The Register heeft een nieuwsartikel gepost met meer info over de AMD SledgeHammer. Vooral het software verhaaltje achter deze 64-bit x86 CPU is nog wazig, de x86 instructieset is immers 32-bit. The Register geeft opheldering:
But if Intel expects 32-bit to remain king through 2001 and maybe beyond, what should AMD do? It's currently collecting 32-bit speed trophies for Athlon, and if it can build on this up to the Sledgehammer rollout then it might just be in a commanding position. SledgeHammer, marketing VP Dana Krelle tells us in a blatant leak to the WSJ this morning, will be 64-bit, but will be designed to run 32-bit apps at blisteringly high speeds. Alongside that AMD's x86-64 architecture is intended to be simpler to deal with than Intel's.So here's the script, as we see it. AMD sees a possible window whereby it can carry and increase current Athlon momentum through 2000, and then capitalise on that with what will in operation effectively be a faster 32-bit chip in 2001. The possible gotchas here are first, that the Athlon mo gets blunted (it is a long way to run, and AMD doesn't usually manage to stay ahead for long), and second, that any delays in SledgeHammer would give Intel the opportunity to establish its own roadmap instead.
