AMD delays 64-bit Athlon chip

Advanced Micro Devices confirmed on Friday that it has pushed back the introduction of its Athlon 64 processor for desktop PCs. AMD, which had originally been expected to introduce the chip in March or April, now plans to launch it in September, the company said in a statement. Earlier this month, the company said that it was re-evaluating the launch date for the chip.

The company has indicated that its main priority right now is the new 64-bit Opteron processor for servers. That chip will be the keystone of AMD's 2003 strategy to push further into the business market and compete with Intel. Opteron is on track and is set to officially debut on April 22 in New York City. Meanwhile, AMD plans to try to keep desktop customers happy with a new Athlon XP chip. The chipmaker, as expected, is scheduled to introduce an Athlon XP 3000+ processor on Feb. 10. It plans to have a 3200+ chip by the middle of the year.

AMD has not yet disclosed the clock speed of the 3000+ chip. The Athlon XP rating number indicates its performance in comparison with a previous version of the Athlon chip. However, the model number is also designed to reflect that the chip performs as well or better than a corresponding Intel Pentium 4. The 3000+ chip, therefore, is equivalent to a 3.06GHz Pentium 4, AMD would assert. The 3000+ chip will be AMD's first processor based on its new "Barton" core, which adds a larger 512KB cache and supports a faster bus. These features increase performance by holding larger amounts data close to the processor core and speeding up the pathway for data transfer to and from the chip. That extra performance is what allowed AMD to boost the model's rating number.

View: The full story