Update: AMD Launches Athlon 64 For Desktops

However, executives at Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD said they believe major OEM support for its 64-bit desktop platform will begin to appear in the fourth quarter and that the vendor plans to actively court the white-box channel to help the processor fly.

"Clearly, this is a huge opportunity for the white-box channel," said Robert Fuller, AMD's director of North America regional marketing. "We're placing a lot of emphasis on white-box channel partners."

AMD said it has no plans to provide a barebones Athlon 64 system offering through a third party, as it has done with contract manufacturer Celestica for its Opteron processor, launched in April. "As far as from a system builder [perspective], there is no difference from building a 32-bit vs. a 64-bit solution," Fuller said.

Among the processors available from AMD are the Athlon 64 FX-51, priced at $733; the Athlon 64 3200, priced at $417; and the Athlon 64 3000, priced at $278. All pricing is based on sales of 1,000-unit quantities.

The Athlon 64 pricing compares with pricing on Intel's 32-bit Pentium 4 line, which tags the 3.2GHz model with a 800MHz front-side bus at $637; the 3GHz with a 800MHz front-side bus at $417; and the 3.06GHz with a 533MHz front-side bus at $401. All of those prices are also based on sales of 1,000-unit quantities.

While support for Athlon 64 from large U.S.-based OEMs has not been immediately forthcoming, AMD unveiled a lengthy list of software companies that have either ported or begun porting applications and operating systems to the new platform. Those ISVs include Oracle; Computer Associates International; IBM, with its DB2 database software; Autodesk; Novell; and several Linux vendors including Red Hat and SuSE Linux. Microsoft, for its part, is currently working to develop 64-bit extensions for the Athlon 64 to its Windows operating system. The software giant said the beta version of its 64-bit Windows for Athlon 64 became available Tuesday, with general availability expected in the first quarter of next year.

"We believe that people are looking at their PCs and saying, 'They just don't do what I need them to do,' " said John Morris, AMD's senior brand manager for the platform. "People are pushing the limits of their PC right now. Entertainment on PC is continuing to grow. We're pushing up against 32-bit capabilities."

One of the value propositions for both the Athlon 64 and its companion processor, AMD's server- and workstation-based Opteron, is that they run both 32-bit and 64-bit software at high rates of performance, while rival Intel maintains two separate platforms for processors: the Pentium 4 and Xeon for 32-bit computing and the Itanium 2 for 64-bit computing.

Robert Schaffer, president of Channel-Micro, a Somerset, N.J.-based system builder and distributor, said his company is working with AMD on developing a desktop product for the processor to offer customers.

"Even on a 32-bit platform, it should produce quite a bit more performance," Schaffer said. "We believe there will be a high level of interest in the gaming community," as well as among early adopters who wish to ready desktops in preparing to upgrade to Microsoft's forthcoming 64-bit-capable operating system.

"It should make for an interesting fourth quarter," Schaffer said. "This could be probably the best success they've seen since they launched the first gigahertz machine and trumped Intel with that."

At AMD's launch event in San Francisco, the chip maker said Hewlett-Packard will begin shipping desktops based on the new AMD platform in the fourth quarter. Likewise, Sun announced Tuesday that its forthcoming Enterprise Java Desktop--formerly code-named Mad Hatter and officially launched last week--will support the 64-bit AMD desktop processor.