Athlon 64: How AMD turned the tables on Intel
2 days ago
- #CPU History
- #AMD vs Intel
- #64-bit Computing
- AMD released the Athlon 64 CPU on September 23, 2003, introducing 64-bit x86 architecture, forcing Intel to follow suit.
- Intel initially resisted extending x86 to 64-bit, preferring to start fresh with Itanium to avoid backward compatibility issues and patent competition.
- AMD's Athlon 64 succeeded by offering full backward compatibility with 32-bit applications, easing the transition to 64-bit computing.
- The Athlon 64 was popular in enterprises for its efficiency, lower power consumption, and performance advantages over Intel's Prescott-based servers.
- Intel eventually abandoned Itanium and adopted AMD64, rebranding it as Intel64, marking a significant shift in the x86 CPU market dynamics.
- AMD's innovation with the Athlon 64 demonstrated its ability to compete with Intel, setting a precedent for future CPU developments.