AMD Renames Hammer, Says Microsoft Will Support 64-Bit Chip

Advanced Micro Devices

In addition, AMD said Microsoft signed an agreement to create a version of its 64-bit Windows platform for AMD's next generation of processors.

"We have signed an agreement which provides a framework to develop Windows solutions for x86-64 technology," Dirk Meyer, AMD group vice president of computation products, said during a conference call to announce the deal.

Meyer stopped short of making any specific product announcement, saying those details were not ready to go public.

As part of the announcement, AMD said its first 64-bit-enabled chips,to be shipped under the Athlon brand for desktops,would roll out at the end of 2002; the server processors,Opterons,would launch at some point during the first six months of 2003.

The next generation of processors from AMD has been known under the code-name "Hammer" and billed as AMD's answer to Intel's Itanium line. AMD, Sunnyvale, Calif., is touting Hammer's compatibility with both 32-bit and 64-bit software as a key differentiator with the Itanium.

As part of its product road map, AMD said its Duron brand would be taken off the market by early 2003.