Developer's Magazine - Brazil

“…AMD architecture’s greatest asset is its compatibility with the 32-and 64-bit environments.... With this technology, AMD will be able to deliver a smooth bridge to the 64-bit environment." – Developers' Magazine - Brazil.

Developers' Magazine - Brazil
Originally published by Developers' Magazine, January, 2003.
By Ricardo Zelenovski and Alexandre Mendonça. Hardware column - AMD Athlon™ 64 [ processor]. Pages 36-38.



Electronic News

"With the emergence of Gigabit and 10 gigabit Ethernet, there is a lot more data to process. In addition, image and video processing applications are taxing 32-bit processors to the limit."

"MPU Developers Preview Future," Electronic News, June 18, 2001



ExtremeTech

“Sixty-four bits holds the promise of new performance, new architectures, new compilers, and a new balance of power in CPU realpolitik. A clean break with the old, a new chance for the new.

What hardware or architectural changes are in store for 64 bits? Quite a lot, although few of them have to do with 64-bittedness, per se. But 64-bit processors are at today's very high end, and they showcase all the best thinking in microprocessor design. This is the cutting edge, where silicon manufacturing, computer architecture, compiler technology, and marketing wizardry all come together.”

“64-bit CPUs: What you need to know,” ExtremeTech, Feb. 8, 2002



Icrontic.com

“64-bit processing will mark what will be remembered as another significant turning point and while the proverbial paint and bodywork may not radically differ at first…what’s under the hood will.”

“Basically 64-bit computing brings the next level of ABILITY to the desktop PC and server world. Think of it and the answer is yes. Will it be faster? Yes. Will the games be better? Yes.”

“The current PC you have in front of you is 32-bit processor based. It handles information in 32-bit chunks. 64-bit processors handle information in, you guessed it, 64-bit chunks. This may lead to the assumption that 64-bit processors are twice as fast. No. They’ll most likely be even faster at some tasks. How fast is a matter of conjecture and depends on the application, but be rest assured that 64-bit machines will be noticeably faster.”

“64-Bits Simplified” Icrontic.com, Jan. 16, 2003



Infochannel - Mexico

“Regarding new products, the one that creates most excitement is AMD’s [upcoming AMD] Athlon™ 64 [processor], which will simultaneously run 64-bit and 32-bit applications, allowing an easy application migration from one platform to another.”

“50% of the Market is AMD’s goal in Mexico,” Infochannel – Mexico, December 9, 2002



InfoExame - Brazil

"The [upcoming AMD] Athlon™ 64 [processor] delivers to PCs all the bits that, so far, were exclusive to high performance systems.... The 64-bit chip runs 32-bit applications - nowadays an absolute majority - without the need of an emulator that usually compromises performance. Besides, businesses won't need to replace any software to adopt [AMD] Opteron™ [processors] for their servers, since it would communicate with everyone."

“Radar of Chips,” InfoExame – Brazil, February 2003



Network Magazine

Article #1
“The move to 64 bits gives server buyers real choices, of processor and OS, and these choices are becoming independent. ‘The real benefit is the flexibility to run different operating systems,’ says Brian Cox, worldwide server product line manager at HP...”

“Product Focus: 64-Bit Processors and Oss/64 Reasons to Opt for Linux -- Itanium, Opteron, and open source could set Unix users free,” Andy Dornan, Network Magazine, May 1, 2003


Article #2
“When we talk or hear about 64-bit computing, high performance computing (HPC) comes to mind. It is common to apply 64-bit computing to applications such as defense, e-government, global financial management, or even genomics and other bio-simulations. However, 64-bit computing can now be successfully applied in the management of Web caching and search engines for large service providers and upstream data centers, as well as e-commerce, data warehousing, rules and constraints-based programming, and decision support systems. The primary reason is simple 64-bit computing allows the real-time loading of data into the vastly expanded memory space, thereby allowing immediate access and computation by users of such systems.

Should you port? So should we extend 32-bit applications to allow our applications to harness the tremendous leap in memory addressing? For example, computer-aided design (CAD), business modeling, 3D simulation, and semiconductor design are all applications that often have been designed to work in both 32-bit and 64-bit memory spaces. Under 32-bit application space for the likes of Solaris, such applications can utilize up to the 4 GB limit, or 2 GB for Windows. For many low-end applications, 4 GB limits are not easily breached and most of these applications will serve the needs of users for years to come. However, in more advanced applications, especially those in defense and other high-end decision support systems, embracing the 16 GB space can result in a quantum leap in performance. For example, in the area of defense, it could be the difference between eradicating threats or being bombed.”

“64-bit Computing re-examined,” Network Magazine, August 2002


Article #3
“The 64-bit platform has been around since the late 90's when Digital Equipment (now a Compaq company) introduced its Alpha® [processor-based] systems in the country. Ever since, large enterprises deployed servers, operating systems, middleware and applications at the backend. Most other organizations found that their business requirements were fulfilled by 32-bit applications.

Today, new business and technology trends are prompting more Indian IS managers to take a closer look at high-end computing. Heavy applications like ERP and CRM are prompting even SMEs to consider 64-bit solutions.”

“The 64-bit Question: Will Enterprises Bite the Bait?” Network Magazine, 2002



Network World

“Memory limitations within 32-bit platforms have users looking to move into 64-bit environments, says Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight 64. Thirty-two-bit processors can address 4G bytes of memory. “Once you start bumping up against that limit your software starts to run into problems,” Brookwood says. “You can't utilize all the memory that you need and can afford to put on those machines. Then users say, ‘Wait a minute I need more memory but I can't use it. What am I going to do?’ Sixty-four-bit solves that problem.”

“AMD touts new twist for 64-bit servers, ” Jennifer Mears, Network World, April 21, 2003



PC World - Mexico

“We can say that, any program that deals with a large amount of data that need to be processed and transferred quickly and with no interruption can take advantage of 64-bit technology.”

“The Clawhammer,” PC World – Mexico, January 1, 2003



Windows and .Net Magazine

"Sixty-four-bit computing isn't about raw performance, but about overcoming the limitations of today's 32-bit architectures. Thus, 64-bit computing means support for more memory, more expansion headroom, and more scalability."

“What You Need To Know About 64-Bit Computing,” Windows & .Net Magazine, Oct. 2002



Wired

“For starters, 32-bit processors like Intel's Pentium® III/4 and AMD['s] Athlon™ [processors] have a memory limit of 4 GB per CPU. Any more memory can't be addressed. A 64-bit computer can address 16 exabytes of memory. (An exabyte is 1,000 petabytes, a petabyte is 1,000 terabytes and a terabyte is 1,000 gigabytes.) While the first 32-bit Intel processor came out in 1985, the average PC used 1 MB of memory, so 4 GB was both unaffordable and generally not needed. But the recent advent of Windows® XP and digital media has changed all of that. Now we're approaching a point where people need more than 4 GB of memory, and they can't get it.

’Those 32-bit processors are running out of gas,’ said Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst with Insight 64 and moderator of the panel. ’Today, the four-gigabyte limit is starting to pose some problems.’"

Those problems are with large databases and digital media. For example, a digital camcorder can easily generate more than 4 GB of data, which couldn't all be loaded into memory for editing on a 32-bit processor. People feeling the 32-bit limit now are in the heavy engineering/computer aided design segment, where it's easy for designs to go way over the 4-GB limit, Brookwood said.”

“AMD Answers the 64-Bit Question,” Wired, July 22, 2002