According to analyst reports, which surfaced today, AMD are for the first time about to produce a processor range which is likely to make a serious dent in Intel's lead in the market. Investment newsletter publisher Fred Hickey, said that an endorsement by International Business Machines (IBM) of AMD's Opteron chip may make the difference by establishing the company in the business server sector of the market. According to Hickey, Intel is facing their biggest threat in history...
Only last week AMD launched details of its 64 bit which the company claims, defines a new class of computing by extending the industry-standard x86 instruction set architecture across 32- and 64-bit platforms. AMD64 is an AMD innovation designed to deliver compatibility with existing 32-bit x86 solutions and simultaneous high 64-bit performance. The AMD Opteron processor for servers and workstations is the first processor in this new class of computing. AMD plans to launch the AMD Athlon 64 processor for desktop and mobile personal computers on September 23, 2003, which is designed to enable pervasive adoption of the AMD64 architecture. AMD64 replaces terms such as Hammer (now, AMD64 technology) and x86-64 ISA (now, AMD64 ISA).
AMD have been struggling to make a dent in Intel's stronghold of the processor market and although widely accepted as having Intel-compatible chips at lower prices, the company's processors have so far remained out of the public and business mainstream.
Although Opteron chips will be used to build the fastest supercomputer in China, as well as a supercomputer that will monitor the U.S. stockpile of nuclear weapons, most of the largest computer makers such as Dell, have not yet offered to support the chip. Hickey however, said that the likelihood of widespread acceptance of AMD's chips has never been greater. He expects Sun Microsystems to use Opteron chips in some of its business computers.
Hickey also said he expects major PC manufacturers to adopt AMD's new Athlon64 line of chips for home computers. Intel has downplayed the need for 64-bit computers in the home, and has not announced any plans to sell 64-bit chips designed for home users.
Meanwhile, Apple today, became the first PC maker to ship a desktop computer that uses a 64-bit chip, saying it has received more than 100,000 orders for its Power Mac G5.
