NVIDIA and AMD Partner To Create Powerful Computing Platforms
NVIDIA nForce and GeForce Processors Ready To Harness The Power of Upcoming AMD Opteron™ and Next-Generation AMD Athlon™ Processor-based Platforms
COMPUTEX 2002 - TAIPEI, TAIWAN -- June 3, 2002 --NVIDIA® Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA) today announced collaboration with AMD that ensures the core NVIDIA products—including the NVIDIA nForce™ Platform Processors and GeForce™ Graphics Processing Units (GPUs)—can take full advantage of the unique technologies integrated into AMD’s next-generation AMD Opteron™ and eighth-generation AMD Athlon™ processor architectures. The AMD Opteron processor platform will deliver a world-class computing experience for commercial and consumer users with a host of new innovations including an integrated memory controller and HyperTransport™ data bus technology. NVIDIA has both 32-bit and 64-bit software drivers in development that will leverage the power of the upcoming 64-bit AMD Opteron and AMD Athlon processors upon their release in the market, and will introduce a new line of nForce-based core-logic chipsets for the AMD Opteron processor architecture later this year.
“As the leader in graphics and platform processing solutions, we are excited about new high-performance 64-bit and 32-bit X86 architectures that excel in professional and consumer applications,” stated Dan Vivoli, vice president of marketing at NVIDIA. “By combining AMD’s forthcoming processors with NVDIA’s next-generation graphics, audio, networking and streaming technologies, NVIDIA can deliver the fastest, most feature-rich, multimedia and networking experiences for both the consumer and commercial desktop PC markets.”
“Pairing NVIDIA’s high-powered GPUs and the industry-leading nForce Platform Processors with the eighth-generation AMD processors can provide the bandwidth necessary to feed the power-hungry enterprise-class applications,” said Richard Heye, vice president platform engineering and infrastructure, AMD. “Together, AMD and NVIDIA are changing the PC landscape, while providing both corporate customers and consumers with a high-performance and innovative PC platform.”
About NVIDIA nForce Platform Processors
Designed and optimized to take advantage of AMD’s latest CPUs, the nForce platform processors—the nForce Integrated Graphics Processor (IGP), the nForce System Platform Processor (SPP) and nForce Media and Communications Processor (MCP)—integrate a myriad of innovative features, all of which reaffirm NVIDIA’s technology leadership in the integrated core-logic market. In addition to the award-winning GeForce-based Graphics Processing Unit, dual 64-bit memory controllers, and uniquely flexible architecture, the nForce platform processors also feature the industry’s only integrated Audio Processing Unit (APU), the same audio technology found in the Microsoft Xbox game console. Through its use of a multi-DSP engine, the NVIDIA-designed APU provides hardware processing for up to 256 simultaneous voices and special effects; encodes Dolby Digital 5.1 audio streams in real-time; and consumes the smallest amount of CPU overhead—when measured against all other add-in card PC audio solutions available today. And, by using the high-speed HyperTransport bus technology as the digital connection between the two platform processors, NVIDIA’s nForce architecture provides substantially more bandwidth to allow for a truly media-rich, multi-tasking environment, perfect for digital video editing, Internet audio streaming, 3D gaming and photo manipulation.
About the AMD Opteron Processor
The AMD Opteron processor is based on AMD’s eighth-generation processor core, which is planned to mark the introduction of the industry’s first x86-64 technology implementation. This technology is planned to preserve companies’ investments in 32-bit applications while allowing a seamless transition to 64-bit computing as those companies require. The AMD Opteron processor is designed to deliver high-performance server and workstation solutions for today’s most demanding enterprise applications. The processor is designed to be scalable, reliable and compatible, which can result in lower total cost of ownership. Key AMD Opteron processor innovations include an integrated memory controller, which reduces memory bottlenecks, and HyperTransport technology, which increases overall performance by removing or reducing I/O bottlenecks, increasing bandwidth and reducing latency.
About AMD
AMD is a global supplier of integrated circuits for the personal and networked computer and communications markets with manufacturing facilities in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Asia. AMD, a Fortune 500 and Standard & Poor’s 500 company, produces microprocessors, Flash memory devices, and support circuitry for communications and networking applications. Founded in 1969 and based in Sunnyvale, California, AMD had revenues of $3.9 billion in 2001. (NYSE: AMD).
About NVIDIA
NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA), based in Santa Clara, CA, is the global leader in advanced graphics and multimedia processing technology for the consumer and professional computing markets. It’s 2D, 3D, video and multimedia capabilities make NVIDIA one of the premier semiconductor companies in the world. NVIDIA offers a wide range of products and services, delivering superior performance and crisp visual quality for PC-based applications such as manufacturing, science, e-business, entertainment, and education.
Certain statements in this press release, including the statements relating to the Company's performance expectations for NVIDIA's family of products and expectations of continued revenue growth, are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause results to be materially different than expectations. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, manufacturing and other delays relating to new products, difficulties in the fabrication process and dependence of the Company on third-party manufacturers, general industry trends including cyclical trends in the PC and semiconductor industries, the impact of competitive products and pricing alternatives, market acceptance of the Company's new products, and the Company's dependence on third-party developers and publishers. Investors are advised to read the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly those sections entitled "Certain Business Risks," for a fuller discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties.
For further information, contact:
Bryan Del Rizzo
NVIDIA Corporation
(408) 486-2772
bdelrizzo@nvidia.com
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