Another Article from IBD: "Software Not Yet Ready For 64-Bit PCs... But Microsoft, Games In Tests"
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BY PATRICK SEITZ
INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. is heralding the era of 64-bit personal computing. But AMD's speedy new 64-bit chips won't truly get their due until software is written to tap their power.
That's why the spotlight's on Microsoft Corp.
The software king has released a beta or test version of its Windows XP operating system that makes use of AMD's new Athlon64 chips. A finished product won't be available until the first quarter of 2004.
Meanwhile, video game maker Epic Games Inc. and digital video software maker Divx Networks Inc. are among those making applications for the new high-speed PC processor.
Don't go looking soon for new PCs with 64-bit processors at retail stores. PC makers are taking a measured approach to the new technology mainly because of the dearth of 64-bit-enabled software.
Hewlett-Packard Co. will offer the chip in high-end PCs in late November in the U.S., but only in built-to-order models. In Europe, it will offer the chip sooner in a limited number of PC models.
Dell Inc. has no plans to use the AMD chip, says company spokesman Hess Blackburn. Its interest in 64-bit chips now is for servers - powerful computers that run corporate networks.
For its servers, Dell is using only Intel Corp.'s Itanium 2 chip. Semiconductor giant Intel does not yet sell a 64-bit chip for PCs.
AMD is hoping to get a head start in the next generation of personal computing by coming out with a 64-bit chip before its larger and more powerful rival. Its approach is to sell a chip that runs both 64-bit and current 32-bit software applications. That way it can transition smoothly to the new PC era. (See AMD story on this page - Some Call Fancy New PC Chip AMD's Most Important Launch, Athlon64 Seen As Milestone.)
By comparison, the switch from 16-bit to 32-bit PCs was rough because there was no backward compatibility with software applications. That transition occurred in earnest in 1995 when MIcrosoft released its Windows 95 Operating System.
PCs with the Athlon64 chip are likely to appeal to early adopters and enthusiasts with a need for more computing horsepower. Applications that can use more data-crunching ability including computer-aided design, video games and video editing.
Computer industry officials don't expect 64-bit computing to mainstream for a couple of years. The switch likely will occur when Microsoft comes out with its new Windows operating system, code-named Longhorn. That's expected in 2005 or 2006. By then there will be many more applications that can fully exploit 64-bit processors.
For now, HP will be selling Athlon64-equipped PCs with the regular 32-bit edition of Microsoft's Windows XP operating system.
Even though it won't be running a 64-bit operating system or applications, users will see a boost in performance, says John Romano, senior vice president of HP's consumer PC business. The HP Athlon64 PCs will be slightly higher priced, but still in the range of high-end Intel Pentium 4 PCs.
The era of 64-bit computing promises a great leap in technology, officials say.
"this has the potential to bring the PC to a new level in terms of what it's capalbe of doing," said Greg Sullivan, lead product manager in Microsoft's Windows client unit.
Applications like speech recognition, real-time language translation, video communications and rich graphics could use the computing muscle that 64-bit processors offer, Sullivan says.
A 64-bit chip is an order of magnitude faster than a 32-bit chip because it can process bigger chunks of data at a time, he says.
Think about moving the contents of a house from one place to another, Sullivan says. In the 64-bit world, you could put everything on a truck and move in one trip. In the 32-bit world, you'd have a smaller truck and would have to make multiple trips to get the job done.
Raleigh,N.C.-based Epic Games, which makes the popular first-person shooting game "Unreal Tournament," already has updated its product to take advantage of the AMD 64-bit chips.
San Diego-based Divx plans to release a 64-bit version of its Dr. Divx video-encoding software later this year, company spokesman Tom Huntington says. The Dr. Divx software lets users record TV shows, back up their DVDs and share video on a home network.
The AMD Athlon64 processor will dramatically enhance the speed of the product, Huntington says.
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I am not supposed to type in the whole article, right? This article is on Investor's Business Daily, Monday, September 22, 2003 edition, which is available on newstands and bookstore, like B&N.
Yesterday I was 32. Today I am 64.
