstration of Hammer. The 64-bit processors were manufactured with 0.13-micron CMOS technology on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer substrates, according to AMD.
AMD said Hammer processors will be the company's first x86-compatible MPUs to have a fully integrated double data rate (DDR) memory controller. AMD will also use its HyperTransport I/O technology-based chip set and DDR support to break performance bottlenecks throughout personal computers and other systems (see Feb. 26 story ).
RSS
Digital
10 emerging technologies to watch:
EE Times has compiled a list of emerging technologies that we think will be worth watching out for in 2010. Biofeedback or thought-control of electronics are among the contenders.
10 CEOs out in 2009:
It's been a tough year for the global electronics industry and CEOs. We survey the dismissal of 10 industry CEOs during the first three quarters of 2009 and what's ahead for the rest of the year.
Executive pay:
The economy stinks. Rank-and-file engineers are feeling the pain. What about technology CEOs? We crunched the numbers buried in corporate financial statements to find out. Here's what we found.
10 companies in trouble (revisited):
What follows is an updated version of 10 companies in trouble. Some companies have been removed since the last version, others remain. Still others have been added to the mix.
Early predictions for 2010:
The electronics industry is recovering, but there is still some uncertainty in the market. Some see a boom year in 2010. Some see a double dip. So what's in store for the rest of this year and 2010?
Top 10 IC vendors with cash:
The world's biggest IC companies by revenue rank not only among the best in their respective industry segments but are also more likely to have huge piles of cash that can be used to fund acquisitions, R&D and product development.
Notable women in microelectronics:
There is no better time than a global economic recession to examine the keys to successful corporate governance. So, EE Times has compiled an international list that celebrates women who are business and technology leaders in semis.
EE Times updates Silicon 60:
Seventeen companies have been added to the lastest version of our Silicon 60 list of emerging startups. Forty-three companies survived as emerging companies that are still worth watching.
RSS| 
Digital| 
Mobile
