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Advanced Micro Devices to Introduce New Computer Chip

Posted on: Monday, 22 September 2003, 06:00 CDT

Sep. 23--Advanced Micro Devices Inc. plans Tuesday to unveil a new computer chip it believes will allow users to step up their use of music, video and games on desktops and laptops.

AMD, long plagued by the dominance of rival Intel Corp., is hoping its Athlon 64 chip will be an attractive alternative for computer "power users" who are adept at using multimedia and broadband Internet.

The computer industry has suffered in the last few years as computer users shrugged off new purchases, in part because their older processors worked just fine with most software applications.

But AMD points to the growing number of people listening to music and archiving photos on their PCs as a sign that processing power is about to become important again.

"A third of U.S. households have digital cameras, and over half have photo editing software," said Tim Wright, director of desktop marketing for AMD. "There's a lot more interest in that type of content manipulation enabled by the capabilities PCs have evolved over the years."

The updated Athlon isn't just a faster chip. Instead of the 32-bit processors AMD and Intel have sold for years, the new chip sends data in packets of 64 bits.

Not all applications run more quickly on 64-bit processors, and Intel's Pentium 4 chip is faster by some measurements than the chips AMD plans to launch Tuesday. But AMD said the new Athlon chips handle graphics and other media better than 32-bit chips do.

Intel makes 64-bit processors for servers, but not for PCs. The chipmaking giant has said 64-bit processors for personal computing won't be in demand for several more years.

International Business Machines Corp. sells 64-bit processors to Apple Computer Inc., which introduced the chips in a line of desktop computers last month.

Software applications need to be written differently to harness the power of 64-bit processors, and AMD is expected to announce on Tuesday that several software makers, including Microsoft Corp., are developing code for the chips.

The Athlon chip is designed to also handle software written for 32-bit processors, meaning corporations and consumers buying new computers won't need to overhaul their software to use the new chip, Mr. Wright said.

AMD needs the Athlon 64 to be a winner. The company, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., has had eight straight quarters of losses, forcing cost cuts and the layoff of thousands of workers.

AMD shares fell 26 cents to $12.42 on Monday. The stock has fallen more than 92 percent this year.

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