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History of AMD: 2005

“AMD64 liberates the creative imagination from technology’s limitations and allows business managers to break free from a history of high-cost, low-ROI investments.”
— Hector Ruiz, Ph.D., Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

February: Introduced world’s highest performing processors for 1-8P x86 servers and workstations
March: Introduced AMD Turion™ 64 mobile technology for notebook PCs
April: Introduced world’s first 64-bit, x86 multi-core processors for servers and workstations
May: Introduced AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 dual-core processor for desktop PCs
June: Filed landmark antitrust litigation in U.S. Federal District Court
October: Announced the grand opening of Fab 36 in Dresden, Germany
December: Spansion closed an initial public offering

Industry Perspective

In 2005, IT purchases continued to increase as enterprises examined not just raw performance but also performance-per-watt and constraints with datacenter real estate. Multi-core technology debuted with the first x86 dual-core processors. 64-bit technology became increasingly entrenched. As the year drew to a close, notebooks began to outsell desktop PCs for the first time thanks to significant price drops and advanced mobility features.

2005 was a banner year for AMD as we continued to deliver innovative computing solutions, grow our market presence and capacity, promote fair-market practices, and expand global Internet and computing access.

February: The introduction of AMD Opteron™ processor Models 852 and 252 extended our leadership in the enterprise server market. The new models represented the world’s highest performing processors for one-way to eight-way x86 servers and workstations and featured support for SSE3 software instructions as well as an increase in the HyperTransport™ performance through expanded bus frequency.

March: AMD Turion™ 64 mobile technology ushered in a new era in 64-bit mobile computing. The newest addition to the AMD64 processor family is uniquely optimized to bring award-winning 32- and 64-bit performance to thinner and lighter notebook PCs with long battery life, enhanced security, and compatibility with the latest graphics and wireless solutions.

March: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded AMD’s Cool‘n’Quiet™ technology with an ENERGY STAR® Certificate of Recognition for advancing computer energy efficiency.

April: Charting another industry first, we introduced the world’s first 64-bit, x86 multi-core processors for servers and workstations at the second-anniversary AMD Opteron™ processor celebration. Key OEM customers, including Sun, HP, and IBM, showcased ground-breaking dual-core platforms based on the new Dual-Core AMD Opteron 800 Series processor for four- to eight-way servers.

May: Completing the world’s first broad dual-core client and server processor line-up, we introduced the AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 dual-core processor for desktop PCs and desktop replacement notebooks. The new processors target prosumers and digital media enthusiasts, as well as anyone who runs many software applications simultaneously. Leading OEMs including Acer, Alienware, HP, and Lenovo announced their support, as did more than 40 leading system-builder partners worldwide.

June: We filed landmark antitrust litigation against Intel Corporation in U.S. Federal District Court. AMD took action because consumers are currently paying more than they should, innovation is being constrained, and choice is artificially limited. Through our litigation, we're seeking to change the landscape of the computing industry for the better — for ourselves, for the market, and for consumers worldwide.

October: Furthering our commitment to the sports and entertainment industries, AMD announced it is the first ever Official Technology Partner of NASCAR — the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. Through this unique relationship, we plan to play a critical role in helping the foremost sanctioning body of stock car racing in North America improve competition on the race track and enhance the safety of NASCAR participants.

October: At a ceremony attended by top German government officials and leaders from across the semiconductor industry, AMD announced the grand opening of Fab 36, our 300 millimeter (mm) fabrication facility in Dresden, Germany. Fab 36 will help nearly double output in the next three years, meet growing demand for AMD64 processors, and achieve aggressive growth objectives.

October: Executives signed agreements with the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and Peking University to license AMD x86 microprocessor design technology that will enable Chinese development of low-power and embedded computer solutions for consumer and commercial markets. We also announced the contribution of US$750,000 to support technology deployment for primary education in rural China and opened a new headquarters for AMD Greater China.

November: At Supercomputing 2005, AMD and Sun Microsystems announced that we will collaborate to build Asia’s largest supercomputer for the Tokyo Institute of Technology. The system is based on Sun Fire™ x64 (x86, 64-bit) servers with 10,480 AMD Opteron™ processor cores (totaling more than 50 trillion floating point operations per second).

December: Spansion closed an initial public offering of 47,264,000 shares. Spansion is the former joint venture of AMD and Fujitsu.

While proud of our results in 2005, we are even more optimistic about 2006 and beyond.