Exclusive interview with John Crank, AMD's Marketing Manager.

Web site: http://www.AMD.com

Editor's Note : AMD recently released their much anticipated 64 bit processors which promise to revolutionize the home and work computing industries. With powerful capabilities and rich features that promise just about everything under the sun, the 64 bit Athlon processors offer consumers more power than ever before. A big thanks to the AMD marketing team for giving NextGen Electronics their time in this Q&A.
                                                                        -- Sean Gibson, Editor

Sean Gibson: I think the first question on a lot of upgraders' minds is, just why should we upgrade to an AMD 64 bit processor and motherboard when a 64bit operating system and applications/games have yet to exist? Is there a huge performance difference in a 32bit environment?

John Crank: The real question is why would you NOT buy a technology that can do both, run today's software (32-bit software) AND run tomorrow's software (64-bit software) with exceptional performance, at the same time? You purposefully buy into obsolescence if you buy a 32-bit only machine today! Why knowingly do that?

64-bit computing is here now, not the end of the decade or 5 years from now as some would have you believe, but now. With AMD64 processor-based systems, you can purchase with confidence that your system will provide unsurpassed performance, reliability and upgradeability into the future, regardless of the types of applications you wish to use.

Microsoft has stated that they will ship their 64-bit Windows XP operating system in the first quarter of 2004. In addition, software partners like Epic Games, Crytek, DivX, and America's Army either have AMD64 applications available now or are expected to bring to market such applications in Christmas 2003 and the first quarter of 2004. Again, AMD64 is real; AMD64 is now. Many of these aforementioned applications can be realized when purchasing an Athlon 64 FX-51 PIB (Processor In a Box).

To answer the last part of the question, the performance difference can be modest to dramatic. For example, we have some gaming and graphics demos that run 50% faster in AMD64 than in 32-bit. We have seen modest improvements from simple ports of applications like Dr. DivX in the 20% to 25% range when running in AMD64. We have also seen performance gains of 2x, 3x, and even 4x in some encryption algorithms.

However, to be clear, the key message for AMD64 is not performance, but new experiences and capabilities. For gaming, we are talking about driving Cinematic Computing ... a nirvana where games look just like DVD-quality films ... now that is experience! For digital media, like digital video applications, we are talking about new capabilities, like real-time, high-definition video encode, edit, and playback, although you will see performance as the leading indicator of new capabilities for the short-term for digital video and imaging applications because the files are so large (and getting larger) and the manipulation of the media is so computationally intensive right now.

Sean Gibson: We've heard about the AMD Athlon 64 FX chip, which seems to be targeting gamers, and the regular Athlon 64 chip which we believe to be targeted towards everyone else. What's the difference? And what if you're a gamer who does all his/her business work on the same machine (dare I use the word "prosumer"), what processor should you go with?

John Crank: Simply put, the AMD Athlon 64 FX processor is the world's best PC processor. If you desire the apex of computing technology and power, then an Athlon 64 FX processor-based system is the right system for you. If you want to play games with bone-crushing power and speed, or edit digital video and images easily and effortlessly, then an Athlon 64 FX processor is your only choice. If your hobbies include gaming, graphics design, computational intensive research or analysis, animation and modeling, or other strenuous computing activities of that nature, then an Athlon 64 FX processor is your only choice. And, all of the aforementioned statements apply to either 32-bit or 64-bit application environments.

You can do general productivity applications on any machine, but you can NOT game on just any machine, especially the upcoming, cutting-edge game titles. Again, if you game, the Athlon 64 FX processor is your dream come true.

The Athlon 64 FX processor offers much higher levels of performance and a dual-channel memory interface, as well as other 'features' desired by the PC enthusiast, gaming and prosumer crowds over the Athlon 64 processor.

Sean Gibson: AMD chips have the stigma of running, well, real hot. Are we going to see similar temperatures and heatsink/fan requirements with these chips? Should we not plug in our heaters this winter when we have the computer on?

John Crank: One will be troubled to find a high-performance machine that does not run, well, 'hot'. Look at all of the components in a high-performance PC: processor, chipsets, memory DIMMs, graphics cards, SATA drives ... all using heatsinks, fans, or a combination of the two. Heat is a physical by-product of all electrical devices, one of which will never go away, but will only continue to provide opportunities for new, more efficient cooling solutions.

You can not expect to drive a Ferrari or Lamborghini the way they are designed to be driven and not generate a lot of heat from the engine, transmission, tires, and brakes ... nor can you expect to get 50 miles per gallon out of such unique, high-performance machines. Many parallelisms can be drawn between two such standards of performance: AMD and Ferrari.

