| Q: | What is the AMD-760™ MP chipset?
|
| A: | The AMD-760 MP chipset is AMD?s next-generation chipset for the AMD Athlon MP processor. It consists of two chips?the AMD-762™ system bus controller, or northbridge, and the AMD-766™ peripheral bus controller, or southbridge. The AMD-760 MP chipset unleashes the power of Double Date Rate (DDR) memory technology, enabling the ultimate x86 performance in multi-tasking and multimedia-intensive applications. The AMD-760 MP chipset supports up to two AMD Athlon MP processors with a 266MHz front side bus, as well as PC2100 DDR memory and AGP-4x graphics. |
|
|
| Q: | What are the features and benefits of the AMD-762™ northbridge?
|
| A: | The AMD-762 system bus controller features support for up to two AMD Athlon MP processors using Smart MP technology, up to 4 Gigabytes of PC2100 DDR memory, and AGP-4x graphics card support. All of these combine to enable the ultimate computing experience for multi-tasking and multimedia environments. It also features a faster 266MHz bus, representing a 33 percent increase compared to existing AMD Athlon processor bus speeds. |
|
|
| Q: | What are the features and benefits of the AMD-766™ southbridge? What speed hard drives does it support?
|
| A: | The AMD-766 peripheral bus controller supports Ultra DMA 100/66/33 hard drives. Along with support for standard PCI, the AMD-766 southbridge also supports up to four USB ports for easy connection of peripherals. |
|
|
| Q: | What operating systems are supported?
|
| A: | AMD tests its processors and platforms for backward compatibility with a wide range of software and hardware peripherals including operating systems such as Windows and Linux. |
|
|
| Q: | What is the relationship, if any, between Windows XP and the AMD Athlon MP?
|
| A: | The AMD Athlon MP processor introduces a 2P high-performance, scalable, reliable solution. Windows XP has a tremendous amount of emphasis on the reliability and performance of the operating systems and the end-user experience. These platforms complement and strengthen each other in delivering a compelling value to the customer. |
|
|
| Q: | What are the architectural features of the AMD Athlon MP processor? What benefits does it offer?
|
| A: | The AMD Athlon MP processor features AMD's stable Socket A infrastructure, a 384k high performance full-speed cache with hardware data pre-fetch capability, 3DNow!™ Professional multimedia instructions, and AMD's Smart MP technology for multiprocessing environments. Based on the processor codenamed "Palomino," it consumes approximately 20 percent less power than the previous version of the AMD Athlon processor (codenamed "Thunderbird"). With Smart MP technology, the AMD Athlon MP processor offers dual point-to-point, high-speed, 266MHz AMD Athlon™ system buses, optimized ?Modified Owner Exclusive Shared Invalid? (MOESI) Cache Coherency Protocol, and innovative ?snoop? buses. |
|
|
| Q: | Are third-party chipsets in development supporting the AMD Athlon MP processor? Are there other motherboards using third-party chipsets in development?
|
| A: | Tyan is our lead partner in the development of AMD's first dual processor platform. We are also working with other motherboard vendors (Asus, Abit, MSI, Gigabyte) to develop a range of dual processor solutions. The AMD-760 MP chipset is designed to industry standards, where compatibility is paramount. We encourage our partners to use the infrastructure they need in order grow their business. The AMD-760 MP chipset will be AMD's first design in the market. As is always our practice, we deliver the first design to the market to ensure that a solid baseline chipset exists. Any future partnerships around chipsets will be announced as they come closer to fruition. |
|
|
| Q: | What is Smart MP technology?
|
| A: | Smart MP technology features dual point-to-point, high-speed 266MHz system buses, an optimized "MOESI" cache coherency protocol, which manages data and memory traffic, as well as innovative ?snoop? buses, which offer high-speed communication between the CPUs in a multiprocessing systems. Smart MP technology optimizes the execution of multi-threaded, mission-critical applications empowering your enterprise to achieve new levels of productivity. |
|
|
| Q: | Is Socket A supported?
|
| A: | Yes. AMD's stable Socket A platform is planned to be supported through 2002 and beyond. |
|
|
