AMD Athlon™ Processor Product Brief

Get powerful performance for your unique digital experience

AMD Athlon™ Processor Overview
The AMD Athlon™ processor is the first Windows^®-compatible 64-bit PC processor. The AMD Athlon™ processor runs on AMD64 technology, a revolutionary technology that allows the processor to run 32-bit applications at full speed while enabling a new generation of powerful 64-bit software applications. Advanced 64-bit operating systems designed for the AMD64 platform from Microsoft, Red Hat, SuSE, and TurboLinux have already been announced.

With the introduction of the AMD Athlon™ processor, AMD provides customers a solution that can address their current and future computing needs. As the first desktop PC processor to run on the AMD64 platform, the AMD Athlon™ processor helps ensure superior performance on today’s software with readiness for the coming wave of 64-bit computing. With AMD64 technology, customers can embrace the new capabilities of 64-bit computing on their own terms and achieve compatibility with existing software and operating systems.

Enhanced Virus Protection with Windows^® XP Service Pack 2
With a unique combination of hardware and software technologies that offer you an added layer of protection, certain types of viruses don't stand a chance. The AMD Athlon™ processor features Enhanced Virus Protection, when support by the OS*, and can help protect against viruses, worms, and other malicious attacks. When combined with protective software, Enhanced Virus Protection is part of an overall security solution that helps keep your information safer.

Industry-leading performance for today’s software
It 's not just about email, Web browsing and word processing anymore. The AMD Athlon™ processor gives you full-throttle performance to go wherever your digital world takes you. Whether you're watching videos, ripping and playing music, or playing games, AMD64 performance helps you to fully enjoy any multimedia experience with a “you are there” reality. The revolutionary architecture of the AMD Athlon™ processor enables industry-leading performance to help maximize productivity and deliver a true-to-life digital entertainment experience. HyperTransport™ technology can increase overall system performance by removing I/O bottlenecks, increasing system bandwidth, and reducing system latency. A fully integrated DDR memory controller helps speed access to memory by offering the processor a direct connection to the main memory. As a result, end users can enjoy quicker application loading and extraordinary application performance.

With 3DNow!™ Professional technology and support for SSE3, the AMD Athlon™ processor has more ways to accelerate multimedia applications, enabling stellar performance when working with audio, video and photography software. For a superior experience with high-speed Internet, the AMD Athlon™ processor combines high-speed memory access and I/O connectivity to help ensure that end users can fully take advantage of a broadband connection to streaming video and audio, and a riveting online gaming experience.

Ready for the 64-bit future
The AMD Athlon™ processor is designed for people who want to stay at the forefront of technology and for those who depend on their PCs to keep them connected, informed, and entertained. Systems based on AMD Athlon™ processors are able to deliver leading-edge performance for demanding productivity and entertainment software today and in the future.

With AMD64 technology, the AMD Athlon™ processor is fully compatible with existing software, while enabling a seamless transition to 64-bit applications. Both 32- and 64-bit applications can run virtually simultaneously and transparently on the same platform. AMD64 technology enables new, cinematic computing experiences and capabilities, in addition to increased performance. AMD64 technology allows end users to take advantage of new innovations such as real-time encryption, more life-like games, accurate speech interfaces, cinema-quality graphic effects, and easy-to-use video and audio editing.

Protect investments with a technically superior PC processor
The AMD Athlon™ processor is the world’s most technically advanced PC processor and the first Windows-compatible 64-bit PC processor. Advanced technologies in the AMD Athlon™ processor include:

• AMD64 technology which doubles the number of processor registers and dramatically increases the system memory addressability
• Enhanced multimedia instructions support including 3DNow! Professional technology and SSE2/3
• With up to a 2000 MHz system bus using HyperTransport technology with up to 14.4 GB/sec total processor-to-system bandwidth
• An integrated memory controller with peak memory bandwidth of up to 6.4 GB/sec, supporting PC3200, PC2700, PC2100, or PC1600 DDR SDRAM
• Native execution of 32-bit software, allowing today’s PC software to provide leading-edge performance while enabling a seamless migration to 64-bit software

The combination of these innovations and features provides customers with performance they need along with tremendous flexibility. Customers can experience outstanding performance running today’s applications and prepare for the next generation of software without having to upgrade or change hardware. For business customers, this extends system life cycles, simplifies technology transition and reduces total cost of ownership.

Purchase with confidence
The AMD Athlon™ processor is the only industry standard x86 processor with the ability to move beyond the limits of 32-bit computing. The AMD Athlon™ processor is compatible with Microsoft Windows XP and tens of thousands of PC applications that people around the world use every day. The award-winning AMD Athlon™ processor won over 100 industry accolades and was the first 1GHz PC processor. Now, the AMD Athlon™ processor reaches a new milestone by building a path to 64-bit computing for millions of PC users.

Founded in 1969, AMD has shipped more than 300 million PC processors worldwide. Customers can depend on the AMD Athlon™ processor and AMD for compatibility and reliability. AMD processors undergo extensive testing to help ensure compatibility with Microsoft Windows XP, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT^®, Windows 2000, as well as Linux and other PC operating systems. AMD works collaboratively with Microsoft and other partners to achieve compatibility of AMD processors and to expand the capability of software and hardware products leveraging AMD64 technology. AMD conducts rigorous research, development, and validation to help ensure the continued integrity and performance of its products.

Portable Multimedia Machines or Desktops?

The performance capability of notebooks has been increasing for years: in many respects, mobile computers no longer lag behind their desktop counterparts. When purchasing a new computer these days, many users wonder whether a bulky tower CPU is even necessary, given the advantages of a notebook.

If you decide to purchase a notebook, performance is often not as decisive a factor as design, or various additional functions such as wireless capability or the ability to eject CDs when the notebook is turned off. Even if such features tempt you to buy, it pays to keep a cool head, because when compared to desktop computers, notebooks can be difficult or impossible to upgrade. You should consider the hardware very carefully, to ensure that it meets all of your needs.

If watching movies on the go is important to you, then a DVD-ROM drive and a sizable screen are musts. In this respect, notebooks with 17″ screens are considered the cream of the crop. Now that Blu-Ray has won the exhausting format battle to become DVD’s successor, we can expect to start seeing a large number of notebooks equipped with Blu-Ray drives. However, playing such high-resolution video material puts even higher demands on the hardware. Intel has already responded, and in the course of introducing mobile processors in its 45 nm manufacturing process, has also rejuvenated its mobile computer platform (Santa Rosa). These modifications have also improved the playback capabilities of high-resolution video material (see also article: Notebook comparison: Penryn vs. Merom).

Manufacturers are reacting to these changing circumstances in the notebook market sector. Acer, for example, has produced various models optimized for multimedia use, to attract customers. The 6920 and 8920 series boast 16″ and 18.4″ displays respectively, and promise complete viewing satisfaction in full HDTV resolution. However, performance like this comes at a price: interested buyers have to reach deep into their pocketbooks. The smallest model in the 6920 series costs $1,855.13, while the largest 8920G-934G64BN model is tagged at a whopping $2,937.30.

But is it really worth it to anyone to pay so much for a notebook? What could you get if you were to invest an equivalent sum in a desktop? The following article will address these questions.

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