HP, IBM and Sun Join AMD to Recognize the Companies and Partners Behind the Overwhelming Success of the AMD Opteron Processor -- AMD today celebrates the one-year anniversary of the AMD Opteron processor, which transformed the enterprise with groundbreaking architecture, world-class 32-bit performance and an ecosystem committed to the development of an industry-standard 64-bit solution. One year ago, AMD introduced the AMD Opteron processor, the world's first 32-bit and 64-bit processor compatible with the x86 architecture. As a result of overwhelming customer demand, leading OEMs -- Fujitsu-Siemens Computer, HP, IBM and Sun -- are currently shipping AMD Opteron processor-based systems. More than 250 OS and ISV partners support AMD64 technology including Computer Associates, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, RedHat, Sun, SUSE LINUX and VMware. Enterprise customers in diverse industries such as computer-aided engineering, digital content creation, entertainment, automobile manufacturing, petrochemical, pharmaceutical and financial services have installed AMD Opteron processor-based systems. Additionally, the AMD Opteron processor has garnered 14 industry awards, including the InfoWorld Readers' Choice Award for Best Processor/Component and PC Magazine's Technical Excellence Award. "Just one year ago, 64-bit computing was an elite class of computing accessible to only a small percentage of the market. This all changed with AMD64," said Dirk Meyer, senior vice president, Computation Products Group, AMD. "AMD is leading the industry to pervasive 64-bit computing with industry-standard AMD64 technology featuring our Direct Connect Architecture -- a smart approach to architectural design that vastly improves overall performance." "AMD has helped change the industry landscape by establishing the AMD64 technology as the first platform to bring 64-bit computing to the x86 architecture. OEMs who have added AMD Opteron processor-based servers to their portfolios have expanded their addressable market for the x86 marketplace," said Vernon Turner, group vice president of Global Enterprise Server Solutions at IDC. "The AMD Opteron processor gives enterprise customers flexibility and scalability with the investment protection of an industry-standard server platform." "A year ago, we showed the world the best way to get to 64-bit computing was with the AMD Opteron processor. We have continued to revolutionize the server market by essentially making 32-bit-only servers obsolete and forcing others to follow in our lead," said Marty Seyer, vice president and general manager of the Microprocessor Business Unit, AMD. "AMD has paved our way into the enterprise with an industry-standard architecture that delivers world-class 32-bit performance and a simplified path to 64-bit computing." A true enterprise-class solution "We chose to expand our product offerings with the AMD Opteron processor because we recognize the immediate performance advantages in 32-bit environments, which accelerates ISV adoption and further advances the future of 64-bit ecosystems," said James Mouton, vice president, platform division, Industry Standard Servers, HP. "The ProLiant servers and blades incorporating the AMD technology simply gives us the ability to offer our customers more performance and more choice." "As the first OEM to announce support of the AMD Opteron processor and the first to introduce an AMD Opteron processor-based workstation to the market, IBM has worked closely with AMD to give customers the flexibility and performance to power intense computing applications," said Dave Turek, vice president of Deep Computing at IBM. "As our customers continue to pursue new achievements in business and science through high-performance computing, we will continue to work with companies like AMD to offer the choices customers require." "Increasing customer demand for x86 solutions that are 32-bit and 64-bit capable, and deliver maximum performance led us to pursue a collaboration with AMD," said Souheil Saliba, vice president of marketing and strategy, Sun Microsystems Inc. "With the addition of AMD Opteron processors, we now have a competitive set of high-performance x86 systems that support the Solaris Operating System x86 platform, RedHat Linux and SUSE Linux. Our strategic alliance with AMD and collaboration on future joint technology development will result in a broad set of enterprise servers based on the AMD Opteron processor." AMD64: The direct connection to performance With Direct Connect Architecture, AMD64 offers the enterprise more than just 64-bit extensions. AMD removed the bottleneck of a front-side bus and directly connected the processors, the memory controller and the I/O, resulting in improved overall system performance and efficiency. AMD is now positioned to target the key four-way server market for the data center that withered over the years. The flexibility of AMD64 with Direct Connect Architecture uniquely addresses the complexity and costs of bringing four-way solutions to market. Also targeting low-power solutions for the data center, the AMD Opteron processors HE (55 watt) and EE (30 watt) for servers and workstations offer the most performance per watt of any processor in their class. Going forward, AMD plans to continue to drive widespread adoption of AMD Opteron processor-based systems at all levels of enterprise environments -- from high-performance clusters to blade servers. By working with OEM partners to deliver reliable, secure solutions with industry-leading performance, AMD will continue its tradition of customer-centric innovation. AMD (NYSE:AMD) designs and produces microprocessors, Flash memory devices and low-power processor solutions for the computer, communications and consumer electronics industries. AMD is dedicated to helping its customers deliver standards-based, customer-focused solutions for technology users, ranging from enterprises to government agencies and individual consumers. Founded in 1969, AMD is a Standard & Poor's 500 company with global operations and manufacturing facilities in the United States, Europe, Japan and Asia. For more information, visit www.amd.com. "The flexibility and scalability of extended 64-bit is a great fit for customers. The AMD Opteron processor provides superb high-performance processing for our 32-bit Windows systems and, at the same time, gives customers a cost-effective migration path to the incredible performance of 64-bit Windows computing on the x64 technology." -0- *T Bob Kelly general manager Windows Server Division Microsoft Corporation *T "Red Hat has worked closely with AMD to help ensure that Red Hat Enterprise Linux allows users to fully utilize the power and flexibility of AMD Opteron processor-based systems. We are committed to providing our customers support for the most advanced technology available. Red Hat and AMD will continue to work together to move 64-bit computing on Linux into the enterprise." -0- *T Mike Evans vice president Partner Development RedHat *T "SUSE has long been an innovator in the 64-bit Linux market and drove the Linux port of AMD64 in early 2000, enabling enterprise customers who were looking for performance enhancements available only through the 64-bit architecture to benefit from the stability and security of Linux. As a result, SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server for AMD64 is expertly tuned for AMD Opteron processors, combining leading Linux technology with a powerful architecture for high-performance computing." -0- *T Markus Rex general manager SUSE LINUX for Novell *T "VMware supports the AMD Opteron processor by bringing virtualization to the AMD64 platform. By working with AMD, we're enabling customers to migrate from 32-bit to 64-bit platforms and take advantage of server virtualization on AMD64. As our customers plan and implement their 64-bit strategies, they now will have the confidence of knowing that their investments in VMware software will be protected." -0- *T Michael Mullany vice president of marketing VMware *T