Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD)

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AMD Delivers Increased Performance to Enterprise Customers with the AMD Opteron Processor Model 246; AMD Opteron Processor-Based Servers Achieve Record-Breaking TPC-H Scores

SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, Aug 5, 2003 (CCNMatthews via COMTEX) --

AMD (NYSE:AMD) today announced immediate availability of the AMD Opteron(TM) processor Model 246, designed to provide outstanding performance for servers and workstations. The AMD Opteron processor Model 246, which will power the IBM eServer 325, provides a unified platform for servers and workstations, enabling simultaneous 32- and 64-bit computing. The IBM eServer 325 is planned to power one of the world's largest Linux supercomputers at Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST).

Recently announced results of the Transaction Processing Performance Council's TPC-H benchmark, which measures business-related database queries, confirm the IBM eServer 325 featuring the AMD Opteron processor Model 246 is currently the highest performing system tested on this benchmark for both 100GB- and 300GB-sized databases.

"The clear increase in productivity offered by the AMD Opteron processor can drive a shift in enterprise and cluster computing," said Marty Seyer, vice president and general manager of AMD's Microprocessor Business Unit. "With AMD64 technology integrated in the AMD Opteron processor, coupled with IBM's eServer 325 product line, IT managers will now have easy access to 64-bit capabilities. The AMD Opteron processor can give businesses and institutions of all sizes a lower total cost of ownership with superior performance."

"Our customers in research-intensive industries, such as oil and gas exploration, pharmacology, finance and higher education, have been eagerly anticipating IBM products based on the AMD Opteron processor," said Dave Turek, vice president of Deep Computing at IBM. "These critical industries often utilize clustering, which demands stability, reliability and ease of management as well as superior computing performance for intense calculations. The AMD Opteron processor is uniquely suited for their needs."

"Tenet HealthSystem is currently running 32-bit performance benchmarks on the AMD Opteron processor and thus far the results have been outstanding," said Rex Conatser, director of IS Operations at Tenet HealthSystem. "The combination of its industry-leading 32-bit performance and 64-bit capabilities offers an exceptional value proposition for any enterprise looking for long-term server investment protection."

AMD Opteron processor Model 246-based servers outperform many competitive offerings by up to 50% on industry standard benchmarks. Complete benchmarking details for the AMD Opteron processor are available at http://www.amd.com/opteronperformance.

Pricing

The AMD Opteron processor Model 246 is priced at $794 in 1,000-unit quantities. For a complete listing of AMD processor pricing, please visit http://www.amd.com/pricing.

About the AMD Opteron Processor

The AMD Opteron(TM) processor is based on AMD's eighth-generation processor core, which marks the introduction of the industry's first 64-bit, x86 technology implementation. This technology preserves 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 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(TM) technology, which increases overall performance by removing or reducing I/O bottlenecks, increasing bandwidth and reducing latency.