Sean Gibson: Can you talk about your alliance with Microsoft and other OS manufacturers and the exciting things that this processor will do with the next generation of operating system?

John Crank: AMD prides itself on the quality of relationships with partners. Microsoft, Linux, and open-source operating system developers and providers are just a few of the committed partners AMD works with. The AMD and Microsoft relationship is strong and healthy relationship. AMD shares strong and healthy relationships with many Linux and open-source operating system developers as well. We look forward to the exciting results our team efforts can bring to the marketplace with AMD64 operating systems. One of the most important things the next-generation operating systems will provide is support for AMD64, which provides the adhesive between AMD64 hardware and AMD64 software applications. This is a fundamental, but crucial point. More specific to the OS itself, advancements is user interfaces, (like 3D displays, natural language recognition (a much more robust style of voice recognition), perhaps virtual realities, graphical richness, etc.) and usability and productivity (like advanced searches of files, face, animate, and inanimate object recognition when searching photos and videos, complete system encryption for security, etc.).

Sean Gibson: We see a boatload of motherboards come through here and we're consistently testing them out with your chips. Two of the top motherboard chipsets are from VIA and nVIDIA. How have you worked with motherboard chipset manufacturers to ensure the best quality in performance for consumers?

John Crank: Absolutely. AMD has a rigorous testing and validation environment that all infrastructure components must pass before receiving an AMD validation seal of approval. We work very closely with our hardware partners to aide in product quality, reliability, compatibility, and performance. We provide numerous engineering resources to help our infrastructure partners deliver a robust solution in a timely manner to help them be successful in their target markets.

Sean Gibson: One of the heavy markets to be impacted by a 64-bit architecture is that of enterprise servers. How will this market benefit from the migration?

Scott Richards: 64-bit computing has existed in the server space for a decade now. The server environment is prime for change because the x86 architecture has taken over as the de-facto standard in server computing platforms. The only problem is, the 64-bit environment, prior to the AMD Opteron processor, has been proprietary and non-existent to the x86 environment. Well, enter the Opteron processor; a de-facto standard that can run BOTH, 32-bit and 64-bit software, simultaneously, all built on the de-facto standard software environment and a commodity hardware infrastructure. This is the beginning of a server revolution, not just a migratione.

Sean Gibson: Just how much fun is it knowing you're the first to the 64-bit architecture and that AMD has steadily grown from out of the X86 pack in the mid 1990s against dozens of competitors, to the market leader in processing technology?

John Crank: If you could only see the smile on my face after reading this question ... a picture is worth a thousand words. This alone gets me out of bed every morning. Completely exhilarating.

Sean Gibson: Has there been any studies done by AMD on the cost benefit of upgrading at this time to a 64-bit architecture?

John Crank: Yes. Studies have been conducted primarily for the server and workstation markets. Analysis is currently underway for desktops and notebooks.

Sean Gibson: Just what is the benefit of HyperTransport technology?

John Crank: Fast and simple. HyperTransport technology communicates more like network protocols, in packets, rather than bus protocols of today. In addition, due to its simple, but intelligent design philosophy, systems design is much more simplified. I describe it as a 'building block' approach to systems design, much like using Lego's.

HyperTransport technology improves inter-systems communications links. It targets the reduction of performance robbing system-level bottlenecks.

Sean Gibson: We've heard that the HyperTransport link operates at 1600MHz. Just how lightning fast is this?

John Crank: This is true. HyperTransport technology, in its currently implementation, operates at a core frequency of 800MHz, utilizing a DDR implementation, which doubles the data transfer rate to 1600MHz or 1.6GHz. To put this in perspective, today's best Athlon XP bus operates at a core frequency of 200MHz, utilizing DDR, which doubles the data rate to 400MHz. HyperTransport technology has a 4x data transfer advantage. HyperTransport technology boasts a 2x advantage over Intel's best 800MHz Front Side Bus.

Sean Gibson: Is there any specific words that AMD wants to lend out to the hard core extreme upgrader?

John Crank: If you want the best PC processor, with the most advanced technology, with the most flexibility for 'tinkering' and upgradeability, then an Athlon 64 FX processor is just the processor designed specifically for YOU. AMD has delivered, to you, the best 32-bit PC processor AND the world's FIRST and ONLY Windows-compatible 64-bit PC processor.

Editor's Conclusion : A huge thanks to Whitney Otstott and John Crank for getting the interview together and bringing the word of this exciting technology to NGE. We'll be looking at the new processor and new motherboards from the top manufacturers in the coming weeks!

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