AMD UNLEASHES
800MHz AMD ATHLON™ PROCESSOR
--Leading OEMs, including Compaq and IBM, announce availability of computers based on 800MHz AMD Athlon™ processor--
SUNNYVALE, CA--January 6, 2000--AMD today kicked off the new millennium by introducing an 800MHz AMD Athlon processor.
The AMD Athlon™ is the world's first seventh-generation x86 processor, whose leading edge performance enables the ultimate computing experience for high-end and mainstream computer users.
"Just as promised when we introduced the AMD Athlon processor, AMD continues to raise the bar in x86 processor performance. The exceptional microarchitecture of the AMD Athlon processor permits us to achieve extraordinary performance levels in an x86 processor," said Larry Hollatz, group vice president of the Computation Products Group at AMD.
"The AMD Athlon processor has been well received since its introduction in June, and we expect that demand for the processor will continue to remain strong," said Dana Krelle, vice president of Marketing for AMD's Computation Products Group. "The 800MHz is simply the next step in the evolution of our award-winning AMD Athlon processor."
Multiple Manufacturers Offer 800MHz AMD Athlon™ Processor-Based Systems
Some of the industry's most renowned computer manufacturers, including Compaq, IBM and CyberMax plan to introduce systems boasting the 800MHz AMD Athlon processor.
"Consumers have reacted very strongly to our family of AMD Athlon processor-based Presario systems that are sold through Compaq's popular Built for You program," says Mark Vena, Director, Consumer Desktop Product Marketing, Compaq Computer Corporation. "The new Presario 5900Z with the 800MHz AMD Athlon processor, available today through Built For You, continues to broaden the Presario brand with a technology and performance leadership dimension and we are excited about offering consumers this new processor offering."
"IBM will use the 800MHz AMD Athlon processor because it delivers outstanding microprocessing power," according to Carla Davison, VP Worldwide Desktop Marketing. "When matched with a 27GB HDD and IBM's optional high bandwidth ADSL card in the IBM Aptiva® PC 880, it's a smart investment for power users looking for excellent performance at a great price."
"CyberMax is proud to offer the new 800MHz AMD Athlon processor in select Enthusiast Series PCs," said CyberMax President Bill Bisignano. "We believe CyberMax systems powered by the AMD Athlon processor will be among this year's leading performers."
The performance capabilities of the 800MHz AMD Athlon processor, coupled with AMD's innovative enhanced 3DNow!™ technology, promise users productivity increases for both commercial and consumer applications, theatre quality visual images, rich audio and an enhanced Internet experience.
About the AMD Athlon Processor
The AMD Athlon processor is an x86-compatible, seventh-generation design featuring a superpipelined, nine-issue superscalar microarchitecture optimized for high clock frequency; the industry's first fully pipelined, superscalar floating point unit for x86 platforms; high-performance cache technology, including 128KB of on-chip level (L1) cache and a programmable, high-performance backside L2 cache interface; enhanced 3DNow!™ technology with 24 additional instructions designed to improve integer math calculations, data movement for Internet streaming, and DSP communications; and the AMD Athlon system bus – a 200MHz system interface based on the Alpha™ EV6 bus protocol with support for scalable multiprocessing.
All new AMD Athlon processors are now manufactured on AMD's aluminum 0.18-micron process technology in Fab 25 in Austin, Texas. To date, the AMD Athlon processor has received numerous industry awards including:
Pricing
The 800MHz AMD Athlon processor is immediately available and priced at $849 in 1,000 unit quantities.
About AMD
AMD is a global supplier of integrated circuits for the personal and networked computer and communications markets. AMD produces processors, flash memories and products for communications and networking applications. AMD processors, including the AMD-K6®-2, AMD-K6-III and AMD Athlon product families, power computers manufactured by nine of the Top 10 computer OEMs in North America. AMD's mobile processors are used in more than 50 percent of notebook computers sold in the retail market to consumers and small businesses. Founded in 1969 and based in Sunnyvale, California, AMD had revenues of $2.5 billion in 1998. (NYSE: AMD).
Cautionary Statement
This release contains forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the 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 risk that computer manufacturers, including Compaq, IBM and CyberMax, may not release systems incorporating the 800MHz AMD Athlon processor on schedule or at all, that demand for the AMD Athlon processor will not be strong or remain at current levels, and that AMD will not be able to produce the processor in the volume and speed grades required by customers using the 0.18 micron process technology on a timely basis. We urge investors to review in detail the risks and uncertainties in the Company's filings with the United States Securities Exchange Commission.
©2000 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.